Arguments
against the Shroud's
authenticity are prima facie, supported by
carbon 14 dating and a prevailing view of
the way things are in the world. On the
other hand, the case for
authenticity is a compelling preponderance
of scientific and historic evidence. So
daunting is the evidence that we can only
wonder if, as postmodernists
suggest, "no such thing as objective
truth exists, that historic reality is an
inherently enigmatic and endlessly
negotiable bundle of free-floating
perceptions"
(SEE NOTE BELOW).
The alternative is to consider, as C. S.
Lewis contends: rare exceptions to nature
are possible. |
4
Until 1204 CE, when crusaders sacked
Constantinople, there was in that city, a
picture of Jesus on a piece of cloth. It
had been moved there from the city of
Edessa in 944 where it was discovered in
the city walls in 544. Historians think
that the Edessa Cloth, also known
as the Mandylion, is what we now
call the Shroud of Turin. MORE
ON EDESSA |
7
Since
the eighth century, there has been in
Oviedo, Spain, an ancient piece of linen
known as the Sudarium. Blood stains and
forensic analysis link it to the Shroud. MORE
ABOUT THE SUDARIUM |
9
Scholars have found an amazing
connection between the Shroud and
depictions of Christ. These depictions
date back as far as the sixth century.
MORE
ON THE ART CONNECTION |
12
If
the Shroud is indeed the Edessa Cloth, as
most Shroud scholars now believe, then
what happened to it after the sack of
Constantinople? MORE
ON THE MISSING YEARS |
13
The
Shroud was displayed in Lirey, France in
the 1350's. Later, moved to Chambery,
France it was almost destroyed in a fire
in 1532. It is now in Turin, Italy.
Nothing in its later history has been more
significant than a century of research
since Secondo Pia's amazing discovery of
its negative image properties in 1898. MORE
ON THE SHROUD'S LATER HISTORY |
|
|
2
The
image is actually a 3D encoded chart of
the front and back of a man that also
happens to have the important
characteristics of a photographic
negative. This unique dual quality may
help theoretical physicists understand how
the image was created.
MORE
ON 3D |
3
The
image is very faint and composed of
discolored lengths of fibers that have
been chemically altered (dehydrated,
oxidized and conjugated). Scientists call
the lengths of discolored fibers: pixels.
Different shades of yellow in the image
are achieved by the number of pixels in an
area in very much the same way as half
tone photographs are printed in
newspapers. Pixels are only to be found in
the topmost layers of the cloth. MORE
ON THE PIXELS |
5
Chemists
and art scholars have ruled out the
possibility that the Shroud is a painting
or any other known form of art, including
photography. MORE
ON IT NOT BEING A WORK OF ART |
6
Scientists,
who have examined the evidence, seriously
question results
of 1988 carbon 14 tests that determined
that the Shroud had a medieval origin.
Contrary to popular belief, carbon 14
testing is not always right. Too many
variables, including contamination, could
have skewed the results. MORE
ABOUT THE CARBON 14 TESTS |
10
Scientist
do not know how the image was created.
Having ruled out a work of art, they also
rule out most natural causes known to
science at this time. MORE
ON NATURAL CAUSE EXPLANATIONS |
The
quote referring to postmodernism is by
Joseph J. Ellis from his book, Founding
Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation.
The quote as used in his book has no
bearing on the Shroud of Turin but serves
as a simple, if not somewhat terse,
definition of postmodernism thinking. A
more hopeful definition for postmodernism
is provided by the Rev. Canon Frank
Harron, II, a former vicar of Washington
National Cathedral and now
scholar-in-residence at Trinity Episcopal
Church - Wall Street in New York City:
"The
postmodern understanding of the way we
determine truth joyfully shares personal
perspectives. Truth is not separate from
the person. Authenticity is a criterion of
validity. Diversity and complexity are
welcomed, indeed required. Truth is now
always from the standpoint of individuals.
The truth we can know is always
approximate, tentative, provisional,
learned from ourselves and from one
another. It is dynamic and can come from
expected and unexpected places."
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