Systematic Evaluation of Recent Research on the Shroud of Turin (original) (raw)

Why the Shroud of Turin is not a Medieval Work? An Argument Map

Scientia et Fides, 2024

The Shroud of Turin is an old linen fabric imprinted with the image of a tortured man who lies prone with his hands crossed before him. Since for many it is related to Jesus of Nazareth, this cloth is among the most studied, controversial and enigmatic of all archaeological and religious objects. Since its radiocarbon dating at the end of the eighties of the last century, it is considered by many to be an object made in the Middle Ages. The controversy is due to the fact that there are other scientific and artistic evidences that place this object outside the medieval sphere. An argument map is a critical thinking way of representing the relationships between evidences and arguments, and is used here to represent the sequences of argumentation that defend that the Shroud of Turin is not a medieval object.

Epistemology and the Shroud of Turin -- an Annotated English-Language Bibliography

2021

I have been studying the Shroud for more than forty-four years, and there has never been a moment when it hasn’t been one of the most controversial subjects in the world. It’s easy to understand why. The cloth has always had interest from the point of view of religion, given that it’s purported to be the burial shroud that wrapped Jesus, believed by billions of Christians to be divine. Since 1898, it has garnered much interest from the scientific community, when photos were taken and a lifelike image was discovered on the negative plate, meaning that the original image on the cloth is like a photographic negative. Naturally, religion and science approach the Shroud in different manners. Epistemology is defined as “the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.” In this article, I will list the major articles in the sindonological literature dealing with the epistemology of the Shroud. There are many categories, factors and paradigms that affect the study of the Shroud. Back in 2001, my late wife, Sue Benford, and I submitted a paper on image-formation to the organizers of a conference in Dallas, Texas. It was rejected, in part, because they didn’t consider the Shroud to be a “paranormal” object. All paranormal means is that something is beyond the scope of normal understanding. (What made this all the more galling is that one of the speakers at the conference was described in the program as publisher of “Europe’s largest magazine on the paranormal.”) Although skeptics will deny it, how the image got on the cloth has not been satisfactorily explained, and thus the Shroud is, at least for now, “paranormal.” Here are some of the dichotomies that exist in the study of the Shroud: *Jesus Christ (religious) vs. Jesus of Nazareth (scientific/historical) *resurrection vs. body stolen and/or resuscitation *normal vs. paranormal *natural vs. supernatural *artifact vs. relic *correlation of known 1st-century Jewish burial customs with Shroud vs. non-correlation with known 1st-century Jewish burial customs *evidence of the Shroud in history under another name vs. no evidence of Shroud before 1350s *evidence of Pontius Pilate coins on eyes of the image vs. no evidence of Pontius Pilate coins *near impossibility of an artist being able to produce the image vs. plausibility of an artist creating the image *accurate medical knowledge depicted precluding a medieval creation vs. possibility of medieval creation with accurate medical knowledge Epistemology can help us evaluate all of these questions. The article will list entries in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Entries include “highlights” and sometimes “comments.” This article will be updated as needed.

The Shroud of Turin: A Historiographical Approach

The Heythrop Journal, 2013

Criteria of historical assessment are applied to the Turin Shroud to determine which hypothesis relating to the image formation process is the most likely. To implement this, a ‘Minimal Facts’ approach is followed that takes into account only physicochemical and historical data receiving the widest consensus among contemporary scientists. The result indicates that the probability of the Shroud of Turin being the real shroud of Jesus of Nazareth is very high; historians and natural theologians should therefore pay it increased attention.

The Shroud of Turin - A Critical Assessment

This article discusses the question of whether the Shroud of Turin is the real burial cloth of Jesus, and it consists of four parts. First I present facts about the Shroud. Then I discuss whether the image comes from a corpse or is artificially produced another way, and conclude that it comes from a corpse. This means that if it is a forgery, a corpse was used to create the image. After that, I briefly discuss whether it may be the burial cloth of an unknown crucified man, and argue that it must be the burial cloth of Jesus or a forgery meant to resemble Jesus.

