Continuing from part 1, this is part 2 of Rev. Albert Russel `Kim” Dreisbach Jr. (1934-2006)'s "overwhelming preponderance of evidence" in favor of the Shroud's authenticity. See part 1 for information about this series. Continued in part 3. My comments are in bold.
FROM: The Atlanta International Center for Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turin (AICCSST)
Atlanta, Georgia
CONTACT PERSON: The Rev. Albert R., Dreisbach, Jr., Executive Director (404) 344-8982 349-0001RE: C-14 Dating of the Shroud of Turin
With the recent announcement of a "medieval" date for the Shroud of Turin, it has become increasingly obvious that the issue of whether the Shroud is a "fact" or a "forgery" is too important an issue to be left to the specialist, let alone to the radiocarbon community. Specialization by its very nature produces "experts" in one field who are simultaneously "novices" in many others. Even the most gifted cardiologist is weighed in the balances and found wanting when put to the test regarding his knowledge and competence in the field of astrophysics. In the case of the Shroud, competence in C-14 dating does not extend to omniscience as to how the image was formed or the knowledge and skills unknown to a "medieval forger" necessary for the creation of such an artifact. To paraphrase one of the scientists involved in the initial 1978 investigation. "It would be more miraculous to accept this Shroud as a medieval forgery than to accept it for what it has traditionally claimed to be - the burial linen which wrapped the historical Jesus of Nazareth."
While not impugning the competence of the three laboratories involved in the recent C-14 testing, one should be very cautious before accepting their "results" as the "final word" regarding the Shroud's true date. Even though science is unlikely to acknowledge the possible effects of radiation from the "Resurrection" in skewing the date of the Shroud to a later period than the first century, the possibility of radiation should be considered in both the present context and any further dating via radiocarbon. To date, no consideration has been given to possible contamination via radiation in any of the sites where the Shroud has resided during the course of its historical journeys from Palestine through Turkey and France to its present resting place in Italy. Geophysicists might be able to throw some light on this area, but to date their expertise neither has been considered nor sought. What might a geiger counter tell us about radiation if it were to be employed on sites where the Shroud travelled and/or on the very materials from which the churches which have housed it were constructed?
Granting that all empirical tests which have or will be done on the Shroud have great value within their own spheres, what is painfully lacking in this piecemeal approach is a global synthesis whose meaning is infinitely more significant than mere analysis of individual sub fields. By analogy, one does not judge the worth of a human being by assigning him or her the monetary value of the chemicals and minerals which make up that person, no matter how accurate the chemical analysis may have been. How then are we to judge the present controversy regarding Turin's Shroud? On the one hand, we have a piece of "evidence" strongly suggesting that it is "medieval". On the other, various scientists with credentials of equal competence in their own respective fields have declared:
- the somatic imprints are a perfect negative which, if medieval, would have been achieved centuries before the invention of photography in 18(?)[1820s];
- these imprints contain within themselves a 3-dimensional code, which when developed by space-age instrumentation like the VP-8 Image Analyzer, yield a life-size figure in three dimensions. Even knowing this fact, no modern day artist has been able to replicate this phenomenon;
- the imprints are those of the corpse in rigor mortis of a real human being who was scourged, crowned with a cap of thorns, crucified with nails, and wounded by a spear of the same dimensions as a 1st century Roman pilum [sic lancea];
- pollens from different localities (i.e. Palestine, the Anatolean steppe in Turkey, Constantinople, France and Italy) have been discovered on the Shroud. Furthermore, none of these pollens is covered with a collagen binder or pigment as would be the case if the image had been produced as a painting;
- there are traces of human blood exudate on the Shroud;- a clear difference has been shewn between the blood from wounds while the person was still alive from what that which seeped from the post-mortem wound inflicted on the right side. In addition, hematologists have been able to discern both venous and arterial blood from these wounds [discovered by Willam Harvey in 1628];
-6- - there are no retouchings of any kind which could have enhanced an earlier faint negative imprint. There is no evidence of paint, dye, pigment, or acid. Rather the image was formed by degradation, dehydration of only the surface fibrils of the linen itself.·
- the best of 20th century technology has attempted to replicate the image and has failed miserably to come even close;
- the coin over the right eye of the Man of the Shroud has been identified as a Pontius Pilate lepton or "widow's mite" dating from A.D. 29-32. Would a "medieval" forger likely have thought of such a minute detail?;
- travertine aragonite, a rare form of calcite matching the spectral properties of the same mineral found near the cave tombs of Jerusalem's Damascus Gate is most abundant [albeit microscopic] in the area of the image's feet. Again, how do the advocates "medieval" forgery account for such a detail years before the invention of the microscope? [around 1620]
If one honestly and openly considers all of the empirical data known to date about the Shroud, the burden of proof ends up being the responsibility of those who would argue against its authenticity. As a matter of fact, future testing may well cast doubt on the ACCURACY of the C-14 testing rather than the AUTHENTICITY of the Shroud.
