© Stephen E. Jones[1]
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This is the August 2019 issue of my Shroud of Turin News. I have listed below linked news article(s) about the Shroud in August as a service to readers, without necessarily endorsing any of them. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated. My words are bold to distinguish them from the articles'.
News:
• "The Turin Shroud: Evidence for Everything," Patheos, 1 August 2019, Fr. Dwight Longenecker: "Over at Imaginative Conservative an article of mine surfaced from my pilgrimage to Italy in 2015 to venerate the Shroud of Turin [Right]. In the article I outline some of the well known discoveries and some of the more recent, and go on to speculate about how the Shroud of Turin is the evidence that so many atheist[s] demand ... Why is this evidence for everything? Because the materialist worldview is based on the belief that the natural world is a closed system. It is a closed system because there is not other force greater than that system outside the system which could intervene and interrupt that closed system. There is certainly not external intelligent force to do so. For the materialist the system MUST be closed. This is the weakness of the materialist point of view. All it takes is one miracle to break their fragile worldview. Just one miracle means that the system is not closed, but open to outside forces that can intervene and interrupt that system. If the miracle is consistent with the rest of our body of knowledge, if it is rational ... and if it makes sense with the rest of our proposals about reality, then the materialist edifice must crumble. There is enough evidence about the shroud (for those who will examine it with an open mind) to bring one to the point of saying, `Here is evidence of a miracle' and if that, then much else must follow." As I wrote in my first post to this my blog:
"I created this blog because I have become increasingly interested in the Shroud as empirical evidence that
Christianity is true and therefore that Naturalism (i.e. the philosophy that nature is all there is = there is no supernatural = there is no God, which dominates science and our secular Western society generally), is false."• "The Shroud of Turin: Latest Study Deepens Mystery," National Catholic Register, 5 August 2019, K.V. Turley:"A new French-Italian study on the Shroud of Turin throws doubt on what many thought was the definitive dating of the cloth believed by millions to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ ... This news comes as no surprise to Russ Breault [Left (original)[2].], the president of the Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc. `It is amazing that it took a Freedom of Information request to finally get the raw data from the British Museum, who oversaw the 1988 dating tests,' he told the Register. `The decision not to publish all the data in Nature was no doubt so they could achieve the coveted `95% confidence' regarding the medieval date.' Casabianca's team found that the 1988 carbon dating was unreliable, as only pieces from the edges of the cloth were radiocarbon tested ... `There is no guarantee that all these samples, taken from one end of the shroud, are representative of the whole fabric. It is, therefore, impossible to conclude that the Shroud of Turin dates from the Middle Ages' ... Doubts persist elsewhere, too, about the methodology and findings of the 1988 study. David Rolfe
[Right[3].] ... explains how all the controls, initially put in place for the 1988 tests, that the scientists might proceed in a rigorously scientific manner, were disregarded. Rolfe thinks that ... `For reasons of their own self-interest, the individuals supervising the test and those running the labs ... glossed over the abandonment of the protocols, as they needed to give the impression of accuracy and infallibility of the new method.' When the 1988 findings were published, Rolfe says: `No one was prepared to challenge the weight and might of the combined authority of the British Museum and Oxford ... Breault told the Register, `Usually when something is revealed only under duress it is because there is something to hide ... `Politically the Church does not want to be viewed as anti-science. Hence, the shroud is often referred to as a "symbol of Christ's suffering, worthy of veneration."' ... To call the shroud a `relic' would imply it is authentic, whereas to call it an `icon' is to suggest that it is manmade ..." I have previously criticised the Vatican's duplicity in refusing to confirm or deny that the Shroud is authentic, i.e. a relic, not an icon. When by its spending of many millions of US dollar equivalents in protecting and exhibiting the Shroud, the Vatican shows that it really does think the Shroud is Jesus' very burial sheet. See 06Oct13, 26Nov13, 14Feb14, 01Mar14 ...
• "Conference aims to push the boundaries of faith and science in study of the Shroud of Turin," The Catholic Register, 6 August 2019, Mickey Conlon: "In R. Gary Chiang's mind there is no argument over the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin — science has already proven the existence of the supernatural. `Science has already solved the mystery, but people will not accept the answer,' said Chiang [Left[4]], a professor at Redeemer College, a Christian university in Ancaster, Ont., where he pursues research and teaching from a Christian perspective as well as insect physiology."
• "Get to know the Shroud of Turin’s companion cloth," Aleteia John Burger, 10 August 2019. "Less celebrated but more often viewed is Spain's Sudarium. The Shroud of Turin was in the news again recently ... An object that gets much less attention, though, is equally interesting. And for many believers, there is far less doubt surrounding the Sudarium of Oviedo, as it is known. `It was preserved
[Above (enlarge)[5]: The Sudarium of Oviedo. Why would anyone bother to preserve from Christianity's earliest centuries such an ordinary, grubby, blood and lung fluid stained, piece of linen, unless it was known to be "the face cloth [Gk. soudarion] that had been on Jesus' head" (Jn 20:7)?!]
