D: CONTROVERSIAL ARTIFACT

THE SHROUD OF TURIN

The shroud is one of the most studied artifacts in human history, and one of the most controversial.

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy.  

The 14-foot-by-4-foot linen cloth is believed to be the burial shroud of Jesus. The shroud has a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death. The image on the shroud is much clearer in black-and-white negative than in its natural sepia color. The negative image was first observed in 1898, on the reverse photographic plate of amateur photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was being exhibited.

The Shroud is marked with burns, scorches, and water stains from the 1532 Chambery fire. The triangular shaped areas are patches sewn on in 1534.

Dr. Frei pressed the tape onto the shroud causing dust, pollen and other particulate matter to stick to the tape and be lifted from the fibers of the shroud.     

The Man on the Shroud!

·        He was naked.

·        He was 5 feet 11 inches, almost 6 feet tall.           

·        He had a beard and shoulder length hair.

·        He had an enlarged chest from trying to breathe heavily       

·        He had been beaten with a Roman Flagrum. (John19:1)                

·        He had puncture marks on his skull (Jn19:2) (Mk 15:19)(Mt 27:30)         

·        He had bled whilst upright on the cross                   

·        He had suffered most of his wounds whilst alive

·        He had a swelling on his left cheekbone (John18:22)                    

·        Wound on his side with no swelling, indicating that the wound happened after he had died. (John19:34)      

·        Dirt on his knees and the tip of his nose is reported to contain minerals found in Palestine region.

·   The image of the hands showed no thumbs. (The nails went through the wrist contracting the thenar muscles, causing the thumb to bend into the palm)

·        Blood smears from the upper shoulder are thought to be microscopic oak wood remains. (John19:17)

·        Pollen has been found on the shroud’s surface from 28 plants. (John 19:40)

(All 28 plants grow in Israel. 14 of the 28 plants only grow in the Middle East. Of the 28 plants, 27 bloom in the springtime corresponding with the Jewish Passover. Zygophyllum dumosum, for which there is pollen as well as an image, grows only in Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai. 

Professor Avinoam Danin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said: "This combination of flowers can be found in only one region of the world. The evidence clearly points to a floral grouping from the area surrounding Jerusalem."

Dr Peter J. Shield: “It is my considered opinion, having been involved in reporting on the evidence for the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin for over 20 years that it is the real article. The amassed evidence for its authenticity is indisputable!

Dr. Alan Adler about the possibility of it being a painting stated: “The blood was positive on the cloth while the image was negative. This meant that the blood marks were photographically opposite to the image that they accompanied. What pictures carry with them photographic opposites?”  “For a painter to have created this image, he would have needed a paintbrush the size of a fiber which is less than half the width of a human hair or 1 pixel.”

Hundreds of scientists have found no explantion as of today for the image on the shroud. All the theories from radiation to scorching to the bioplastic coating and from painting to vaporographic theories have been ruled out.

The only alternative is that the image on the shroud was the result of resurrection of Jesus. (The Bible states: We shall all be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye and our corruptible body will receive an incorruptible eternal body (1Cor 15: 52, 53)

C: ESSENCE OF LIFE

THE ESSENCE OF LIFE REVEALED

“Love, love, love - that is the soul of the genius” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave” M. Gandhi

We all want to be loved and love someone. For most of us love is the greatest thing on Earth! Mother Earth, the wonders of nature and life - the flowers, the starry nights, the amazing animals, the touch of a friend - all breathe love for us! Even our pets understand love and without love they do not thrive and sometimes die of grief.

When you stop to think about the reason of why we are here, then we realize that it is to learn to give love and receive love, as well as to enjoy the good things in life.  

Okay, this sounds nice, but then why is there so much hunger and suffering in the World?—So much evil, hardship, and death? Why can’t it all be good and pleasant? Well, it was originally made to be that way, but as humans we chose to go our own way; to be selfish and unloving. Our greed and stubbornness constantly cause most of the sorrows around us and in the world at large. We are spoiling what was meant for us to enjoy. We are ruining it with our arguments, greed and lust for power, resulting in violence and wars, which would not be there if we had more love. Love could heal so many wounds, broken hearts and suffering.

Although some of us deny it we are all aware of what is good and bad through that quiet voice that is constantly trying to guide us to make the loving and right decisions. That quiet voice which makes us realize that there is a higher Godlike power. This power wants to protect us from thinking only about ourselves, and instead tries to inspire us to be giving and show love!—Love for God, Love for others and even Love for ourselves! The more love we give, the more we become a conduit for love and we realize that, in spite of what is being hurled against God, He is love and loves you and me!

We know that we have all fallen short when it comes to loving others. We have all done things that are wrong for which we feel guilty and make us feel far away from God. So the question is how can we make up for these shortcomings and sins and be at peace with God? God knew we couldn’t be perfect, and decided to teach us how to live and love by His own example, so He came to us in the form of Jesus. 

Let’s take an objective look and lay aside our biases and prejudices.

·         Hinduism teaches that God has many faces, so for the Hindu Jesus is God’s face projecting God’s Love, Light and forgiveness.

·         Islam calls Jesus ‘Roohullah’ or the Spirit of God, born of a virgin, so for the Muslim Jesus represents the Spirit of God, who came into the world through a supernatural birth.

·         In Judaism we find over 300 prophecies that apply to Jesus as the Messiah.

·         Buddha refers to the Holy One who will come and show us the new way of salvation to Nirvana,

·         The Christians call him the Son of God, but whatever we call him, his aim in life was to bring forgiveness for our sins, resulting from our lack of love.

In most religions, we find traces of the doctrine that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, and people sacrifice a lamb or goat as atonement for their sins.  Out of love for you and me, God made a way to escape from the burden of our sin and the need to sacrifice. Jesus decided, purely out of love for us, to give his own life as atonement for our sins and He gave himself to be the final sacrifice. He is also called ‘Lamb of God’- As a lamb that was sacrificed, he was crucified and His Blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. By accepting what Jesus did for us we are forgiven and God will remember our sins against Him and His creation no more.

After Jesus gave his life for us and died, three days later he rose from the dead. Consequently by accepting Jesus we also receive the gift of eternal life and we lose the ‘Fear of Death’, which will hold no more power over us. The wall and the burden of sin that separated us from God is taken away and we have Salvation or Mukti – we now have access to God’s presence, as a child has access to its loving  parents, and we experience God’s parental love and concern  for us as His children. Please pray the following prayer with me: 

“Dear Jesus, thank you so much for taking on my punishment and giving your life so I can be forgiven for my unloving deeds. Now that I am forgiven I have peace in my life. Thank you. Help me to do the same and forgive others, who I feel have done wrong against me. Cleanse me from negative influences and powers. Fill me with your Spirit of love, happiness and strength and please give me the gift of eternal life”

Once you have sincerely said this prayer, then Jesus is in your heart and you are forgiven. You have peace with God, which is the greatest peace any of us can posses. In a difficult situation you can simply ask Jesus to help you, like you would ask your best friend. But let’s not wait to talk to Jesus until we are in trouble, we can thank Him for salvation, for life, for love, for the good and even seemingly bad things. This activates the loving, healing and positive energy flow in our life.