When one body of scientific data conflicts with another, it is the responsibility of the larger scientific community to investigate the dispute and resolve same via exhaustive analysis and peer review. The ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER strongly recommends such a procedure and is confident that if same is effected it will be the Shroud which tests the analytic competence of the present C-14 "results" rather than the other way around. The controversy will continue to rage; but while it does those with openness and honesty are cautioned to avoid a "rush to judgment" - a judgement which is not only premature, but may well be proven to be inaccurate.
A TIME TO SING A NEW SONG BY THE BANKS OF THE RIVER CHEBAR
(This part of Dreisbach's "Preponderance of Evidence" was in Shroud News, No 51, February 1989, pp.5-11 (https://www.shroud.com/pdfs/sn051Feb89.pdf)
With the announcement of the C-14 date as "medieval", those of us who continue to believe in the Shroud's authenticity suddenly find ourselves being called by God to be "tested" once again in the crucible of public opinion and personal spiritual integrity. In a sense, we are being exiled from our lofty position over the past decade as "proclaimers of the Shroud's authenticity." Opponents will dance with glee convinced that they were right and many fellow Christians will label us as perpetuators of a fraud. We can expect to be hounded by our detractors and shunned by some whom we thought were our friends.
In the divine economy, new birth always exacts the price of pain; the Exodus preceded the gift of the Promised Land; the Babylonian exile came before the return to Israel, and the building of the Temple; Good Friday had to be endured before Easter could joyfully be proclaimed. In each of these milestone events in the unfolding of the spiritual pilgrimage of the people of God, His servants have been called upon to experience "a dark night of the soul." My brothers and sisters, that time has come for those of us who serve the Apostolate of the Holy Shroud. Over what has happened, we have no control. How we respond to it is a test of our own spiritual maturity. Expose three different substances to fire: a wood shaving will be consumed and disappear; wax will melt and take on a new shape; but an iron filing will be tempered and emerge even stronger than it was before such an ordeal. The choice is ours. Those who choose to become tempered like the iron filing will determine the future of sindonology and the restoration of the Holy: Shroud to its rightful place as "God's love letter in linen for all mankind", as the most significant visual aid for Christians to employ in teaching their own about the Passion, Death and Resurrection of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Like the prophet Ezekiel, we are being called by God to assure our hearers of the abiding presence of God among us during this time of trial and exile on the stage of world opinion. Though we do not know the divine rationale for the present set of circumstances, our task is to continue to proclaim the Shroud's authenticity so that the faithful "will know that I {i.e. He whose sacred Image appears on the Holy Shroud) am the Lord." The latter refrain occurs numerous times throughout the Book of Ezekiel; and its theological truth is as valid for today's Shroud Crowd as it was for 6th century B.C. Israelites during their Babylonian captivity. We too are being called to "sing a new song" on the banks of the River Chebar even though 20th century tears of disappointment may temporarily blind us from discerning God's plan for the "restoration" of the Shroud's authenticity in the eyes of the world. Even in exile, God promised:·"I will not hide my face any·more from them, when I pour my Spirit upon the house of Israel" (Ezek. 39:29). Even as the disciples hid in fear on Good Friday believing that they had followed a false Messiah, their faith was to be restored on Easter morning when an empty tomb with its seemingly empty linen shroud proclaimed. the fullness of Resurrection power. One of the clues to that Event of all events was the cloth, which remains with us to this day locked securely in its silver casket in Turin's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The same Holy Scripture which describes the flattened/collapsed presence of that Shroud in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb also proclaims: "For it is God ... who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Cor 4:6).
