SHROUD OF |TURIN

Shroud of Turin - What is it? The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth believed by some to have covered the buried body of Jesus Christ. Accounts of Jesus' followers wrapping his body with a linen cloth are mentioned in all four gospels (Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 19:40). The shroud, which has a known history dating back to 1353, is about 14-feet long by four feet wide. It is called the Shroud of Turin because it permanently resides in the city of Turin, Italy, though on occasion it is exhibited elsewhere. The shroud bears markings that appear to be front and back impressions of a crucified man. Apparently, the cloth was folded over itself, one half above the man, the other half below. Interestingly, the man's wounds are consistent with the wounds inflicted upon Jesus during the torture He endured leading up to His crucifixion. There appear to be wounds around the hairline, matching the biblical description of the crown of thorns. Several small stripe-like wounds extend from the shoulders to the lower legs, matching the biblical description of His torture by whipping. There is also a wound in the area of the chest, which matches the description of the piercing wound inflicted on Jesus shortly after His death. Shroud of Turin - Expert Explanation What do experts think about the Shroud of Turin? That depends on who you ask. Some experts consider the Shroud of Turin to be authentic, while others believe that it is a rather sophisticated hoax. A few people have even claimed that the shroud was never intended to be anything more than a work of art. This explanation doesn't seem probable because of the shroud's unique design, a style that had never been observed in any previous major work of art. This fact leads most experts to conclude that the shroud is either authentic or it is purposely designed to look as if it is authentic. The major critique against the shroud's authenticity is based on carbon dating tests. The tests predict that the shroud is not much more than 700 years old, which would place its origin during the 1300s, making it much too young to have been Jesus' burial cloth. Other scholars suggest that this date might be skewed because the shroud's fibers are soiled with microscopic bacteria and fungi, which have developed for hundreds of years. They believe that the presence of these objects make the shroud test at least a thousand years younger than it really is. There are, however, a growing number of scientists who consider both of these arguments moot because of what they claim to be a lack of reliability in the carbon dating method. Shroud skeptics also charge that the facial and bodily features of the man are out of proportion. However, other experts argue that many people have certain physical features that are disproportionate. There are literally dozens of arguments for and against the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. These contradicting claims may lead the casual observer to conclude that there exists a scientific stalemate concerning the shroud, and that does seem to be the case. So what should we believe about the Shroud of Turin? Unfortunately, when presented with opposing opinions in a debate related to Christianity, the casual observer tends to accept the non-christian point of view because he believes that it is less influenced by religion, and thus more scientific. However, non-christian scholars often seek to disprove the Christian point of view as fervently as Christian scholars seek to support it. So the non-christian point of view is often very biased. A case in point is the recent discovery of an ancient bone box inscribed with the following message in Aramaic: James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. When news of this finding was made public, some scholars, seeking to downplay the historicity of the Christian faith, declared the box a hoax even before they had seen it. The truth is, no one can say with any degree of certainty that the Shroud of Turin is real or a hoax. The best we can do is analyze all the information, and then decide for ourselves. Shroud of Turin - The Reality Sadly, the never-ending debate about the Shroud of Turin is concerned only with its authenticity. In reality, it matters little whether or not the shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Either way, the shroud is simply a cloth made of linen. Unfortunately, many people have been misled into thinking that the shroud is in some way sacred, and have thus tied much of their faith to its authenticity. This is a mistake. No matter its origin, the shroud deserves neither our worship nor reverence. Assuming its authenticity certainly makes it a significant part of Christian history, but nothing more. Jesus lived a perfect life, He died for the sins of mankind, He was raised from the dead, and then He ascended into heaven. By accepting him as Lord and Savior by grace through faith we are forgiven. Christians don't base these beliefs on the Shroud of Turin or any other ancient artifact. Rather, Christians accept these things because of a belief in the truthfulness of the Bible.

