Posted on 05/03/2010 6:08:46 AM PDT by NYer
I hope you all had the opportunity to watch this meditation on EWTN. If not, here is the full text of an absolutely beautiful introspective view of the shroud.
OK, Pope Benedict’s opinion aside, what is the SCIENTIFIC verdict on the shroud today ?
The scientific verdict is that, if anyone says/posts one word doubting the authenticity of the Shroud (such as saying that Jesus must have glowed in the dark after his death), it proves they're an anti-Catholic.
I am not Catholic but I believe the Shroud to be authentic. Anyone who watched “The Face of Jesus” on the History Channel recently could not come to any other conclusion. The scientific evidence presented on that program was overwhelming in verifying its authenticity.
But on the other hand, icons, by faith (of the writer and the viewer), acquire something more than mere representation. The traditional Orthodox view is that they are windows into the Eternal.
As usual, BXVI is apparently simple but actually profound.
My impression, from reading all the FR posts, is that the science is debatable and will be for some time.
It’s like a court case there there are “your experts” and “their experts”. The jury of lay people has to decide whose experts are more relevant and credible.
The jury also has to decide how much science matters for the shroud’s usefulness. (It might also have some value, though not as much, as a non-scientific, yet compelling, invitation to contemplate the spiritual truth of Christ’s death and resurrection.)
For one thing, around the time it first surfaced it was condemned by a bishop as a forgery. Modern apologists for authenticity have explained this as part of a "turf war" for custody, but the fact remains that the contemporary record describes it as a produced work of art.
But belief in the Shroud is not necessary for salvation. If it's a help to somebody's faith, that is a beneficial thing. And think of the miracles attributed to icons!
I like BXVI's approach; it makes sense.
Thank you, NYer!
The Shroud, if it is indeed authentic, would have been witness to an event which is unprecedented in the annals of science and human history; the resurrection of a dead body. What happens in such a circumstance? Is light given out? Heat? Other forms of radiation? We have no conclusive answers to any of these questions.
Science, in order to be effective, depends on the existence of the normal laws of nature. The Resurrection, is by definition, an event which is outside the normal laws of nature. Carbon dating, for example, depends on the normal processes of isotopic decay to be operative. Throw a completely scientifically uncharacterized event into the process and dogmatic conclusions become very tenuous, IMHO.
In the end, this will continue to come down to a question of faith.
Is it against Catholic laws or something fro cardinals and popes to ever be seen with their arms straight down at their sides?
You seem to be trolling to start the argument you’re complaining about.
The majority of people I know, pray with their hands clasped. The press photographers tend to prefer that pose.
Photographers like their subjects to be doing something, though, even if it's only shaking hands or waving.
Why do you ask this question?
Have you information about the “Orans” position?
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Ping.
so NOT a 'fact" -
I wish people would at least do some in depth research before pontificating.
I've been following, for 50 years, researching and communicating with a scientist who has actually touched and examined and studied the Shroud - and kept up with the plethora of books, articles, web site and documentaries on the Shroud.
Any sort of paint or 'work of art' has been ruled out long ago.
If you're going to opine on the Shroud, may I suggest you, at minimum, watch the latest documentary aired this spring?
http://www.history.com/shows/the-real-face-of-jesus
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/face-jesus-revealed-10248139
LIVE LINKS NEXT POST
http://www.history.com/shows/the-real-face-of-jesus
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/face-jesus-revealed-10248139
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