God not only has preserved the Shroud since that first Easter morning nearly two thousand years ago; but He has also provided us with a preponderance of evidence - both from the hard sciences and numerous other academic disciplines - which argues for the authenticity of Turin's·burial linen. Since 1898 when Pia took his first photograph, researchers from fields as diverse as archaeology to iconography have provided layer after layer of substantiating evidence which, until the recent "medieval" (sic)- announcement, has displayed the "luster" of a pearl of great price. Churchmen have had their faith deepened through contact with the Shroud, appreciating as never before both the details of the Passion and a graphic vividness of what it means to be told "that by His stripes you are healed" (I Pet 2:24). The Shroud has forced doubters to question their very doubt, bringing even some of them into full-time ordained ministry as I have witnessed with my own eyes. In addition to its value for Christian Education and low level Evangelism to the rational empiricist skeptics of our day, it also serves as a marvelous bridge for Ecumenicity just as its historical travels have exposed it to the Greek Orthodox, then the Roman Catholics, and now the multifaceted Protestant community. Even the scientists in the three laboratories who now tell us that it is "medieval" all agree that it is not a painting; furthermore, they have stated that the method of its "image formation" still remains unknown - a mystery. Even Dr. Richard Luckett of Cambridge University's Magdalene College who contends that it is "medieval" concludes that the image results from a real human being who was crucified exactly in the manner of the historical Jesus of Nazareth.
It is not the purpose of this sermon/paper to provide a laundry list of all the facts which comprise the totality of the PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE - scientific and otherwise - which argues for the Shroud's authenticity. To do so would require a tome the size of an encyclopedia merely to provide a synopsis of these "facts" together with the briefest of bibliographies supporting same. Where would such a list begin and end? ... With the unique 3-dimensional quality of a 2-dimensional photograph? With the total absence of pigment, ink dye or stain? The lack of brush stroke, directionality, or capillary flow? The fact that the Face of the Shroud has 170 points of congruence with an encaustic icon at Mount Sinai of Jesus' "portrait" painted between 550 and 590 A. D. given the fact; that modern day criminologists require, only 45 to 60 such points of similarity for a positive match? Would a cloth manufactured in the 14th century bear a preponderance of pollens from Israel and the Anatolian steppes if it were of European origin? Would a forger be clever enough to paint a full
image of a body in the "negative" 400 years before the invention of photography? And even if he had, would he have employed two different methods of image formation - positive for the blood and negative for the body image - in a single work? And even if a real body were employed as claimed by Dr. Luckett, would a medieval forger have ever thought of adding dirt to the feet - dirt which Dr. Joseph Kohlbeck of the Hercules Aerospace Laboratory at Salt Lake City has determined to be travertine aragonite - a rare variety of calcite that matches the spectrum of the travertine aragonite from the cave tombs near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem?
On and on such a list could go, and yet we all know that in the unreflective minds of the general public the alleged "medieval" C-14 date is likely to be the most dominant factor in determining that the Shroud is a "fake." Subtleties in the violation of the original C-14 protocol by the three laboratories involved, suspected collusion regarding the newly-developed cleansing mechanism employed by all three, even the site of the samples taken - from an exposed edge most likely to have picked up the greatest degree of contaminants through the ages - will not be considered at all by the general public in its rush to affirm the findings of a C-14 dating process which they do not begin to understand.
What then are we to do, we who continue to know both in our hearts and in our heads that the Shroud of Turin is the authentic burial linen of Jesus of Nazareth? Like Ezekiel, we must preach hope even while in exile; like Peter, we must be bold in our proclamation even when opposed by the contemporary C-14 "rulers" of the moment. At Pentecost, the Big Fisherman, in the face of the scoffers of his day, saw fit to quote David:
"I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at myShortly thereafter, preaching at the Temple after a miraculous release from prison where he had been placed by the High Priest together with the council and all the senate of Israel, Peter and the apostles continued to proclaim their "naive" and unpopular Gospel, justifying their actions by stating: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 6:29). Among those present that day was a wise man, a Pharisee and teacher of the law "held in honor by all the people," the very teacher of an early persecutor of the Church named Saul of Tarsus who was to become one of its greatest promotors following his own conversion on the Road to Damascus. This man's name was Gamaliel. With a wisdom which only God can provide, he addressed the crowd that wanted to kill Peter and his companions and uttered the following truth:
right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.
For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades,
nor let thy Holy One see corruption.
