Sunday, March 31, 2013

EASTER SUNDAY AND “THE RESURRECTION OF THE SHROUD”

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A joyous Easter Sunday to you all! This is the holiest day of the year. I will go to church, I will not purchase so much as a stick of gum (I conduct no commerce whatsoever on Christmas and Easter), I’ll read from The Bible, contemplate the meaning of what was accomplished on this day about 2,000 years ago, and I will spend time with my family. I will eat a chocolate bunny and drink a glass of wine (because I turned 21 last Summer) and I will utter no curses at these Airheadzonans on this one day only. How’s that for a proper Easter Day?
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"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
~ Jesus
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For those with open minds, I am posting below a YouTube video and an article that is currently available at WorldNetDaily pertaining to The Shroud Of Turin. I have read a lot of publications and watched a few documentaties about this artifact over the years, and while my faith in Christ hardly hinges upon the authenticity of The Shroud, I am convinced that the evidence leads to it being the genuine cloth that the body of Jesus was wrapped in following His crucifixion and from which He arose at the time of His resurrection. It’s an astounding religious relic that deserves serious consideration. Watch and Read on, Brothers and Sisters.
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There are a few details in this video that I have to question, but otherwise it’s on-target:
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PROOF THAT THE SHROUD OF TURIN IS THE BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS CHRIST!
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Experiments Prove Sacred Christian Relic In Turin Dates Back To Christ
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By Garth Kant
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A new book on a scientific analysis of the Shroud of Turin confirms what WND reported more than a year ago – the relic is not a medieval forgery. The latest tests date the shroud to between 300 BC and 400 AD.
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The results of the tests are documented in the book “Il Mistero della Sindone” or The Mystery of the Shroud, written by Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurement at Italy’s Padua University, and Saverio Gaeta, a journalist.
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Scientists measured radiation intensity using infra-red light and spectroscopy to analyze the shroud, which is kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin, Italy.
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Fanti said the imprint was caused by a blast of “exceptional radiation.” 
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That is essentially what WND reported in Decemeber 2011, that the imprint on the shroud was likely caused by a burst of ultraviolet light that was beyond the technical capabilities of medieval forgers. That finding is also remarkably similar to the fictional explanation WND staff reporter Jerome R. Corsi provided in his 2010 novel on the Shroud of Turin, “The Shroud Codex.”
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In 2011, Corsi told WND, “What the Italian scientists are saying is that the image was created on the shroud in a burst of energy that Christian believers would understand as physical proof of the Resurrection.”
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And, in 2010, Corsi had reported in WND that scientists were building the case that the Turin image was created by radiation that emanated from the body itself, a theory remarkably supportive of the traditional resurrection account that is central to Christian theology.
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A scientific paper co-authored by attorney and historian Mark Antonacci and physicist Arthur Lind argued that the shroud image might constitute what amounts to a photograph taken at the instant Jesus’ body transformed as he rose from the dead.
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Scientists had been unable to explain the image of a bearded man’s body with wounds in the wrist, feet and chest on a 14-foot linen cloth. Many Christians believe it the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. 
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WND reported in 2011 that experts from Italy’s National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development found, “The double image (front and back) of a scourged and crucified man, barely visible on the linen cloth of the Shroud of Turin, has many physical and chemical characteristics that are so particular that the staining … is impossible to obtain in a laboratory.”
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Experiments in 1988 by laboratories in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona indicated the shroud dated back to only 1260 to 1390, suggesting it was a fake. But, as WND reported, those findings were suspect.
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In 2005, a scientific paper by chemist Ray Rogers of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, a member of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project, argued the samples taken from the shroud in 1988 for the radiocarbon dating were contaminated by medieval reweaving.
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He argued that after a fire in 1532 nearly destroyed the shroud, French Poor Clare nuns repaired the shroud by adding 16 burn patches and stitching to the back of the shroud a reinforcing cloth that is known as the Holland cloth.
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The nuns were able to repair the edges of the shroud by expertly reweaving with cotton much of the damage the fire did to the shroud’s original linen cloth.
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Rogers was able to detect under a microscope the reweaving because the cotton had been dyed to match the linen, and the fibers could be distinguished in the reweaving at the edges of the shroud because linen is resistant to dye, while cotton is not.
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Rogers’ change of heart made an impact on the Shroud of Turin research community worldwide, largely because immediately after the results of the 1988 radiocarbon dating were made public, he was an outspoken leading voice among critics charging the shroud was a medieval forgery.
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The shroud will be on display on Italian television Saturday, the day before Easter. Pope Francis has recorded a voice-over introduction.
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The designated “pontifical custodian of the shroud”, Archbishop of Turin Cesare Nosiglia, said, “It will be a message of intense spiritual scope, charged with positivity, which will help (people) never to lose hope,” and, “The display of the shroud on a day as special as Holy Saturday means that it represents a very important testimony to the Passion and the resurrection of the Lord.”
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An app sanctioned by the Catholic Church called “Shroud 2.0″ will let users see details in the shroud invisible to the naked eye.
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“For the first time in history the most detailed image of the shroud ever achieved becomes available to the whole world, thanks to a streaming system which allows a close-up view of the cloth. Each detail of the cloth can be magnified and visualized in a way which would otherwise not be possible,” said Nosiglia.
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You can also examine the shroud in close detail at shroud.com. 
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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19 comments:

  1. Replace * wit* * OK?
    Study my Letter on Diana@P*ilosop*yinaction.com.
    Jesuits are "T*e Society of Jesus"?Cat*olics ,etc., are taug*t t*at C*rist's name was Jesus?
    C*rist's name WASN'T Jesus.
    T*e Cat*olic Religion is a False "religion".
    T*e Cat*olic C*urc* is a Fake "c*urc*".
    Francis ISN'T t*e new "pope".
    None of t*e people in t*e Bible said t*e t*ings t*ey're quoted as saying. None of t*em ever spoke in Englis*. Englis* didn't even exist back t*en.
    T*e 3rd nail proves t*at C*rist COULDN'T *ave been crucified- somebody else was on t*e cross, so t*e S*roud of Turin COULDN'T *ave been C*rist's.
    A REAL GOD wouldn't *ave done w*at t*e so-called "god" of t*e Bible did.
    I no longer want, or need, a "vicar".
    (To find my Letter, try searc*ing for Crazy Inbox 6498.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LEROY MATT*EWS ~
      I thank you for the very informative comment and also for getting the "H" outta here!

      I agree with you entirely: Just say "No!" to H's.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    2. Englis* didn't even exist back t*en

      S*it!

      So T*AT'S w*y t*e Mass was in Latin w*en I was a yewt?!

      Mig*t explain all the fuss over t*e King James translation of that book...

      Delete
    3. W*at you meant to say was:

      Mig*t explain all t*e fuss over t*e King James translation of t*at book...

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  2. Well this just seems to conflict with your last post...now I don't know WHAT to believe!

    But I must consider the fact that it sounds like ou are about to eat a 2,000 year-old chocolate bunny...and have something against gum.

    LC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DISCCONNECTED ~
      I haven't heard from you here in so long that I was beginning to suspect you were boycotting my blog for some mysterious reason.

      Well, your assessment is correct in every detail:

      Aged chocolate is the best (the older the better), and what this country most needs today is gum control.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  3. When I was young my parents took me to this seminar that was put on by a leading expert in the history of the shroud, and he was talking about its authenticity and showed a lot of pictures of it along with his findings on why it was authentic. It was interesting. It stayed with me, even for being 20 years ago. This is a great video with a lot of great evidence, and ultimately, whether the shroud is real or not, it doesn't make Jesus any less or more real. But it'd be pretty amazing if we had the shroud that covered His body.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BEER BOY BRYAN (3-B) ~
      Yes, for you and for me, it's ultimately not important whether or not The Shroud Of Turin is the authentic burial cloth of Christ. I find the topic intensely interesting, thus all the books and articles I've read on it. But it's not The Shroud that makes my faith real; there's plenty of solid evidence for the Life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus even without The Shroud.

