Frequently asked questions about the shroud.
Frequently asked questions about the shroud.
A list of frequently asked questions below, some with short answer, some being long but all will be qualified as much as possible.
This is actuall the primary reason used by many to reject the authenticity of the Shroud. However, the 1988 carbon-dating results are not conclusive for the age of the Shroud in its entirety.
Why It Is Now Considered Inconclusive
Subsequent studies have raised major issues:
Sampling Problem (Most Common Criticism) The single sample came from one corner of the Shroud. Multiple peer-reviewed analyses (including by STURP chemist Raymond Rogers and others) suggest this area may have been part of a medieval repair or "invisible reweaving" (using newer threads to patch damage). Chemical differences (cotton fibers, dyes, and coatings present in the sample but not in the main body of the Shroud) support this. LINK
Statistical Issues
2019 peer-reviewed study in Archaeometry (using raw data released after a legal request) found the results from the three labs were heterogeneous (not consistent enough to combine). The data lacked homogeneity, seriously affecting the reliability of the 1260–1390 range. LINK
Other statistical re-analyses (e.g., Walsh & Schwalbe, 2020) reached similar conclusions.
Recent Alternative Dating Techniques such as Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) and mechanical/chemical tests have dated the Shroud to around the 1st century AD, aligning with the time of Jesus. HERE
The resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stands as one of the best-attested events in ancient history, accepted by millions for nearly two thousand years. The wealth of eyewitness testimony and early historical records makes it difficult for honest scholars to simply dismiss.
A Testamony of love everlasting
John 15:13 [NKJV]
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
The Shroud of Turin, also pushed to the limits of validity and unfailing in its account, remains a profound monument to God’s love — visible proof of His willingness to give humanity the greatest gift imaginable: eternal life by grace through faith. In its mysterious image we behold the receipt of the ultimate price paid on the cross. By the blood Christ shed and through His glorious resurrection, our sins are fully forgiven and we gain access to the everlasting grace of a holy and almighty God.
One of the best and most simplified ways to describe the shroud, is to view it as a receipt for the bill that needed to be paid. The sins of the world have come at cost, the Messiah came to pay that bill in full and this is the itemized evidence for that payment. Christ dying for the sins of the world, isn't just a story written on paper, but a story imprinted as a visual reminder that sin comes at a price, a price that He was willing to pay for each and everyone of us.
The Sin-Bearing Messiah
Isaiah 53 [nkjv] - written 700 to 740 years prior to the crucifiction.
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [a]form or [b]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [c]beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and [d]rejected by men,
A Man of [e]sorrows and acquainted with [f]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4Surely He has borne our [g]griefs
And carried our [h]sorrows;
Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,
[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes[m] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from [o]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And [p]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Have you heard the good news? Its nice when someone says those words to you, you know you are about to hear something uplifting.
Well, that is what the Gospel literally translates to as, the 'Good News', from the Old English word 'godspel'.
When Jesus announced His three and a half year ministry, He unrolled the scroll of Isaiah in his hometown synagogue and He began to read what we now know as Isaiah 61:1–2. [chapters and verses did not exist as we have them today]
Isaiah 61:1–2
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Jesus came to save us from the bondage of death and eternal separation from God [The God head or Trinty as we mostly regard it].
Essentially, He came to pay the price for all our wrongs that we have done and lead us back to the Kingdom of God.
We are all fallen and need a saviour, this is the biblical message from the book of Genesis to Revelation.
Here is the express message that Jesus of Nazareth preached:
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Greek word, seen as Perish in English, is apollumi, it literally means to be ruined, destroyed, or lost
Jesus said to a curious Jewish leader, Nicodemus, that wanted to know more about His [Jesus'] mission. Jesus was the one who coined this following remarkable phrase:
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again[born from above can be used here also, as in, born from the Holy Spirit which comes from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The Words of the Messiah Himself, as written in the gospel of John, chapter 3
The Messiah calls for us to be born from above, in English translations it states, 'born again' but the use of 'born from above' makes more sense:
John 3:6
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
We need to be born of something that comes down from heaven in order to be able to go back up to heaven, we need to have our spirit revived in someway. Jesus said that He will go up to the Father and then He will send the Holy Spirit down to indwell those who believe and make new our connection with heaven a new. Its not so much to be reborn, but to be born of the Holy Spirit.
John 3:13
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Jesus [of Nazareth] explicity states that belief in Him is enough to receive that gift of imperishable, eternal life:
John 3:15
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Here is more on the term 'Born Again' and what the greek word actually means. For a well laid out and detailed understanding, please watch this below video.
As long as you have considered the cost and believe in the Messiah, Son of God, sent down from heave to pay your sin debt in full and believe it with all of your heart...
Luke 14:28
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Romans 10:9
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
What then happens is that you will receive the Holy Spirit [Acts 2:3], who will lead you into all truth. At this stage, you have given access to your mind, to your body and to your heart by divine council. You will experience reconcilliation with the things of God, you will be all about the things of God.
Reach out to me on the below email or telegram.