from the time of the crucifixion in a reliquary; however, the [Shroud and the Sudarium] were separated — eventually being carried to other countries,' blogger Kathy Schiffer writes in the National Catholic Register. According to Schiffer, the Sudarium never went missing, so its location can be traced back to ancient times ... Since 631, it has been in Spain and since 840 in the cathedral of Oviedo in north-central Spain. Before that it was ... hidden in a cave ... not far from Jerusalem. When Persian forces invaded the Byzantine provinces in 614, the oak case in which the Sudarium was kept was spirited out of Palestine through northern Africa ... Study of the Sudarium helps to authenticate the Shroud of Turin, Schiffer notes, because of notable similarities between the two cloths. `Of prime importance, the blood and lymph stains on the two cloths match — both are type AB, which was uncommon among medieval Europeans but is a common blood type in the Middle East,' she say ... Pollen residues on the Shroud and the Sudarium both provide evidence that the cloths were in the same region of Palestine. Stains on the two cloths would also seem to match.
[Above (enlarge)[6]: Perfect match of bloodstains on the Sudarium of Oviedo (which has been in Spain since at least AD 840) and the Shroud, proving that they once covered the head of the same crucifixion victim - Jesus!]
Because of the way the Sudarium would have covered the head, there is no clear face print — but there are remarkable correlations between stains on the two cloths. The Sudarium would have been wrapped over the head of Christ while his relatives waited for permission to remove the body; and so the stains show that the body was held in a vertical position with the head dropping back. At the back of the head, the cloth shows blood from deep puncture wounds, similar to the wounds on the Shroud of Turin, which may have been made by the crown of thorns. A second, overlaying stain was produced by fluids excreted from the nostrils when the body was lain horizontally. According to the Investigation Team from the Spanish Centre for Sind[on]ology, which has been studying the Sudarium since 1989, this second set of stains is composed of one part AB-type blood and six parts oedemal fluid. This fluid proves, according to scientists, that the victim died from asphyxiation — which is the cause of death for people who are crucified ... The Sudarium is kept in the Arca Santa in the Oviedo cathedral ..."
• "`Perhaps the most important isotope': how carbon-14 revolutionised science," The Guardian, 11 August 2019, Robin McKie: "The discovery that carbon atoms act as a marker of time of death transformed everything from biochemistry to oceanography – but the breakthrough nearly didn't happen ... Later, the technique was used by laboratories in
[Above (original): "A photographic reproduction of the Turin shroud." The photo contradicts the article! Res ipsa loquitur (L. "it speaks for itself")!]
Britain, Switzerland and the United States to date the flax used to weave the Turin shroud. This cloth, marked with the negative image of a bearded man, was believed by some to be the burial shroud in which Jesus was wrapped after crucifixion. Using only a few fragments of cloth, scientists dated it to 1260-1390AD."
• "Open Letter to Pope Francis: Time to Re-Test the Shroud," Townhall, 11 August 2019, Myra Kahn Adams: "... Your Holiness, Significant momentum is building for decisive action that will positively impact your church, all Christ-centered denominations, and the world. It’s time for 21st-century scientific testing on the Shroud of Turin. Only you can authorize what will be a universally applauded decision that could also enhance your papal legacy. Why should the Shroud be tested now? Articles from three international Catholic news sources provide the answer. National Catholic Register, August 5: `The Shroud of Turin Latest Study Deepens Mystery.' (Subhead: `Researchers cast doubt on the findings of the controversial 1988 study.') Inside the Vatican, June/July issue (re-published from La Stampa newspaper): `The Shroud Is Not Medieval. We Need New Studies to Know Its Age.' Aleteia, July 22: `New data questions finding that Shroud of Turin was medieval hoax.' (Subhead: `Specialists hope to re-test the artifact which some believe to be an authentic relic of Christ's crucifixion.') The Aleteia article immediately followed my July 21, U.S.-based Townhall piece, `Shroud of Turin: New Test Concludes 1988 "Medieval Hoax" Dating Was a Fraud.' ... " I am opposed to the Shroud being re-carbon dated because: 1) It would probably not date 1st century, but early century (e.g. 4th century), because of irremovable carbon contamination, and then sceptics would claim that the Shroud was forged in the 4th century! 2) We have more than enough evidence that the Shroud is Jesus' burial sheet. 3) Radiocarbon dating of old linen is problematic. 4) We could not guarantee that the carbon dating would be conducted honestly as it would still be done by secular scientists who are mostly opposed to Christianity and there would be a powerful vested interest to save face.
