Continuing with our discussion of all things magical and mystical, today’s entry is a sacred relic about which there has been much talk and controversy: The Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud is a piece of linen bearing the likeness of a man who has suffered physical injuries that bear likeness to those which would occur from a crucifixion.
Over the years tests have been performed on small bits of the Shroud for purposes of carbon-dating it and analyzing the various blood stains, pollen, textiles, etc. which made up the shroud.
In 1988, tests to date the Shroud indicated that it likely came from the Middle Ages, possibly from around 1260 and 1390. Additional tests show the presence of iron commonly used in pigments, and yet pigments do not form the image. Although there is blood, DNA testing was not possible and so no one knows if the blood belongs to the man covered by the Shroud or to someone handling the Shroud. Images of flowers pressed onto the Shroud as well as the pollens suggests that the shroud does come from Jerusalem and/or the Middle East. Analysis of the man confirm injuries consistent with crucifixion, but some question the proportions of the forehead, arms and legs as being out-of-sync.
But here’s the thing about the Shroud. No one, and I mean no one, can explain how the image got there.
The image has 3-D qualities that cannot be explained by saying that somehow someone in the Middle Ages was able to create a photograph on the linen. Tests have shown that the image does not contain any pigments and so it cannot be attributed to a painting. Various scientists have tried to recreate the image on similar textiles, but have not been able to do so and match the known physical properties of the image.
Many surmise that it took a great deal of energy, a source which is too high to reproduce in a laboratory, to create the image.
Energy. It’s all around us and in us. Is it possible that the person in the shroud possessed incredible energy that was released at death or as some Christians believe, at the moment of resurrection?
What’s your take on this? Have you been to Turin to see the Shroud?