The Mystique surrounding the Turin Shroud - Part 2.

How is it that the image in the Turin Shroud which miraculously survived 2000 yrs is able to be produced in a photo negative? Is this a miracle? Blood could not have caused such a stain to produce the whole image that we see in the negative!





The chemists tries to explain...
The explanation is the ammonia from the skin, sweat & as a gaseous form could have left such a stain mark on the shroud.


Another explanation......
The Resurrection caused a supernatural release of energy which resulted in the fabric becoming scorched. This particular theory seems to have some similar echoes from the US Air Force scientists saying that the marks on the shroud appeared to have caused by a "microsecond blast of intense radiation". Radiation??? Where on earth did it come from??





Lab test results....
In 1988, three separate laboratories conducted dating experiments on the tiny samples of cloth supplied by the Vatican. The results of their finding began to cast some doubts about the antiquity of this priced relic. They reveal that the age of the relic was not less than 14th century. (This was approximately the time when the relic turned up in a small French village). If 1 lab produced the findings such as this it is easy to suspect the credibility of their test but as 3 labs comes with similar findings...this triggers some thoughts along the whole subject of this relic.





More researchers come forward...
In 1994, Clive Prince & Lynn Picknett wrote a book entitled "Turin Shroud" claiming that the whole idea is a gigantic hoax but created by a genius. The "genius" according to them is no other than Leonardo da Vinci (remember the Da Vinci Code-the movie? :) who happens to be the most inventive artist & scientist ever lived. (Leonardo da Vinci's image left). The authors theory on why the artist did such a scam is due to the orders of the Pope Innocent VIII who "needed a fresh religious relic to boost his popularity".


Countering skepticism of the Turin shroud...
As a way to counter the skeptics, came another 2 fresh appraisers. They were German researhers, Holger Kersten & Elmar Gruber who wrote the book, "The Jesus Conspiracy". They believe that the carbon dating by these laboratories are perfect methods BUT the samples they dated DO NOT stem from the shroud!! They further state that the samples of flax prepared under unexplained secrecy were actually switched by the Vatican. The reason is that "since the winding sheet had been around a dead man, any evidence that it was a genuine relic would also have proved that Christ had lain dead long enough to cause such an imprint. And that means it would have destroyed the entire story of the Resurrection," says Gruber.


Another backer of the Turin shroud...
Then came Rodney Hoare, a scientist educated in the Cambridge who spent 26 years researching the relic. He wrote a book entitled "The Turin Shroud Is Genuine". His arguments too surrounds the carbon-dating laboratories were bound to make a mistake because unlike most objects they usually analyse, the shroud had been constantly exposed and handled for almost 2000 yrs. Fingerprints, fire, pollutants and other causes such as the high carbon content in treated flax made nonsense of the carbon dating figures. Hoare who also happens to be the chairman of the British Society for the Turin Shroud vehemently concludes that the relic is genuine. He says that paintbrushes could not have possibly created such an image because "it is a negative image that holds 3-dimensional information of a nature that NO ARTIST could ever produce.


Furthermore, nobody or no medieval artist could have produced a negative image since no one knew what it was in the middle ages since photography was not invented during that time. Does this mean that the Turin shroud is for Real? What significance does it hold for the humanity if it is to survive 2 centuries? What is the hidden message of this Turin Shroud? Perhaps, one day, someone may come forward to decipher the message to mankind.

The Mystique surrounding the Turin Shroud-1

The Turin Shroud is the cloth which many believe covered the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. It is believed to be the Holy Shroud of Jesus, which many still believe is imprinted with the face & body of Christ after he was taken from the cross.
(photo: the Turin shroud via X-Ray imagery)

In 1898, an Italian archeologist cum amateur photographer named Secundo Pia took the first ever picture of the above said shroud in the "Chapel of the dukes of Savoy at Turin Cathedral. When the negative of the photo that Pia took are observed, it seemed to have produced the face of Christ. That was the beginning. The photo already got significant attention.

Only in 1931 that a proper scientific investigation was ever allowed. Guiseppe Enri, a professional photographer, meticulously captured the image on the shroud in a lengthy photographic study. And this is how the Shroud of Turin got the attention from the rest of the world.