Thou has made known to me the ways of life,
thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence." (Ps 16:8-11)
"Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men ...With historical hindsight, we now know that Gamaliel was correct. Peter and Christianity were vindicated by God; and the Church in which we worship this day stands as a testimony to the truth of Gamaliel's insight. God took ordinary men and woman like us today who hold the Shroud to be authentic, and, with them, accomplished extraordinary things. The biblical theme for this vindication of the faithful has deep roots, God slew the Midianites, but Gideon was chosen to be the "vehicle" for their defeat. Joshua and Caleb went out against the Anakim - the "giants" of the land - but Jericho fell to "the little people" who trusted in God, A youthful David brought down a colossal opponent in Goliath because he also had been chosen for the task." Brothers and sisters, the same biblical scenario exists at the present moment, and, mirabile dictu , we in the Shroud Crowd have been chosen to battle the "giants" of the C-14 community - not because we are "holy" or deserving in any way, but simply so that God's truth may be proclaimed to all the world through us. If the erudition of our membership is greater than that of the public whom we seek to convince of the Shroud's authenticity, let us ever be on guard against the sin of academic pride by keeping constantly before us the godly truth that "unto whom much is given, much is required" (Lk 12:48).
For if this plan or undertaking is of men, it will fail;
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them,
You might even be found opposing God!" (Acts 5:35 & 38-39).
On an evening in 1978. during a Labor Day weekend chosen for STURP's "dry run", members of STURP gathered in at the Amity Church in Amston, Connecticut, for a parish supper and a worship service. During the course of same, the pastor, the Rev. Joey O'Brien, delivered a prophecy in which the team was told that someday it would be permitted to be involved in a "second" round of testing - a round which would produce even more marvellous results than they would obtain from their 1978 testing. The time for that "second round" is NOW. Despite all the delays and disappointments in the intervening years, STURP is again being invited by the Lord to share His "table fellowship" in Turin. The amazing traces of His Body and Blood, already consecrated and glorified by God, will again be made available to the scientific community for further study. I have no doubt that once again "the last shall be first" - that is to say that STURP's new discoveries will add weight to the ever-growing PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE revealed by God to overcome public credulity at having too facilely accepted the fallacious C-14 results labelling the Shroud as "medieval" (sic).
While we gird our loins to launch a "laboratory counterattack" to vindicate the Shroud's authenticity, we must remember that EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE does not automatically guarantee PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE of that PEER-REVIEWED TRUTH We have only to recall the name of Galileo to remind ourselves of this reality Scientific journals and other Shroud publications may well serve to win the MINDS of the dedicated few; but FACTS ALONE are insufficient to claim the HEARTS of the many. Whether it be a Dr Albert Einstein or a Bishop John A.T. Robinson, pioneers by definition must go through a period of waiting before the territory which they have discovered becomes a safe and settled community for those who follow. In truth, more people have become "converted" to the Shroud's authenticity via lectures, exhibits, movies and TV productions than have been impacted by the sum total of all the carefully researched papers and books written on the subject. The vast majority of people are unwilling to sacrifice the time and effort to do their own "homework", preferring instead to feed upon the predigested "chewings" of others.
To those with an empirical bent, the above reality often means little. "Truth is Truth", and if the myopia of the public cannot perceive and acknowledge same, then it is their problem. While this argument is valid on a strictly EMPIRICAL basis, it does not do justice to either the EXISTENTIAL or the TELEOLOGICAL dimensions of the problem. Though the pure scientist may rightfully limit him or herself to the question, "What is the nature and/or what are the components of that which we have been asked to analyze?", theologians are trained to ask questions which go beyond the limits or competence of the laboratory, i.e. What does it mean? What is God's purpose in making this artifact available to us? Why, of all the experts in all the world in my field of specialization have I been chosen to be part of this unique team given access to the Shroud?
Though those not professing Christianity are under no obligation to pose such questions, the Christian who is a scientist, scholar, cleric or informed lay person is duty bound to reflect upon such implications. For them, God is Lord of all, the Creator and Ruler of the universe and He has created nothing without purpose. One cannot worship Him in the sanctuary and simultaneously abandon any consideration of Hirn in the laboratory or the library. To do so would be guilty of theological schizophrenia - a split personality which acknowledges His Transcendence while simultaneously denying His concrete Immanence in the world which He has fashioned. Christianity is the most "material" of all the world's religions - most supremely so in the Incarnation, the Word made flesh.