The Shroud of Turin between history and science: an ongoing debate

2011

The Shroud of Turin has passed through centuries of history, has travelled and has experienced events, which have only partially been recorded in documentary sources. Popular-cultural tradition has now accepted it as being the Shroud of the historical Christ. Nevertheless, public opinion has always been divided between those who believe in its authenticity and those who do not. Since the seventies there have been various wide-ranging study campaigns devoted to unravelling the mystery. Today the Shroud has become once more the centre of attention for the scientific world on the occasion of its last exposition. This paper aims to present a chronology of the investigative phases conducted so far and to put forward a new proposal in the field of image analysis and artistic diagnosis.

Open issues regarding the Turin Shroud

Scientific Research and Essays, 2012

The Turin Shroud is a linen cloth which shows the front and back images of a man who had been scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified, who died on a cross and who was stabbed in the side with a lance after his death. The Catholic Christian tradition identifies him as Jesus Christ who was resurrected from the dead, but not all researchers are unanimous in believing this tradition, partly because science has not been able to give definitive answers to the questions of the identity of the Man and how the images were produced. There are many indications in favor of authenticity, but there are also still many open issues which do not allow us to reach a conclusion. This paper discusses these open issues, after presenting the very peculiar features of these "impossible" images, in the hope that future scientific research in this direction will cast light on the most important Relic of Christianity. The bibliography relative to the Turin Shroud is copious, but it is not easy to find a summary of scientific issues still open regarding it. The present discussion frames the arguments debated in the papers of this Special Issue and will be also a useful tool to persuade more scientists to address research in these fields.

Review Open issues regarding the Turin Shroud

2012

The Turin Shroud is a linen cloth which shows the front and back images of a man who had been scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified, who died on a cross and who was stabbed in the side with a lance after his death. The Catholic Christian tradition identifies him as Jesus Christ who was resurrected from the dead, but not all researchers are unanimous in believing this tradition, partly because science has not been able to give definitive answers to the questions of the identity of the Man and how the images were produced. There are many indications in favor of authenticity, but there are also still many open issues which do not allow us to reach a conclusion. This paper discusses these open issues, after presenting the very peculiar features of these “impossible ” images, in the hope that future scientific research in this direction will cast light on the most important Relic of Christianity. The bibliography relative to the Turin Shroud is copious, but it is not easy to find a...

The influence of the Pray Codex in the debate about the Shroud of Turin

Sindon, 2023

The Shroud of Turin is a controversial linen cloth thought by some to be a medieval artifact and by others to be the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. To better explain the reasons why reaching a consensus among experts seems highly unlikely, this paper focuses on the possible relationship between the Shroud of Turin and the Pray Codex, the first illuminated manuscript in Hungarian (c. 1192-c. 1195). An analysis of the recent literature, including a qualitative survey, highlights not only the variety but also the weakness of the reasoning processes of the scholars, from less complete and intuitive to extremely detailed and systematic approaches. A new methodological approach excludes the position according to which it is certain that the Turin shroud has no direct or indirect link with the Pray Codex. A better understanding of the historiographical criteria and of the Bayesian framework might constitute a precious basis for solving similar interdisciplinary disputes.

Shroud of Turin - Summary of Challenges to its Authenticity

Shroud.com, 2007

The Shroud of Turin is purported to be the literal burial shroud of Jesus Christ, and its authenticity has thus aroused intense debate and sometimes hostile rhetoric between those who believe that the Shroud is authentic (or at least believe that it is the actual burial shroud of a crucified man who may or may not have been Jesus), and those who do not. Many attempts have been made by skeptics to challenge its authenticity on various grounds, as well as to develop alternative theories to explain how the images on the Shroud could have been faked or generated by a variety of mechanisms. The Shroud of Turin is therefore the most highly studied relic in the history of the world. This paper summarizes all of the known and significant attempts to debunk it.