Shroud of Turin

Shroud of Turin

Introduction:

Millions of words have been written about the remarkable cloth preserved at Turin. More recently, most of these writings dealt with one basic question, was it the actual winding sheet of the crucified Christ, bearing an imprint of His body? Or was the whole thing a gigantic hoax? A fantastic forgery of the Middle Ages? Erudite men have lined up on both sides of that compelling query. Some of the facts about the Holy Shroud have something to do with the presence of human blood and other strong evidences of its authenticity, it intensified man's curiosity. The researcher himself was also puzzled and came up with this study. In the words of John Walsh, "the facts here have always been available in newspapers, books, documents and human memory, but they have been difficult to gather. I have sought them, off and on, for four years, finally visiting Europe in the search. But I have not set them down here in any effort to convince. Indeed, the reader must come to his own conclusion."(Walsh 1963, p: 1.) Being open minded to both parties the pros and cons plays an important part in conducting this research paper, as what authors Pickenett and Prince said " Undertaking this study with a completely open mind, being equally ready to affirm that the shroud was absurd fraud, or to recognize its authenticity, but gradually forced to agree, on every single point that its markings were exact."(Picknett & Prince 2000, p:5.). Thus, it was a test for scientist and experts to show how these evidences support the possibilities of its authenticity.

Statement of the problem

The purpose of this paper is twofold. It aims to excavate some of the evidences that supports the authenticity of the Holy Shroud of Turin sp...

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...only to the individual who invests the time and effort to discover them. God purposely hides himself and is found by those who indicate more than just a casual or occasional interest. The same holds true for the Shroud. It is the message that matters and the message of the Shroud is the message of the Gospel. As the researcher it is faith that makes one a true believer. In conducting a research paper an individual must be systematic and true to his work. That is the basic thing to do. In the words of John Walsh, "Only this much certain: The Shroud of Turin is either the most awesome and instructive relic of Jesus Christ in existence showing in its dark simplicity how He appeared to men or it is one of the most ingenious, most unbelievably clever, products of the human mind and hand on record. It is one or the other, there is no middle ground." (Walsh 1963, p: 171.)