• "Is the Shroud of Turin authentic? Or is it a forgery?," Creation.com, 16 August 2019, Matthew Cserhati & Rob Carter: "Figure 1: The Shroud of Turin contains a faint dorsal (top half) and frontal (lower half) image of a man, with many features paralleling the Crucifixion. Yet, the historical record of the Shroud is spotty, multiple features on it conflict with the biblical record of events, and carbon dating places it squarely in the medieval era." I am responding to this article in a multi-post series, "`Is the Shroud of Turin authentic? Or is it a forgery?' #1" As I noted in my original reply comment:"It is strange that a
Young Earth Creation publication would attack the Shroud, since: 1) it has nothing directly to do with creation; 2) it is evidence for the resurrection of Jesus (which is evidence that Christianity and therefore creation is true); 3) it would turn off many of its creationist readers who believe that the Shroud is authentic ...; and 4) it sides with atheist/agnostics like Richard Dawkins on an issue, carbon dating, that Young Earth Creationist normally reject"!• "The Atheist Filmmaker and the Shroud of Turin," National Catholic Register," 24 August 2019: "David Rolfe is today one of the foremost British experts on the Turin Shroud. He is also one the most enthusiastic proponents of the Shroud's authenticity. That mysterious cloth has not only become part of his life: it changed it. In 1976, Rolfe was working as an independent documentary filmmaker in London. He invited film proposals and then found himself swamped with responses. They were `mostly,' he says `very uninspiring.' However, having invited the submissions, he felt under obligation to look through the correspondence he was receiving. One summer evening in his office overlooking the rooftops of Soho, the London district that is the center of the British film industry, he remembers yet again reaching for the pile of submissions. As he lifted up a sheaf of paper a picture tumbled out. The picture was of the photographic negative of the face on the Turin Shroud. `I had never seen it before or even been aware of the Shroud's existence,' he says. Then he noticed that there was an additional picture. It was of the body that is on both sides of the Shroud. Notes accompanied the pictures from an historian, Ian Wilson. Wilson was to author the later groundbreaking book: The Turin Shroud (1978). This work sparked interest and debate about the Shroud in the English-speaking world as never before. Wilson's then notes to the filmmaker began to detail what he claimed to be the Shroud's history as well as documenting the new research into the Shroud, both archaeological and scientific. Rolfe knew none of this. He was an atheist. Unmoved by any of the religious implications of the images at which he was looking, he says what struck him was `that this negative image was on a 4-metre linen cloth at least as old as the Middle Ages.' ... The documentary filmmaker was suddenly engaged: he felt `there had to be a story worth investigating here!' ... During these `advent-ures' Rolfe says he `found God.' He had been baptized an Anglican and returned to the faith of his parents. His finished film was to be called The Silent Witness (1978) [Right (enlarge)[7].]. It would go on to win a BAFTA and many other international film awards ..."
Editorial
Posts: In August I blogged only 1 new post: "4 June 1989: On this day 30 years ago in the radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud," - 3rd.
Updates In August, from memory, there were no significant updates in the background of my past posts.
Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud. In August, as can be seen above, I blogged only 1 post on this topic.
My book: [see 02Sep19] In August I continued writing in Word, Chapter 3, "The man on the Shroud" and in parallel also in Word, "Problems of the Forgery Theory."
[Left (enlarge): The planned cover of my book.]
I recently read in an old news article, which I hadn't saved, so I may not have known it, that, "The next public viewing [of the Shroud] is scheduled for 2025"[8]. That now is my target date to publish my book. It will also be my last chance (I will be 79 - "If the Lord wills ..." James 4:15!) to see the Shroud for the first time. As I mentioned at the end of a previous post:
"Also, with the end of this series, I want to start a new series: `Turin Shroud: the Evidence,' which will supersede my unfinished series, `The Shroud of Turin.' This will also help me write my book by covering topics in advance of it."But only today I realised that I needed to continue with my "Chronology of the Turin Shroud" series, which I last posted on 14Jan19! So that will probably be my next post.
Pageviews: At midnight on 31 August, Google Analytics [Below (enlarge)] gave this blog's "Pageviews all time history" as 1,093,684.
This compares with 940,492 at the same time in August 2018. That is 153,192 pageviews over the year, or an average of ~420 pageviews per day.
Google Analytics also gave the most viewed posts for August (highest uppermost) as: "Problems of the Turin Shroud forgery theory: Index A-F," Jan 20, 2016 - 116; "Re: Shroud blood ... types as AB ... aged blood always types as AB, so the significance of this ... is unclear," Mar 18, 2011 - 114; "Shroud name index `J'," Apr 1, 2008 - 78; "Casabianca, T., et al., 2019, `Radiocarbon Dating of the Turin Shroud: New Evidence from Raw Data,' Archaeometry, 22 March" May 29, 2019 - 51 & "Problems of the Turin Shroud forgery theory: Index G-M ," Apr 2, 2016 - 51.
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]
2. "Russ Breault: The Mystery of the Shroud," Shroud of Turin Education Project, Inc, 2019. [return]
3. "The Shroud of Turin ... A Grave Injustice," David Rolfe, Beaconsfield UK, 2019. [return]
4. "Dr. Gary Chiang," Redeemer University, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, 2019. [return]
5. Schiffer, K., 2019, "The Sudarium of Oviedo: The `Other Shroud' of Jesus," National Catholic Register, 18 April. [return]
6. Bennett, J., 2001, "Sacred Blood, Sacred Image," Ignatius Press: San Francisco CA, p.122. [return]
7. "Amazon.com: The Silent Witness: Various, David W Rolfe: Movies & TV," 14 January 2005 [return]
8. "Shroud of Turin on display for the first time in five years," Telegraph, 21 April 2015, Teresa Machan. [return]
Posted: 16 September 2019. Updated: 11 October 2021.
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