The debate over the Shroud of Turin does remind us of one very important point, though. That is, the historicity of the Christian faith. Christianity is not just a set of rules by which Christians govern their lives. It's a relationship with a real God who entered human history as a mortal man, and died so that we might have everlasting life. (http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/shroud-of-turin.htm)

Description
The shroud is rectangular, measuring approximately 4.4 1.1 m (14.3 3.7 ft). The cloth is woven in a three-toone herringbone twill composed of flax fibrils. Its most distinctive characteristic is the faint, yellowish image of a front and back view of a naked man with his hands folded across his groin. The two views are aligned along the midplane of the body and point in opposite directions. The front and back views of the head nearly meet at the middle of the cloth. [20] Reddish brown stains that have been said to include whole blood are found on the cloth, showing various wounds that, according to proponents, correlate with the yellowish image, the pathophysiology of crucifixion, and the Biblical description of the death of Jesus:[21] Markings on the lines include:[22]

one wrist bears a large, round wound, claimed to be from piercing (the second wrist is hidden by the folding of the hands) upward gouge in the side penetrating into the thoracic cavity. Proponents claim this was a post-mortem event and there are separate components of red blood cells and serum draining from the lesion small punctures around the forehead and scalp scores of linear wounds on the torso and legs. Proponents claim that the wounds are consistent with the distinctive dumbbell wounds of a Roman flagrum. swelling of the face from severe beatings streams of blood down both arms. Proponents claim that the blood drippings from the main flow occurred in response to gravity at an angle that would occur during crucifixion no evidence of either leg being fractured large puncture wounds in the feet as if pierced by a single spike

The shroud includes images that are not easily distinguishable by the naked eye, and were first observed after the advent of photography. In May 1898 amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia was allowed to photograph the shroud and he took the first photograph of the shroud on the evening of May 28, 1898. Pia was startled by the visible image of the negative plate in his darkroom. Negatives of the image give the appearance of a positive image, which implies that the shroud image is itself effectively a negative of some kind. [22] Pia was at first accused of doctoring his photographs, but was vindicated in 1931 when a professional photographer, Giuseppe Enrie, also photographed the shroud and his findings supported Pia's.[23] In 1978 Miller and Pellicori took ultraviolet photographs of the shroud.[24][25] The image of the "Man of the Shroud" has a beard, moustache, and shoulder-length hair parted in the middle. He is muscular and tall (various experts have measured him as from 1.75 m, or roughly 5 ft 9 in, to 1.88 m, or 6 ft 2 in).
[26]

Fourteen large triangular patches and eight smaller ones were sewn onto the cloth by Poor Clare nuns to repair the damage from a fire in 1532 in the chapel in Chambery, France. Some burn holes and scorched areas down both sides of the linen are present, due to contact with molten silver during the fire that burned through it in places while it was folded.[27] History Archaeologist William Meacham states that of all religious relics, the history of the Shroud of Turin has generated the greatest controversy.[18] According to author Brian Haughton it is difficult to imagine a more controversial historical artifact, and that much of its history is obscure, with no historical record until the 16th century. Although prior historical references exist to some pieces of cloth with images, it is uncertain if these are the same as the shroud that is now in the Cathedral in Turin.[19] The Catholic Encyclopedia echoes the same sentiment: "A certain difficulty was caused by the existence elsewhere of other Shrouds similarly impressed with the figure of Jesus Christ."[28] However, the Catholic encyclopedia, as well as some other authors suggest that the recorded history traces back to the 14th century, but an origin date in the 15th century has also been suggested. [14][29][30]

The historical records for the shroud can be separated into three time periods: prior to the 14th century; from the 14th to the 16th century; and thereafter. Prior to the 14th century there are some congruent references such as the Pray Codex. The period from the 14th to the 16th century is subject to debate and controversy among historians. The history from the 16th century to the present is well understood (and uneventful except for two chapel fires), since the shroud has been housed in Turin Cathedral since then. As of the 17th century the shroud has been displayed (e.g. in the chapel built for that purpose by Guarino Guarini[31]) and in the 19th century it was first photographed during a public exhibition.[32]