The description one gets from the Turin Shroud:
From the description one can get from this relic is that the form of a naked 6 ft tall man who is bearded & has long hair hanging down his back & at shoulder length at his sides. His hands are barely crossed over his loins. There are indications that the figure has been tortured & crucified with the probability of the arms nailed through the wrists. The feet seems like it has been fastened by a single nail, while the sole of one foot appears to be darkened with blood. The figure appears to have been brutally pierced with a sharp object such as a spear. There are also patterns from the body that hints that it has been subjected to a hundred lashes which in those days would have been inflicted with a "scourge"- metal balls which are attached to a flail.

The hair is matted with blood. And blood is further coagulated in scratches in the forehead. Herein lies a Big question," Could this be the result of thorns placed on the head of Christ to mock the "King of the Jews"?

The flaxen shroud is about 14 ft long and 3.5 ft in width. This shroud has been treated an important find for over a century. The claim is that it once contained the remains of Christ. The only problem is that..... there are over 50 other shrouds in Europe....all making similar claims! Why is this? How many shrouds could one Jesus Christ probably have? Why are these men making such claims?What is there to be gained by this preposterous claims?

The next question is probably how did this shroud get to Turin? Why was it found specifically in Turin and not elsewhere? The shroud only depicts an image but can science further verify any evidence to validate the age of this shroud to the time that Christ was crucified? For starters, why is it that the image can only be seen via a negative photo and not by naked eyes?

(more to follow in part 2 of the Turin Shroud mystery)

STIGMATA OF TERESA NEUMANN.

Stigmata...What is it?

Stigmata are bodily marks, sores or sensations of pain in locations which corresponds to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. These are called visible stigmata. There is another form of stigmata that does not have any marks that can be seen but only sensation of pain that the stigmatic alone endures. This is called the invisible stigmata. Witnesses can't see any trace or marks that is normally expected of a stigmata phenomenon.


Stigmata are mainly associated with the Roman Catholic Church. This might pose as a problem to some who might question as to why the Protestants don't experience the same phenomenon since they too are believers of Jesus Christ??

The Ratio of stigmata...
Most of the Stigmata reports shows a large number of them are women who are members of the Catholic religious orders. The ratio of reported stigmatics are largely women as compared to men.

The Invisible Stigmatics...
St. Catherine of Sienna had visible stigmata in the beginning but later through humility, she asked that it be invisible for she did not want the marks to scare those who may view it. And her prayers were heard. Those visible signs were transformed into invisible where only she alone may sense & endure. Another invisible stigmatic was also by the same name, St Catherine de' Ricci, a Florentine Dominican from the 16th Century. There were many others as well.

Dr. Imbert's research on this subject...
Dr. Imbert Gourbeyre undertook an extensive research on this subject where he investigated a total number of 321 cases out of which only 41 turns out to be male. He describes this phenomenon to strike mostly pious and fervently religious women.

Roman Catholics versus the common doctor's view...
Most Roman Catholic theologians accept many cases of stigmata as being genuine. However, some doctors share an opposing view to that. They explain that this phenomenon was being caused by the effects of a subdued form of hysteria with wound mark differences as to how they imagine Jesus Christ was crucified.

What are these good doctors suggesting? Are they suggesting that the stigmata occurs as a result of auto-suggestion of the mind of the person wanting to display Christ like symptoms of crucifixion? Are they saying that this is fake?

Case of the Stigmata
1. Teresa Neumann
Teresa Neumann is a 20 yr old German girl who was blind and paralysed. On a Good Friday in 1926, she experienced a vision of St Therese of Lisleux. Following that, she was cured of her afflictions which she has underwent for the last 6 yrs. But then, every Friday, for 24 hours each time for the next 36 yrs until her death in 1962 she has been exhibiting marks of stigmata (as can be seen in the video below).

She usually falls into a trance and exhibit deep rectangular wounds to her hands which heals as quickly as it develops. Eye-witnesses have described her shedding tearlets of blood from her feet, her side & her forehead.

Video of Teresa Neumann:



Whether stigmata is fake or not does not matter to me. From a religious perspective, I see that it reinforces the belief system & faith of a person in religion. Therefore, it does no harm to the society or the world unlike some claims by a certain people that their dogma allows them to kill in the name of religion...and that they will be rewarded with God knows how many virgins waiting for them. And THAT....needs to be investigated. Period.