I think it is highly improbable. The Bible manages without pictures or images of any of its characters, which sets it apart from many other early religions. So the last thing we might expect would be a “picture” of Jesus. A word picture is in Is 53:2 “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”
Despite years of “intense debate by theologians” (Wikipedia), even if we could really know whether the shroud was actually genuine, I doubt very much that it would prove anything to anyone one way or the other.
Look at what the Catholic Encyclopedia says about the shroud. ** you do not have permission to see this link **. Catholic leadership, not being fools, make no bones about the fact that the shroud is probably a fake. I find their last comment most persuasive:
“Lastly, the difficulty must be noticed that while the witnesses of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries speak of the image as being then so vivid that the blood seemed freshly shed, it is now darkened and hardly recognizable without minute attention. On the supposition that this is an authentic relic dating from the year A.D. 30, why should it have retained its brilliance through countless journeys and changes of climate for fifteen centuries, and then in four centuries more have become almost invisible? On the other hand if it be a fabrication of the fifteenth century this is exactly what we should expect.”
Wraparound distortion is another issue. The face on the shroud looks like a picture. If it had been made by wrapping around Jesus’ head, it would look more like a Mercator projection map with the ears 5 or 6 inches on either side of the nose.
Also, The Bible says that a head cloth, sudarium or “napkin” either covered his face or was wrapped around his head, depending on how big it was. “He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” John 20:6-7. If any natural process created the image on the shroud, the image of Jesus’ head would have formed on the sudarium wrapped around his head. Unless this unknown natural process could form an image through the sudarium, the image on the shroud should be missing its head.
Lawyerskeptic said
Look at what the Catholic Encyclopedia says about the shroud. ** you do not have permission to see this link **. Catholic leadership, not being fools, make no bones about the fact that the shroud is probably a fake. I find their last comment most persuasive:“Lastly, the difficulty must be noticed that while the witnesses of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries speak of the image as being then so vivid that the blood seemed freshly shed, it is now darkened and hardly recognizable without minute attention. On the supposition that this is an authentic relic dating from the year A.D. 30, why should it have retained its brilliance through countless journeys and changes of climate for fifteen centuries, and then in four centuries more have become almost invisible? On the other hand if it be a fabrication of the fifteenth century this is exactly what we should expect.”
Wraparound distortion is another issue. The face on the shroud looks like a picture. If it had been made by wrapping around Jesus’ head, it would look more like a Mercator projection map with the ears 5 or 6 inches on either side of the nose.
Also, The Bible says that a head cloth, sudarium or “napkin” either covered his face or was wrapped around his head, depending on how big it was. “He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” John 20:6-7. If any natural process created the image on the shroud, the image of Jesus’ head would have formed on the sudarium wrapped around his head. Unless this unknown natural process could form an image through the sudarium, the image on the shroud should be missing its head.
Excellent
Nothing, at all, ties it to Jesus. There’s an interesting site dedicated to it The more recent “repiars” have probably made it impossible to work with.
** you do not have permission to see this link **
Judith said
Why would anyone fear the Bible is true unless he/she is not a believer and thinks there’s a chance of ending up in Hell? Those two parables tell us how welcomed we’ll be when returning to God. Please do not bring up Hitler!
I wasn’t going to, anyway you are right I’m not a christian
ask21771 said
how did the image get on the shroud
THAT is the $64000000 question. No one knows or at least no one can prove how it happened, but I would point out, there is absolutely NOTHING connecting it with events in Jerusalem around the year 30. IF we go ahead and assume it was Jesus burial cloth, how do we then account for the passage in John that Lawyer Skeptic pointed out?
BTW I am guessing you used to be a Christian, hence the fear about the shroud’s authenticity
ask21771 said
has there been any theory about how the image got on the shroud that hasn’t been debunked
It might be a question of how we want to take the word, debunked. I suspect that, at times, it is a judgment about insufficient evidence. However, it is all probably a moot point after the Catholics recently “repaired” it.
ask21771 said
I mean what explanations for the shrouds image have not been ruled out
Adherents can add new propositions faster than science can rule them out. But it is clear that its origin should be dated to the European Medieval Age, in which there was a rich production of relics.
spiker said
Gav:
Yea, but this relic seems to stand out in terms of craftsmanship etc, but you are spot on with the dating- so far.
I think it stands out in terms of motif. It is no less than a imprint of the Son, elsewhere unheard of in history and so has a very strong emotional appeal. Most relics are indirect objects, like splinters of the cross, or nails applied in the crucifixion or more remote things like bone fragments of ancient saints. But then there is the Spear of Destiny from Vienna. Science says it is an early medieval age relic product with a possible ancient iron nail at its core. But because of its almost equally strong emotional appeal it continues to drive forth New Age cranks and conspiracy theorists.
BDEhrman
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