There are no definite historical records concerning the shroud prior to the 14th century. Although there are numerous reports of Jesus' burial shroud, or an image of his head, of unknown origin, being venerated in various locations before the 14th century, there is no historical evidence that these refer to the shroud currently at Turin Cathedral.
Historical records indicate that a shroud bearing an image of a crucified man existed in the small town of Lirey, France around the years 1353 to 1357. However, the correspondence of this shroud with the shroud in Turin, and its very origin has been debated by scholars and lay authors, with claims of forgery attributed to artists born a century apart. Some contend that the Lirey shroud was the work of a confessed forger and murderer. [34] Professor Larissa Tracy of Virginia also argues that the shroud in Turin is a forgery, but that it was forged by Leonardo da Vinci, who was born in 1452. Professor Nicholas Allen of South Africa on the other hand believes that the image was made photographically and not by an artist. Professor John Jackson of the Turin Shroud Centre of Colorado argues that the shroud in Turin dates back to the 1st century AD. [14][35][36][37][38] The history of the shroud from the middle of 16th century is well recorded. The existence of a miniature by Giulio Clovio, which gives a good representation of what was seen upon the shroud about the year 1540, confirms that the shroud housed in Turin today is the same one as in the middle of the 16th century. [28] In 1532, the shroud suffered damage from a fire in the chapel where it was stored. A drop of molten silver from the reliquary produced a symmetrically placed mark through the layers of the folded cloth. Poor Clare Nuns attempted to repair this damage with patches. In 1578 the House of Savoy took the shroud to Turin and it has remained at Turin Cathedral ever since.[40] (wikipedia) Where was the man whose silhouette is imprinted on the shroud kept in Turin's Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista crucified? By analyzing the impressions of bouquets of flowers once placed in it, Israeli botanist Avinoam Danin determines that the celebrated relic originated in the Land of Israel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------A great deal of mystery surrounds the 4.3 - by - 1.1 - meter piece of linen kept in the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Turin, Italy. This piece of cloth, known as the Shroud of Turin, is one of the most important Christian relics in the world. On it is a full-scale imprint of the body of a man resembling the descriptions of the crucified Jesus that were common from the third century onward. The impression of the body in the shroud shows signs of flagellation, and it appears that the dead mans hands were wounded and bloody. Marks of blood can also be seen on the parts of the shroud that lay on his nape and forehead. Consequently, there are many who believe that the Shroud of Turin was wrapped around the body of Jesus after it was taken down from the cross, and that the profile on the shroud is that of Jesus himself. The Shroud of Turin is first mentioned in the fourteenth century, when according to the commonly accepted version of its history it was discovered in the vaults of Geoffrey de Charney. Presumably, it was taken there after having been removed from a church in Constantinople during a crusade aimed at bringing the shroud to France. Margarita, granddaughter of de Charney, handed the shroud over to Louis, Duke of Savoy in 1453, though it is unclear why she was willing to part with such a valuable item. Legend has it that her horse, after having the shroud loaded on its back, refused to move. To this day, the dukes family is the legal owner of the shroud. Experts in the natural sciences began examining the shroud toward the end of the nineteenth century. Among their findings were the imprints of plants and grains of pollen. In 1995 I was asked by Dr. Alan Whanger and his wife Mary, of Durham, North Carolina, to assist them in identifying the plants and to evaluate the identification of the grains of pollen that had been collected by the Swiss crime expert Dr. Max Frei. Ten years previously, in 1985, Dr. Whanger was looking at a photograph of the shroud taken in 1931 when he noticed the faint outline of a flower later identified as the inflorescence of the crown chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium). Intrigued, the Whangers, amateur photographers, spent thousands of subsequent

