Posted by
Playful Walrus on Monday, October 05, 2009 7:53:58 PM
The news has been reporting that someone claims he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin using medieval technology.
My faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection is not based on the Shroud. For sure, if the Shroud is actually a burial garment of Jesus', then it adds another reason to believe. But if the Shroud is a later work of ingenious art, then my faith is not lessened in the least. Furthermore, even if someone shows that close reproduction was possible using later technology (which may have happened here), this does not prove the Shroud is a later work of art and not a burial cloth for Jesus.
There's a side to me that thinks it good if all physical artifacts involved in any miracle of Jesus or His crucifixion have been lost to history in the same way that I am glad we don't know with any certainty the actual birth date of Jesus. Astrologers, and those taken with astrology would make too much of His birthdate, just as too many people would focus on the wood or the iron or cloth that came into contact with Jesus - a thing - rather than focusing on Jesus and having a relationship with Him.
My faith in the resurrection of Jesus is based on objective reality and affirmed by my subjective experience (I know He lives in me). We have good reasons to believe Jesus was a man of history who was crucified, that He was buried, and that He subsequently appeared alive to many different people in different situations; and that His tomb was empty. All other explanations to cover those things are lacking. So I do believe that Jesus rose from the dead, resurrected and glorified, and I do believe what He taught - shroud or no shroud.