      That does not mean, however, that I think The Shroud is unimportant. God has utilized various methods in bringing His children to Him. For some it is supernatural spiritual experiences that turn them to God and Christ; others find God simply by studying His Word (The Holy Bible); and still others find God through books not BY God but ABOUT God, such as 'More Than A Carpenter'; 'The Case For Christ'; 'Evidence For Faith', etc.

      But The Shroud Of Turin can also bring people to God. For example, of the books I've read on the subject, my favorite is 'The Resurrection Of The Shroud' written by the lawyer Mark Antonacci (who was mentioned in the WND article I posted above). In the Preface of his 2000 book he wrote:

      "I was definitely a committed agnostic". He tells of a day he went to lunch, bought "a particular newspaper for the only time in my life". Inside the paper was an article about The Shroud. He kept trying to avoid reading it, but his eyes continued to land on the photograph of the Face on The Shroud.

      Finally he said, "All right, I'll read the !*$#?% article". That article started him on a long and serious investigation into The Shroud, and the evidence of The Shroud's authenticity turned Antonacci into a Christian.

      So, for those of us who are already convinced of Christ, The Shroud is fascinating but not essential. But some unbelievers can find The Son Of God through that astounding cloth. Pretty neat, eh?

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  4. What a difference a few decades make. I have no doubt that most, if not all miracles will eventually be proven. Interesting video and website.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's like the reverse of Darwin's theory: The more science develops, the more authentic The Shroud appears to be; and yet the more science develops, the more impossible Darwinian Evolution appears to be.

      Gotta love science!

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete

  5. Stephen,
    ya know, I don't know where Leroy is coming from. I just when I thought I was crazy.

    Br'er Marc

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I *ear ya, *omeboy.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  6. I agree with you about the more science develops, the more evolution fails to explain. I'm glad to see the video on the Shroud. Like you, I don't need it for my faith, but having archaeological finds to point to help with sharing about the Bible. Especially the more people who don't go to church as a child and don't know the Sunday school lessons and have to be shown. This was a good post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, JUDY!

      Yes, evolution is false (a fairytale for grown-ups) and can be shown to be false in multiple ways. The only people who still believe in evolution are people who absolutely, willfully refuse to accept God as their Master.

      And I am quite convinced that The Shroud Of Turin is the authentic article - the true burial cloth of Christ. But even if it isn't, that doesn't alter my belief in God one iota.

      Thanks for the comment, my friend.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  7. Hi Stephen,
    I am here via Arlees Page, Good to be here. Lot of good things to read. I am saving it to read it at a later stage as a to z challenge is going on. Good Wishes
    Keep in touch
    I am
    Philip Ariel @ Philipscom
    An ambassador to A to Z Challenge @ Tina's Life is Good
    And My Bio-blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PVA ~
      Thanks for the comment.

      I actually "remember" you. Some time ago, maybe a year, I came across some comment(s) you'd left - on my friend Arlee Bird's blog, I think - and I followed your comment to your blog.

      Are you a Christian living in Israel or somewhere else in the Middle East? That's what this old dog's vague memory seems to recall about you. I also remember being impressed by you. (Did I leave a comment on one of your blog installments? I seem to think I did, or maybe I just considered doing so but didn't quite follow through on that impulse.)

      Anyway, thanks for stopping by, and I will check out (or, re-check out) your blog as soon as time permits.

      Bless And Be Blessed.

      ~ Stephen

      Delete
  8. From LeRoy Matthews:

    You really should Study the Information I put out. Sorry about the missing H- the keyboard I was using had a broken letter H.

    One thing about being a Christian- we believe in obeying the Commandment "Thou shalt not lie. " Real Christians don't insist that, for example, Christ's name was Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, shua.

      But I'm not a "Christian".

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete

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