hours looking at photographs that had been specially enhanced so that the faint images stood out more clearly. They discovered hundreds of flowers, mostly in the vicinity of the figures head. Comparing the flowers they found with drawings in Michael Zohary and Naomi Feinbruns Flora Palaestina, they succeeded in identifying twenty-eight species of plants. During the Whangers stay in Israel in September 1995, I recognized images of the crown chrysanthemum and the rock rose (Cistus creticus) in their photographs, and became convinced that the material was authentic and that the Whangers findings were valid. At their request, I collected pollen grains of the plants they had identified so that they could be compared to the pollen Max Frei had removed from the shroud by means of adhesive tape. In February 1997, I visited the Whangers in their home and examined the images of the flowers in the original photographs of 1931. Indeed, the crown chrysanthemum was the easiest species to identify there. It took me some time to get used to the visual medium, but eventually I discovered the most interesting find on the "site" a bouquet composed of bean caper plants (Zygophyllum dumosum). The Whangers had noticed that there were images of flowers and leaves on that part of the shroud, but had not identified the species. It was after I discovered the images of both summer and young winter leaves of Zygophyllum dumosum that I became interested in ascertaining that the provenance of the shroud was the Holy Land. During rainy winters this species sprouts leaves whose petioles look like sausages with two leaflets at their head. When summer comes, the leaflets drop and only the petiole is left. The petioles shrink slowly during the summer, only to fill out and grow new leaves again with the arrival of winter. The only species of Zygophyllum that exhibits this behavior is Zygophyllum dumosum, whose petioles survive for up to three years. A bouquet of rock rose, which I had noted along with the crown chrysanthemum in 1995, appears on the right cheek of the human profile on the shroud. Dr. Frei had placed his adhesive tape No. 6bd at that spot and actually found some grains of rock rose pollen long before anyone had discovered images of the plant on the shroud. The fact that the existence of this plants image on the shroud has been demonstrated by two independent botanical methods proves beyond a reasonable doubt that plants of this species were placed on the shroud at one time. In 1973, some clerics in Turin had asked police crime expert Dr. Max Frei to examine the shroud with a microscope and to apply to it the method he had developed to study crimes, for the purpose of determining its origins. Among the flax fibers of which the shroud is made, Frei found dust particles, parts of plants, and grains of pollen. He placed strips of transparent adhesive tape on the shroud, folding them after taking the samples in order to prevent contamination. An expert on the flora of central Europe, Frei had trouble identifying the pollen. He made several trips to Israel to collect plant samples from the Jerusalem and Dead Sea areas: with their help he succeeded in identifying twenty-five species of plants whose pollen he had found on the shroud. The Whangers alternative method of identification confirmed Freis findings. Dr. Frei collected hundreds of pollen grains from the shroud, but he died in 1982 before he could finish examining and publishing all of his findings. Part of his collection was studied by the American Paul Maloney, who found hundreds of pollen grains on the adhesive tapes. On tape No. 4bd, for example, no less than forty-five shreds of plant parts were found, including a whole anther full of pollen. Maloney is not a botanist, but he managed to record tens of pollen grains on microscopic photographs. Today his collection is kept in a vault in the care of the Whangers, and his findings are being documented using the latest microscopic methods. I collected samples from Israel of the pollen of all twenty-eight species identified on the shroud so that they could be compared to the grains on Freis adhesive tapes. In addition, I gathered samples of related species belonging to the same genus or family, to be used in cases of doubt concerning the identification of the plants. I hope that Dr. Uri Baruch, an expert on the pollen of Israel and the surrounding area who has joined our research team, will help us reveal the secrets of the pollen grains on the shroud. I also checked the distribution pattern in Israel of the plants that had already been identified on the shroud. In my database on local plant distribution (designed by Barak Danin), data is organized in topographical squares of five kilometers to a side. The database includes more than ninety thousand units of information, including the names of the plants and the squares in which they appear. I asked Barak to correlate twenty-six of the species whose imprints were found on the shroud with the plant lists on the various squares superimposed on the country. At first we analyzed squares of 5 km to a side; later we combined four such squares to form squares of 10 km to a side, and then squares of 20 km to a side. We discovered that there is one square of 10 km to a side that contains 70% of the species we were seeking and is located midway between Jerusalem and Jericho. Another check determined that five of the 5-km-sided-squares containing twenty-seven out of the twenty-eight species are in the Jerusalem area: one includes the villages of Aminadav and Mevo Beitar, two include the eastern and western sections of Jerusalem, another includes the village of Kfar Adumim, and the last includes the ruins of Qumran. Other combinations of squares will be examined in the future. As far as establishing the shrouds provenance, Zygophyllum dumosum is the most significant plant on the list. Max Frei identified pollen grains of this species on the adhesive tapes he examined. The northernmost extent of the