For those of us who are champions of the Shroud's·authenticity, we would do well to consider GOD'S PURPOSE for us at this moment in history. On October·the 16th [1988], The Times of London ran an extensive editorial on the implications of C-14 dating entitled "Testing Faiths" The last paragraph contained the following pregnant insight:
"AN AUTHENTIC TURIN SHROUD IS TOO AMAZING AN OBJECT TO HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE TOMB BY ACCIDENT, PERCHANCE TO BE FOUND AND KEPT, PERCHANCE TO HAVE SURVIVED UNTIL SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS COULD REACH A POINT WHERE IT COULD UNLOCK THE SECRET. IT IS ALMOST AS IF GOD HAD CALCULATED THAT SOME 2,000 YEARS AHEAD SCIENCE WOULD HAVE REPLACED THEOLOGY AS THE COMMONLY ACCEPTED ARBITER OF TRUTH, AND PLANNED ACCORDINGLY"All I would care to add to this profound insight is to extend the final sentence by including, "BY LEAVING THE APPROPRIATE CLUES." In so doing, God has given each of us the same opportunity as Peter and John to see the burial garments of the historical Jesus of Nazareth (John 20:6-7). But, as both the Gospel of John and the late Bishop John A.T. Robinson make abundantly clear, such a vision brings with it no special blessing (Jn. 20:29), rather· special responsibility (Jn. 17:18-21). A careful reading of Holy Scripture will enlighten us to the fact that with every post-Resurrection "appearance" there is also a concomitant "commission to mission." That "mission" for professed Christians in the Shroud Crowd is to "lift Him up so that all may be drawn unto to Him" ..., to get "beyond the linen to the Lord" ... to proceed beyond learning "facts" about Him to the exercise of concrete service in His name. No matter how many marvellous "facts" are revealed to us in our continuing investigations, they can easily become nothing more than "religious erudition in pious garb"·unless they lead to a deepening of the student's own faith reflected in concern for and service to those for whom the Man of the Shroud came to save - the dispossessed, the poor, the victims of injustice, the neglected and all the others for whom He lived, died and rose again. Beyond any secrets which it may contain, the latter is the real MESSAGE and·MISSION of the Shroud - the PURPOSE for which God has preserved it, and the sacred OBLIGATION of those of us few who are privileged to make the discoveries which are then displayed for the public.
ADDENDUM:
A PLEA TO STURP, ASSIST, THE HOLY SHROUD GUILD, SHROUD SPECTRUM INTERNATIONAL, FRIENDS OF THE SHROUD NEWSLETTER and all others interested in promoting the cause of the Shroud of Turin ... THE NEED TO "RESURRECT" THE TURIN SHROUD EXHIBIT AS A WITNESS TO THE SHROUD'S AUTHENTICITY ACCESSABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC DURINC A PERIOD WHEN IT "SEEMINGLY" HAS FALLEN FROM GRACE.For background see "Shroud memorabilia in need of a home," South Florida Sun Sentinel, August 22, 1987.
His Eminence, Anastasio Cardinal Ballestrero, the current Archbishop of Turin, has astutely observed:
"Unlike theology, signs and symbols affect men and women directly. We need such signs and symbols, particularly in our times when images have become the medium for most messages. Signs and symbols that evoke our faith and strengthen our hope cannot and must not be excluded. This is why we humbly turn to the shroud, a 'sign' of our faith and hope in Christ." (The Cathedral of Turin and the Shroud. (trans. Fr. Peter M. Rinaldi). Turin; Privately published by the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 1985.The good Cardinal, like the Chinese centuries ago, has proclaimed the ancient truth that A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. TRUTH in a vacuum may still be TRUTH, but until it is made manifest and appropriated by the many, it remains a "light hidden under a bushel" known only to a privileged few. Admittedly and unashamedly, I would contend that this was not God's intention in providing and preserving it for nearly 2,000 years. Rather, it is a PRECIOUS GIFT to be SHARED - not a "possession" of the "privileged few" whose scientific and academic skills (i.e. "talents or "gifts" which are also God-given) qualify them to be granted the honor of assisting in unlocking its mysteries.
With such privilege comes inherent responsibility. A careful reading of the New Testament accounts of post-Resurrection "appearances" will lead one to the insight that with each such revelation there is a concomitant commission to share this Good News with His disciples first and eventually with all mankind.
Is it by chance that God chose to leave us a "photograph of the Resurrection" - the one event of Jesus' earthly life to which there were no human witnesses? (Note: Even at the Annunciation/Incarnation, Mary was a human witness) Is it by chance that in 1898 it was photography which was responsible for the initial "scientific" study of Turin's Holy Shroud? Is it by chance that the Brooks ·Institute was chosen to record every step in the historic investigation of 1978? For those with theological insight, the answer to each of these questions must be a ringing No! God knew before man discovered same that photography has the ability to "capture a moment of time" ... to "freeze" it if you would so that such a moment can be "savored, studied and, in a sense, "re-lived" at a future moment in time. Thus, from a theological perspective and with the benefit of hindsight, we can now literally "see" that God has left us with a "photographic record" of the ONE EVENT IN OUR LORD'S LIFE to which there was no human witness.
