The Shroud of Turin

The question:

Is the D.N.A. of God actually on the "Shroud of Turin"?...J.R.

The reply:

What does the Bible say?

The pieces of cloth used to cover the crucified body of Jesus Christ in the tomb are mentioned in the gospel of John, chapter 20:6-8

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

What is the Shroud?

Jesus' burial shroud would have been a fairly long single piece of white linen, and of course its appearance would have made quite an impact on Christians. Indeed, a number of reported sightings of "the Shroud" occurred in the centuries following Christ's resurrection, until it first appeared in a church in Lirey, France in the 1350's. It came to the attention of the world in 1389 when Bishop Pierre d'Arcis wrote a letter to Pope Clement VII accusing the leaders of his neighbouring church of:

"...falsely and deceitfully, being consumed with the passion of avarice and not from any motive of devotion but only of gain, procured for their church a certain cloth cunningly painted, upon which by clever sleight of hand was depicted the twofold image of one man, that is to say the back and front, they falsely declaring and pretending that this was the actual Shroud in which our Savior Jesus Christ was enfolded in the tomb."

The controversy had begun, and has raged, on and off, since. The Shroud came into the possession of the powerful Savoy family, who moved it to the cathedral in their new capital of Turin in 1578. It has remained there almost continuously ever since (it was removed for safekeeping during the Second World War, and has had a short tour as well).

There has always been, and are today, a number of people who accept without question that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus. Its appearance, including haunting shadows of a man's face and pierced body, bloodstains and crown of thorns, naturally evokes powerful feelings in Christians as they recall the passion of our Lord. Of all the "relics" assembled by the church in the middle ages, this is the most vivid and personal, linking us visually to Jesus.

The Science of the Shroud

There has always been, and are today, a number of people who reject without question the possibility that the Shroud of Turin could be genuine. They point out there is no evidence of this Shroud's appearance before the 1350's, a date confirmed by Carbon-14 dating tests allowed a few years ago (1988) by the Vatican on small pieces of the Shroud. If this was Jesus' burial shroud, it would have a much older Carbon-14 date.

Recently (1996), however, a scientific team has argued that materials like linen cloth build up a thin layer of fungi and bacteria on them over the centuries. It is this "bioplastic film" that leads to the wrong Carbon-14 dating of the Shroud.

Doubters point out that the Shroud reflects the artistic and liturgical traditions of the 1200's and 1300's in Europe. Byzantine icons paint a Jesus who looks very much like the one pictured in the Shroud - Jesus in death, with blood seeping from his wounds - quite a different picture of Jesus than earlier centuries. And European churches had developed an elaborate Easter liturgy which not only included a re-enactment of Jesus crucifixion and burial, but sometimes also included a burial shroud. On Easter morning, when the cross is shown empty, the shroud is left lying empty as well. It is certainly plausible that the Shroud of Turin began as one of these liturgical shrouds left empty each Eastern morning in the church in Lirey.

Counter arguments abound for every argument. For example, the artistic tradition of the Byzantine era dates from at least the 8th and 9th centuries, earlier than the Shroud's appearance in France, at the time a shroud was visible in Byzantium (Constantinople). The stiking similarities of many Byzantine icons from the late eighth century on (including cuts in identical places, the shape of the face and length of nose, even criss-cross patterns in the background) may be because their artists had seen this Shroud and used it as their model.

The biggest controversy, and the likely reason that the whole question still remains open, is how was the Shroud made? The bishop's argument in 1389, repeated many times since, was that someone had painted the Shroud. Tests of the minute particles are contradictory - tempera, ochre, vermillion and iron fibres have been found, strongly suggesting the possibility of painting materials.

Yet this is not entirely plausible, due to the nature of the image itself, its incredible level of detail, its surviving both fire and water damage, and the identification of particles from blood and DNA molecules by several observers. Many painters over the centuries have attempted to duplicate the Shroud without success. The details are so good, and so far beyond any 1300's techniques, that some have suggested that if it was painted at all, it must have been by Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian master, who did work for the Savoy family for a time, and did experiment with early photographic techniques.

Indeed, the image of the man on the Shroud is only a bare outline to the visible eye, but when viewed as a photographic negative, it takes on a great deal more detail - in other words, most of the image is actually invisible to the human eye, and can only be seen with 20th century technology! Proponents of the Shroud have argued that this proves that the image was created by the resurrection of Jesus, when God translated His body instantaneously with great power, "burning" the image forever.

The Theology of the Shroud

Ultimately, the question of the Shroud may have more to do with theology than science. Those who believed the Shroud was genuine often were those who believed in God's power resting in relics, like bones or blood or objects held by Jesus or the early saints. Those who reject the Shroud are often those who reject relics and seek God's power and presence as a Spirit.

Many question whether God would want the burial cloth of Jesus to be found and venerated - the Bible is full of examples where God deliberately wiped away tangible evidence so that we would have to make up our minds on faith alone (e.g. Moses' body and burial place; the Ark of the Covenant; the Temple itself). The Vatican itself, more cautious these days concerning relics, has not said that the Shroud is genuine, but it does not discourage those who venerate it.

We each have been given free will by God so that we might use it - choose wisely!

Dr. Science

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