Did you know 1000's of scholars, scientific institutions including Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Almos invested their time on this. That countless scientists, botonists, imaging specialists and chemists have analyzed and studied the Shroud of Turin ?
Millions of man hours by leading scientists over decades went into this study and continue to do so !
"We didn't feel we made any major finds," says Lynn, "partly because we had poor quality negatives to work with. However, frequency analysis did tend to rule out the possibility that the figure was hand painted." - Nasa, Jet Propulsion Laboratory - 1978
http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/shroud.html
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There are many reasons why the Shroud of Turin is MOST definitely Jesus' burial cloth:
1) Carbon Dating: Don't be fooled by erroneous carbon dating tests (that tested only a piece of cloth that had been sewn on to repair the Shroud somewhere between 1260-1390),
Preliminary estimates of the kinetics constants for the loss of vanillin from lignin indicate a much older age for the cloth than the radiocarbon analyses. The radiocarbon sampling area is uniquely coated with a yellow–brown plant gum containing dye lakes. Pyrolysis-mass-spectrometry results from the sample area coupled with microscopic and microchemical observations prove that the radiocarbon sample was not part of the original cloth of the Shroud of Turin. The radiocarbon date was thus not valid for determining the true age of the shroud.
2) Blood: bloodstains, as forensic scientists and chemists now know, were created by real blood (type AB) as found on the cloth (not paint!)
2b) DNA: " ...their findings concluded that the blood on the Shroud is from a male human"
3) Thorn remmanants were found by Israeli botanists on the shroud that matched a plant that only only grows near Jerusalem (rare to only this part of the world).
3b) The image depicts Jesus with the crown of thorns clearly visible on the top of his head
3c) Flowers buried with cloth as shown on cloth
" Israeli botanist Avinoam Danin determines that the celebrated relic originated in the Land of Israel."
4) Image: A Real photographic image appeared in a photographer's negative in 1898 (quite by accident) nobody at that time even knew there would be something on the cloth (it was at that point, just a burial cloth with no photographic image on the cloth) - not a forgery, for the image is definitely photographic and nobody can forge a photograph even back in 1400's when nobody even knew what a photograph is
(Wiki :On May 28, 1898, amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia took the first photograph of the shroud and was startled by the negative in his darkroom.)
5) Image analysis by scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that rather than being like a photographic negative, the image unexpectedly has the property of decoding into a 3-D image of the man when the darker parts of the image are interpreted to be those features of the man that were closest to the shroud and the lighter areas of the image those features that were farthest. Translation: the Shroud is more than an image (of course we know that) , it is a an actual 3-D relief of Jesus
Thermochimica Acta:
"However, the most interesting characteristic of the images is revealed by computer imaging analysis, particularly that done by a VP-8 image analyzer. The body image contains realistic 3-dimensional information relating image density at any particular pixel point to the distance between the cloth and the body at that point. Further, this projective information transfer can be shown to be collimated and anisotropic, neither necessarily orthogonal to the receiving or sending surface. Note, no image appears between the two body image heads as would be consistent with this point. Although we do not have any confirmed explanation for this property, it has been used to test a number of artistic rendition methods and they have all failed to meet this criterion"
6) Definitely a body that had been scourged by the Romans prior to crucifying : scores of linear wounds on the torso and legs claimed to be consistent with the distinctive dumbbell wounds of a Roman flagrum.
7) About Jesus' cool long hair: "A body of Israelites specially consecrated to the service of God who were under vows to abstain from drinking the produce of the vine, to let their hair grow and to avoid defilement by contact with the dead (Num. 6)."
8) Translation: this is a key point (dont forget how the bible was translated using Greek). Scholars believe the plural of burial clothes was added in later translations, but originally meant 1 burial cloth !
"In Jn. 19:40, the Fourth Gospeller uses the word othonia [Gk.] (plural) to describe the linen cloths used in the Burial. Othonia, a word of uncertain meaning, but probably best translated as a generic plural for grave clothes. The same word is used by Luke or his scribe in Lk.24:12 what had previously been described as the sindon in Lk. 23:53. Note: vs. l2 (But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths (plural) by themselves; and he went home wondering what happened.) does not appear in the most ancient manuscripts, but is added by later ancient authorities"
9) Thermal Analysis: (done by Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory)
Raymond N. Rogers (1927-2005) was an American chemist who was considered a leading expert in thermal analysis.
He found chemical proof that the Shroud was as old as 2000 years
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You have overwhelming evidence from the most leading scientific institutions and scientists in the world.
Everyone agreeing in their part, the fascination, the extra-ordinaryness and authenticity of the shroud not being a forgery, nor being made by an artist,
but containing blood, thorns, perfect relief, a photograph, extra-ordinary evidence of radiation to imprint an image.
For proof of everyone in the world to see Jesus Christ.
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I agree with the people who say Your true faith is in the Lord not a cloth, it is nice to see the face of God, but it is better to have him in your heart daily !
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