In leaving this "Fifth Gospel", God has provided us with a "witness" from the past which interprets the present and points us to the future. The Shroud's markings confirm all of the Old Testament's prophecies pointing to the Messiah; they continue even at this present moment to serve as "evidence" demanding a verdict from the heart and soul (i.e. "Who do you say that I am? - just a crucified carpenter or the Christ of God?"),· and, if we are to be faithful to the spiritual Truth which the linen provides, a commission to mission to direct our efforts to "lifting Him up that all men may be drawn unto Him.")
Certainly, the TURIN SHROUD EXHIBIT is "one" of the very best ways available to us to insure that the Man of the Shroud is "lifted up" for study by the general public. We have only to recall the effect it has already had from 1982-1987 before it was confined to a warehouse by an exorbitant increase in rent proposed by the CNN CENTER. Furthermore, we also know of the tremendous number of people world-wide who have been touched by such exhibits from Australia to Hong Kong to the Philippines to Belgium, France and Italy. Most recently, more than 100,000 people came to see Rex Morgan's travelling exhibit at the Calgary Stampede in June of this year. Surely at a time when the Shroud's authenticity is under severe attack on the stage of world opinion, we here in the United States should be concerned that "the largest and most extensive permanent exhibit .on the Shroud of Turin" lies gathering dust in storage and is thus unavailable to the public.
I would both plead and pray that those responsible for raising funds for future sindonological research consider the possibility of allocating some of that revenue, to insure that the TURIN SHROUD EXHIBIT is again available for public viewing. Not only is the EXHIBIT "an outward and visible sign" of the case for the Shroud's authenticity; but it further serves as a vehicle for "the inward and spiritual grace" which underlies its divine purpose. While continuing research seeks to cast new light upon the Shroud, the EXHIBIT provides a means for the Shroud to shine its own Light on the hearts and minds of the public.
Carefully restructured, the EXHIBIT can serve both as an APOLOGIST and as an ADVOCATE for the Shroud's authenticity. It could be sequenced so that the first "evidence" presented to the viewer would be the alleged C-14 dating claiming it to be "medieval" (sic). Having acknowledged this "argument" at the very beginning of the tour, the visitor would then be asked to honestly and open-mindedly consider the PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE to the contrary. As stated in the fly leaf of the EXHIBIT'S souvenir booklet, the viewer would be asked to "APPROACH THE SHROUD WITH THE OBJECTIVITY OF A SCIENTIST, THE IMAGINATIVE PERCEPTION OF A DETECTIVE, AND THE CURIOSITY OF A CHILD." Hopefully, as we have witnessed recently with the movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ", the very controversy over the validity of the C-14 dating results will serve to boost attendance. In the process, people can be reminded that even 20th century technology can "goof" as was the case with the horrible tragedy of the. "Challenger" which blew up before the very eyes of a national TV audience. As NASA did not disband in the wake of this tragic set-back, so those scientists and other scholars who have been involved in Shroud research must continue to press on in their own respective fields of expertise.
In one sense, the Shroud needs no apologetic; for it is self-authenticating. However, the mind of the general public is not always so quick to grasp such profound reality. Be it politics or products, "packaging" and "promotion" often have more effect than the quality of the product which is being boosted. We in the Shroud Crowd have such a "quality product" but we have often been guilty of failing to market it properly to insure maximum sales. Like many a main line church, we smugly live under the delusion that the quality of the product is such that anyone with real discernment will end up on our doorstep seeking to get on the rolls. Such denominations shun emotional evangelism with its simplistic theology as beneath both their intellect and their dignity. But one has only to look at the decline in members over the past decade of these "traditional" denominations to The words are missing in the rest this section of Joe Marino's copy of Dreisbach "Preponderance of Evidence". If anyone has a copy with the missing words, please provide them in a comment below this post.
Continued in part 3 of this series.
Notes:
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to extract or quote from any part of it (but not the whole post), provided the extract or quote includes a reference citing my name, its title, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
Posted 10 December 2023. Updated 29 December 2023.
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