The Shroud of Turin vs. Scientfic Examination

The mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin began in 1898 when Italian photographer Secunda Pia took a photograph of the cloth rumored to have been the burial shroud of Jesus Christ and noticed that the negative of his print exposed a positive image. As a result of his famous photograph, many today believe the Shroud is the actual burial cloth of Christ, while others staunchly refute such claims. Does it really matter if the cloth is actually the burial wrapping of Christ? Is it important to discover how the image transferred itself to the cloth? Could it have been made by direct contact with someone else's crucified body, was it a Divine Miracle, or a chemical byproduct of Christ's Resurrection? And if the cloth is someday proved without a shred of doubt to have been the burial shroud of Jesus, some fear that many would place a greater reverence to the cloth itself that the man who was wrapped in it. Many who have studied the cloth, both from a religious standpoint and scientific approach, carefully avoid mixing the two. Yet in the case of the shroud, both science and faith seem to blend in stunning agreement.

While the Shroud contains the physical evidence of a man beaten and crucified, does the image on the shroud exactly follow what was written in the Bible about Christ's passion and crucifixion? Amazingly enough, the answer is yes. The image is plain for all to see, whether one is religious or not. In trying to nullify the authenticity of the Shroud, science has played a large role in accomplishing exactly the opposite. Still, in today's society, when people are willing only to believe what they can see and touch and hear, does the presence of the Shroud reach out to us?

More importantly, what, if any, impact should the shroud have on any of us? After all, if one embraces Christianity, one believes in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - our sacrificial lamb who bore upon His shoulders all our sins. Did Christ not say, "Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe"(John 20:29)? Nevertheless, the presence of the shroud for today's society is significant. If the shroud is authentic, the 2x8 cubit measurement of linen is our closest and most personal link to the foundation of Christianity. A survey once suggested that more than ninety percent of the world population has heard of the shroud. Not one of the 40,000 pilgrims who standing in line to view the shrouds when it is on display (five times in the last century) pays a penny for the privilege. It has, therefore, become one of the most studied objects in history. Why do people believe that this shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ? Because the markings on the shroud correspond with Biblical writings relating to Christ's suffering and death by crucifixion. Perhaps it would help to illustrate a brief history of the shroud and compare what has been historically and scientifically validated with what has been found on the cloth itself.

Jewish burial customs in the 1st century were strict, and custom mandated that if a man died a violent death, the blood be washed from the body prior to burial. But the Bible tells us that the beginning of the Sabbath prevented His followers from properly preparing His body for burial. "That day was the Preparation and the Sabbath drew near." (Luke 23:54) In the first century, Jews also defied contemporary patterns of burial that stated fingers should be folded - the fingers of the man on the shroud are extended. The side of the man of the shroud was pierced. "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34) The side wound is oval in shape and measures 1 ¾ by 7/16th of an inch - between the fifth and sixth rib - a wound that exactly matches the shape of a Roman lancia. The shroud shows a stain of blood and clear liquid, possible the result of an accumulation of fluid in the chest cavity as a result of cardio-respiratory failure. The image of the man on the cross was beaten. One eye is swollen and the nose is scraped. The knees and shoulders show abrasions. Scourge marks are disturbingly evident on the cloth. "So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him." (John 19:1) The triple pattern of dumbbell shaped lacerations on the back of the shroud seems to have been made by a Roman flagrum, a multi-striped whip weighted at the tips with bits of bone or lead. Around 120 wounds can be seen. While it was common for the legs of men being crucified to be broken, the bones of the man on the shroud were not. "Not one of His bones shall be broken." (John 19:36)

In 1978, the shroud was subjected to an intense 'hands-on' study by a team of scientists from the United States who was allowed for the first time to acquire small samples of the shroud to test for data. Following a thorough examination in 1973 and again in 1978, several tests and thousands of photographs later, dozens of facts were gleaned and recorded. Among them:

· The man is a bearded male, approximately 5'11" and estimated at 30-35 years of age and weighing about 175 pounds. He was well built and muscular.

· Bloodstains on the shroud are truly bloodstains - Type AB.

· The body image was created by chemical residue from degraded cellulose. No chemical agents were found on the cloth.

· The body image saturated only the uppermost fibers of the cloth.

The Shroud of Turin so named because its home for he the last 424 years has been Turin, Italy, may well be the actual burial cloth that wrapped the bruised and bloodied body of Our Lord and Savior. The linen measures an exact 2 by 8 cubits, whose ancient measuring system corresponds to a modern measurement of 3' 7" by 14' 3 ". The front and back of the shroud bears the image of a crucified man.

How did the image imprint itself on the cloth? As testing methods advanced, so did the possible explanations. In 1902, a chemist from France named Paul Vignon studied photographs taken by Pia and proposed that the depth of intensity on the shroud varied in equal degree to the distance of the cloth from the body. He suggested that perhaps the image was created due to ammonia vapors that rose from the body's surface. But it wasn't until 1974 that Vignon's theory could be tested. After reconstructing a cloth model of the shroud, the cloth was draped over a substitute body and American physicist John Jackson and his colleagues proved that the image intensity did indeed vary in relation to the distance from the cloth to the body parts. But in 1976, Jackson took a photograph of the shroud to be analyzed with a VP-8 Image Analyzer, a type of computer that transforms image density data into a three dimensional relief. So it was that Vignon's ammonia vapor theory was nullified by the simple fact that diffusion or radiation from a body would have produced a blurred image.

In 1998 the first age-dating test was performed on a small piece of the shroud in a method known as radiocarbon analysis. The results were disappointing to many when it was announced that the burial cloth was aged at about the 14th century. However, it was later determined that due to the scorching the shroud endured in a 1532 fire, that the linen may have been altered enough to bring about a false reading. Tests were, of course, done to prove that such a possibility was a viable one.

