Thursday, March 7, 2019

Accetta, August, Turin Shroud Encyclopedia

Turin Shroud Encyclopedia
Copyright © Stephen E. Jones
[1]

Accetta, August #4

This is "Accetta, August," part #4 of my new Turin Shroud Encyclopedia. For information about this series, see part #1 and part #2. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated.

[Index #1] [Previous: Abgar VIII #3] [Next: acheiropoietos #5]


Accetta, August August David Accetta (c. 1959-), M.D., is (or was) a urogynecologist and

[Right (enlarge)[2]: Dr August Accetta and the full-size replica of the Shroud at his The Shroud Center of Southern California, in Silverado, California. See 14May07 (my CED blog), 09Oct07, 29Oct07, 10Oct08, 11Jun16, 20Apr17]

cosmetic surgeon living and practicing in Huntington Beach, California.

He is not to be confused with Joseph S. Accetta who was a member of STURP but is an anti-authenticist.

August Accetta was raised a Roman Catholic but in medical school became an agnostic. He married an evangelical protestant and became a protestant but later returned to the Roman Catholic church.

Accetta's becoming a Christian began with his interest in the medical evidence for the Shroud. In 1992 Accetta heard a radio talk by Dr. Alan Whanger (1930-2017), a professor emeritus at Duke University and chief researcher for the Council for Study of the Shroud of Turin. Accetta met with Whanger and began to collect information on the Shroud.

In 1996 Accetta founded the Shroud of Turin Center of Southern California in Huntington Beach in 1996, relocating to Fountain Valley Californian in 2002. It now is in the Santiago Retreat Center in Silverado, California. [Left (enlarge)[3].] The Center has a museum and research facility dedicated to the scientific study of the Shroud.

Accetta has written four research papers in support of the Shroud's authenticity, journeyed to Turin to view the Shroud and injected himself with radioactive dye to test his theory of how the Shroud image was formed.

[Right (enlarge): Nuclear radiation image of Dr. August Accetta[4]. The projections are due to technetium-99m concentrating in the internal organs. The hole and V-shape over the pelvis is due to a protective shield over the genitals.]

Dr Accetta injected into his own veins a solution of methylene-diphosphonate, containing radioactive technetium-99m, a radioisotope with a short half life. The radiation from the technetium atoms produced gamma rays, which could be detected by the VP8 Image Analyzer Computer. Dr Accetta produced an image on the VP8 computer similar, but with less definition, than the Shroud image.

Accetta’s theory is that at the moment of Jesus’ resurrection, His body in the tomb turned to light [sic - see 23Jun15, 05Sep16, 22Dec16 & 05Feb17], emitting a radiance that created a head-to-toe likeness of Jesus on the Shroud.

As evidence for his radiation theory, Accetta points to the New Testament accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mt 17:1–8; Mk 9:2–8, Lk 9:28–36; 2Pet 1:16–18). It was a moment in Jesus’ life when his body turned briefly into light, and Accetta says it may have foreshadowed what happened in His resurrection.

Ian Wilson listed the similarities between Accetta's above radiation experiment's results and the Shroud:

"First, it was conclusively demonstrated that a full-body radiation image could be produced by this means, without the application of any paints or dyes, which replicated all the Shroud image's monochromatic characteristics. Second, the image had the same collimated, or straight-up, straight-down character as that of the Shroud's imprint, though in fairness it should be said that a collimator in the set-up ensured this, since otherwise the radiation would have spilled out at all sides. Third, apart from its being slightly more distinct against its background, the image had the same lack of outline as that on the Shroud. Fourth, the image shared the Shroud's otherwise seemingly unique lack of any light focus. Fifth, the Shroud's X-ray properties were strikingly replicated, spectacularly in the case of the hands, in which the metacarpal bones and phalange or finger bones could clearly be distinguished with a most compelling similarity to these same bones on the Shroud. Sixth, when viewed via the VP-8 Image Analyzer, Accetta's body exhibited the same three-dimensional properties as that on the Shroud imprint, the limbs being particularly similar."

This is strong evidence (if not proof beyond reasonable doubt) that the Man on the Shroud is Jesus, His image having been imprinted on the Shroud by the light of His resurrection! [see 22Dec11].

To be continued in the next part #5 of this series.

Notes
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to quote from any part of this post (but not the whole post), provided it includes a reference citing my name, its subject heading, its date and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
2. "Shining a light on the Shroud of Turin," Orange County Register, September 6, 2007. [return]
3. "Shroud Center: Santiago Retreat Center," 2019. [return]
4. Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.131. [return]

Posted 7 March 2019. Updated 13 September 2023.

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