I've found this a source of inspiration for many years, but I know that opinion is quite divided on the subject. Please share you thoughts on the Shroud, whether emotional or purely scientific.
4 comments
Comments (4)
Commenting on this post isn't available anymore. Contact the site owner for more info.
The Shroud was condemned as a fake by the Church when it was first exhibited in the 14th century, but
one striking fact, in particular, causes me to question this. The nail holes are in the wrist, not in hands, as depicted in all religious art, following the gospels, which refer to 'hands'. If you were a forger, why would you do this and seriously risk your painstaking artefact being rejected?
I've checked every Gospel and it simply says "they crucified him." John 20:25-27... (and let's not let the irony of the fact that Thomas was doubting escape us), mentions hands. Anybody in medicine knows the hands and wrists are so closely related that it is sometimes difficult to determine simply from a description if proximal metacarpal or carpal bones were operated on. Usually the nail was driven between carpal and ulna. And that begs the question: wrist or forearm? The Greek word can mean any of these, hand most often, but wrist or forearm also (according to Grok 🫢). I know. I code records for a living so I'm no stranger to the ambiguity. The Human hand is intricate, amazing, and quite frankly the art of the Almighty in its most impressive form.
Bottom line if people are looking for a reason to doubt, they'll find it, and if they're looking for a reason to believe, they'll find it. I always found it interesting that God came down after Michael contended with the Adversary over Moses' bones, and buried the old man His Almighty self. I think there is a clear warning in Scripture about the power of icons. Indeed, isn't the war over icons the whole reason the West and East divided.... I know I oversimplified that. That's all I got from my studies before my ADD found a squirrel to chase I'm sure.
Interestingly enough: I found the Greek word Eikon in my study of Collossians regarding Jesus... the true and perfect image of God, quite fascinating...
Yes, and the Latin for wrist is 'la prima palmae pars', 'the first part of the palm', suggesting that the wrist was seen in those days as part of the hand. And what we also now know is that nails in what we call the 'hand' could not hold the weight of the body; something the Romans knew, but which medieval people did not.
My main point, however, would be that a medieval forger would not risk his (alleged) relic being rejected by the church by going against centuries of artistic tradition.
I have filed it under the category of things I cannot prove or disprove and that will not make or break my faith. It does not appear that anyone is harmed by believing in it. It seems to me that a great many of my former neo-pentecostal friends were obsessed with uncovering and condemning lies. I loved Richard Wurmbrand's perspective on the necessity and purpose of lies in this fallen world. Hell is one such lie. How many wicked men are turned aside from a path of destruction by a fear of hell? The Shroud of Turin is a sacred relic: beautiful fabric or fabrication? Only God knows.
The Shroud was condemned as a fake by the Church when it was first exhibited in the 14th century, but
one striking fact, in particular, causes me to question this. The nail holes are in the wrist, not in hands, as depicted in all religious art, following the gospels, which refer to 'hands'. If you were a forger, why would you do this and seriously risk your painstaking artefact being rejected?
I have filed it under the category of things I cannot prove or disprove and that will not make or break my faith. It does not appear that anyone is harmed by believing in it. It seems to me that a great many of my former neo-pentecostal friends were obsessed with uncovering and condemning lies. I loved Richard Wurmbrand's perspective on the necessity and purpose of lies in this fallen world. Hell is one such lie. How many wicked men are turned aside from a path of destruction by a fear of hell? The Shroud of Turin is a sacred relic: beautiful fabric or fabrication? Only God knows.