But perhaps more compelling than anything else is the origin of the shroud itself. In 1999, the Missouri Botanical Society held a conference. Among the attendees was Dr. Avinoam Danin, a botany professor at Hebrew university of Jerusalem, and Dr. Uri Baruch, a pollen specialist with the Israel Antiquities Authority. Both men have stated and presented documentation and test results that verify the floral images implanted in the fibers of the shroud could only have come from plants growing in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Pollen identification has become a widely used procedure for modern criminal forensics to determine where an object has been geographically. In 1973 and 1978, Dr. Max Frei took samples from the shroud using pieces of tape to collect them. He found pollen grains on the tape and identified around 58 species of plants, most of which grew in the Middle East.

One of the most common plant types found on the shroud it that of Chrysanthemum coronarium. While this flower grows in a widespread area in the Mediterranean, it blooms between March and May, helping to set the date when the particular specimen was picked. Among the plant species found, near the head of the man on the cloth, is that of a thorn. Dr. Baruch also studied the 165 pollen grain specimens and determined that 45 of those belonged to the thorn family. (Gundelia tournefortii L.) This thorn blooms in Israel from February in the semi-desert regions to May in Jerusalem.

The second most common plant found on the shroud was the Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss, in an endemic plant of Israel, Jordan and Syria. Leaf imprints as well as flower images of this plant were identified. This plant grows along the road from Jericho and the Jordan River in the Sinai, and the stage of development of the bloom indicates that it was cut between December and April.

Also evident were pollen grains of Cistus creticus, which only grows in Israel along the Mediterranean coast areas and the high elevations east of the coast, but only as far as the city of Jerusalem.

Perhaps the most interesting was the presence of Capparis aegyptia. This plant only grows in Israel, Jordan and the Sinai. Flowers seen on the image of the shroud were highly interesting to Baruch and Danin, as this particular flower only begins to open around midday, until fully open around sunset. The images on the shroud correspond to the buds having been to the stage that would have progressed by around three or four o'clock in the afternoon.
Most of the plant species found on the shroud grow east and west of Jerusalem, their common blooming time in the spring between March and April. Some pollen spores found on the shroud also place the cloth in Turkey (Constantinople) and the early Christian city of Edessa, both locations documented as having hosted the cloth for some time. A spectrographic chemical analysis of a substance called travertine aragonite calcium, found on the shroud, strongly suggests that the cloth was also at one point in direct contact with one of Jerusalem's limestone cave or tombs.

Does the mere existence of the shroud compel disbelievers to believe? Or does the image on the cloth encourage the believer to be more faithful? While Christians of all denominations contemplate the possibility that the shroud may be a significant 'visual aid' that may enhance the teachings of Christ's last days, does the image on the shroud evoke a deeper emotion among those who have seen it, either in person or through photographs? In 1983, leaders from nearly every religious denomination were present for the first full-size viewing of the shroud. Baptists, Lutherans, and the Greek Archbishop as well as the Roman Catholic Archbishop came to view the relic. After nearly 2000 years of obscurity, the shroud of Turin has suddenly compelled modern man to ask questions, not only of himself, but also of his faith. Many who had been unfaithful told of being reborn.

Since the day it was discovered in the empty tomb, the shroud has traveled to many placed and changed many lives. It has survived many near-disasters, including a flood in Edessa, the pillaging of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade and a fire in Chambéy, France. Many view the shroud with doubt, yet how can anyone look upon that length of cloth and not be changed by the calm, almost serene image staring back at them? If the shroud does nothing more than encourage people to question their values and their faith, then the shroud can be looked upon as a tool that guides many toward redemption.

If the shroud is ever positively proven authentic, no one suggests that the relic would ever become more than just that. It is not to be worshipped or idolized; on the contrary, it is to be admired for what it is… a visual artifact from one of the most important events in human history. And what of it? Other than its religious significance, why should the shroud become any different than any other relic stored and displayed in any of the hundreds of museums dotting the globe? Thousands visit the Louvre in Paris and the Parthenon every day… why should it be considered inappropriate to do the same with the shroud? Every year, thousands of tourists enter the great cathedrals of Europe to admire the religious stories painted in stained glass or in frescoes on the ceilings of great buildings. We should not fear the image on the cloth. No religion has ever suggested that one must not believe in the authenticity of the shroud as a requirement of faith, nor does anyone suggest that as such the image should be revered for more than what it is… an image. The shroud could and never would, replace faith. Whether authentic or not, what impact does the shroud have on today's Christian? If one believes its authenticity, that person can witness the glory of our Lord's victory over death and His resurrection. But what if a believer doesn't believe the shroud is authentic? As Russell A Breault stated:

It either is the actual shroud of Christ or it represents His shroud. It either is an image resulting from the resurrection or it represents His resurrection. It either is the blood of Christ on the cloth or it represents His blood.

Then what is the purpose of the shroud? From His miraculous conception to the tortures He suffered on the cross, to the glory of the resurrection, we see a visual image on that piece of cloth that represents and reminds us of what Christ did for us. It can, and does in many cases, enhance our faith. Is it enough to recognize that the suffering and violent death of the man on that strip of cloth closely represents the Biblical description of Christ's death and resurrection? That is for the individual to decide. It is to the individual to look beyond the image on the shroud to the One who image it claims to hold. The authenticity or recognition of the shroud does not affect faith - but it can have an affect on an unbeliever. The Shroud can and has been used as a tool to spread the gospel, especially today, when everything around us is focused on the visual. And while the shroud proves nothing that believers don't already know, perhaps it will help others to accept Jesus by faith. The sight of it can lead unbelievers to at least question their doubts and perhaps wonder for the first time in their lives, "What if…?

"For blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."