distribution of this plant in the world coincides with the line between Jericho and the sea level marker on the road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. As Zygophyllum dumosum grows only in Israel, Jordan, and Sinai, its appearance helps to definitively limit the shrouds place of origin. The fact that the images of winter leaves appear on the shroud together with the previous years petioles indicates that the plant was picked in spring. This conclusion is reinforced by the state of growth of the other plants whose images are to be found on the shroud. Research on the Shroud of Turin is far from over, and the identity of the man it once enfolded remains unresolved. I hope, however, that the comprehensive study of the pollen and plant images on the shroud leads us to full agreement at least about where it originated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------IN HIS OWN IMAGE The best explanation for the appearance of the plant images on the Shroud of Turin is the one proffered by physics teacher Oswald Schewermann, who noticed the images on it in 1983 and conducted many unpublished experiments on the phenomenon of coronal discharge, which involves the discharge of radiation from a surface charged with static electricity. Flat objects like leaves lose electrons on their edges when they touch cloth, for instance, forming a dark line that follows the contours of the points of contact. The images are sharply defined where the body touched the cloth and fuzzy where it did not. (See the chrysanthemum image above, produced by Schewermann.) The Whangers discovered images of other objects on the shroud as well, including a nail, a hammer, a broom, a rope reminiscent of ropes found in Nahal Heimar whose ages are estimated at eight to nine thousand years, a round wreath of thorns, a reed, and a sponge. The reed and the sponge recall the description of the crucifixion in the New Testament: "And one [bystander] ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink" (Mark 15:36) (http://www.shroud.com/danin.htm) Introduction - Part 2 The shroud is wrapped in red silk and kept in a silver chest in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy since 1578. The shroud is unquestionably old. Its history is known from the year 1357, when it surfaced in the tiny village of Lirey, France. Until recent reports from San Antonio, most of the scientific world accepted the findings of carbon dating carried out in 1988. The results said the shroud dated back to 1260-1390, and thus is much too new to be Jesus' burial linen.

The following image shows the This body position is based on interpretation shroud. COPYRIGHT 1931 GIUSEPPE

most likely position in which Jesus died. of the blood stains contained in the

ENRIE

This frontal image (above) shows the forearms, wrist, and hands. There appears to be a large puncture wound on the wrist. This is significant because if nails were placed through the palms of the hand, this would not provide sufficient support to hold the body to the cross and tearing of the hands would occur. Only if the nails were placed through the wrists would this provide sufficient support to hold the body fixed to the cross. We can also see a large blood stain and elliptical wound on the person's right side (remember, in a negative imprint left and right are reversed). From studying the size and shape of this wound and historical records, we can deduce that this wound could have been caused by a Roman Lancea. This lance is pictured in Slide 13. In addition, by measuring the angle of dried blood on the wrist, one can reconstruct the angle at which this person hung from the cross. He mainly hung from a position 65 degrees from the horizontal. But there is another angle of dried blood at 55 degrees. This shows that this person tried to lift himself up by 10 degrees. Why? Medical studies show that if a person just hangs from a position of 65 degrees in would start to suffocate very quickly. Only if he could lift himself up by about 10 degrees would he be able to breathe. Thus he would have to raise himself up by this 10 degrees by pushing down on his feet which would have to have been fixed to the cross. He would then become exhausted and fall down again to the 65 degree position. Thus, he would continue to shift from these two agonizing positions throughout crucifixion.

That is why the executioners of crucifixion would break the legs of their victims to speed up death. If they could not lift themselves up to breathe, they would suffocate very quickly.