The Shroud and the Sudarium.

Selections from The Holy Bible and personal essays and commentary

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Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 27:15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven,
shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

Leviticus 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. (standing…: or, pillar) (image of…: or, figured stone: Heb. a stone of picture)

The preceeding verses make it very clear that no image, no likeness, no relic, no idol nor any object is to be worshipped. To the degree that the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin are objects of worship or veneration, it is a violation of the commandments of God.

The Gospel of John refers to the soudarion (soo-dar'-ee-on of Latin origin; a sudarium (sweat-cloth), i.e. towel for wiping the perspiration from the face, or binding the face of a corpse:--handkerchief, napkin.) This was found in the tomb the morning after the burial of Jesus along with the linen cloth or wrappings - like a bandage - that the body of Jesus was wrapped with as the women covered his body in spices, as was the custom of Jewish burial at the time. John's Gospel is the only one that mentions this detail - the other three refer to Jesus being covered with a linen cloth - as if it were one piece. Christians who believe the shroud is not the actual burial shroud of Jesus mention this detail and state that the complete image of the likeness of Jesus could not have been left on a single linen cloth when his head was not covered by that cloth but by a spices wrapped in thin strips of linen cloth or a towel. This also begs the questions of how did a burial wrapping made up of strips of linen cloth become a single linen covering that survives almost intact to this day? Perhaps the linen wrappings were covered in a single piece of linen cloth. This raises the interesting discussion about variations in only a few very details between the four gospels - not contradictions but differing viewpoints of the same events. Or were these differences rooted in the translation or the writing down of the details?

The Sudarium of Oviedo, or Shroud of Oviedo, is a bloodstained cloth kept in the Cámara Santa of the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. This small chapel was built specifically for the cloth by King Alfonso II of Asturias in AD 840. The Sudarium is claimed to be the cloth that was wrapped around the head of Jesus of Nazareth after he died. It is displayed to the public three times a year: Good Friday, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross on 14 September, and its octave on 21 September.

Since none of us were there and all of this is speculation, we must be wise concerning such matters as this.
Why has the Shroud of Turin, again and again through the ages, been brought before the public for viewing, examination and scrutiny? Is it real or is it a fraud being used to promote the Roman Catholic religion, since their leaders are the ones who keep it in Turino and bring it out for viewing and testing only at lengthy intervals?
Some have suggested that it is a fraud perpetrated by Leonardo da Vinci and that the face on the shroud looks like drawings and portraits of Leonardo. Some suggest that Leonardo was secretly paid by some Roman Catholics to give them a relic which they could use to keep the faithful in the religion. Others say that Leonardo was paid by those who wished to discredit the Roman Catholics, knowing that the shroud would be discovered later and eventually proven to be his work - a discovery that would glorify Leonardo and discredit Jesus, Christianity and the Roman Catholics - something that Leonardo supposedly tried to do throughout much of his life. Some say it is a fraud wrought from evil, supernatural powers because there is nothing or no one in the world that could have produced it at the time. Scientists have presented evidence that it is simply a painting on the cloth - other scientists have discounted those theories with their evidence.

International magazines, news programs and television specials have reported on scientific evidence concerning the Shroud of Turin. This shroud, believed by many to be the actual burial shroud that covered the body of Jesus, has been subjected to flood, fire and scientific tests throughout its history, remaining reasonably intact. Earlier tests have eliminated the suggestion of forgery and placed the origin of the shroud. A close examination of the cloth revealed it to be of a type woven in Judea at the time of Christ. Pollens found in the fabric correspond to flowers that grow in the area of Jerusalem. The latest tests suggest that it is an actual burial shroud with the image of its inhabitant, and the flowers he was buried with, impressed on the cloth by some form of radiation burst.

One scientist, an Italian quantum physicist, attests that there was a zone of no gravity surrounding the body when the image on the shroud was formed because it had to touch the body tightly in order for the clear and detailed images of the shape and condition of the body to be impressed on the cloth. This same scientist suggests that a condition of singularity occurred at the time the image was formed on the shroud - comparing it to the creation of the universe and marking a new beginning in the nature of the universe at the time of the imprinting of the image on the shroud. Certainly, a power that could do this could surely fuse linen wrappings into a single cloth that covered the head as well.

The carbon dating test, made by a team of scientists led by a British atheist, has been discredited because the section of cloth from the shroud used for the test was a 16th century patch sewn into the shroud after a fire damaged part of it. Of course, a 16th century piece of cloth would date to the middle ages, so this "evidence" is no longer considered to be of any scientific value.

More than one of the scientists believes that a supernatural event occurred in the formation of the shroud. The image, when photographed, reveals 3 dimensional information from a 2 dimensional object. The image has been called a hologram.

If accurate, this evidence is quite astonishing. If it is the burial shroud of Jesus, might God have left this evidence of His time on earth - the scourging, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection - so that future generations might study it and come to believe? Although there is an enormous body of evidence supporting the Christian faith, the essence of the faith in the heart of each believer is a trusting, abiding faith in God. A relic such as the shroud is not necessary for believers who follow Yeshua or Jesus by faith. Yet, should it prove to be the actual burial garment, it might serve to strengthen and confirm their faith in a tangible, physical way and help bring others who require proof of some kind to come to a knowledge of His saving grace.

The shroud holds traces of blood and tissue from a man with bleeding wounds covering his body, in particular, around his head, on his back, in his hands, feet and side. No doubt, the shroud bears a remarkable resemblance to a garment wrapped around a crucifixion victim. Adding the wounds caused by a crown of thorns and a scourging, the shroud becomes even more closely associated with one Man. The Son of Man. Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua - the savior of the world. Whether the sudarium and the shroud are real or fake, the real issue is that the One to be worshipped is Jesus who was crucified, buried and resurrected to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The gift of eternal life is freely given to those who trust in Jesus as their savior. Those who believe, pray, read the Bible and allow themselves to grow in spirit and truth by trusting in Jesus and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit are brought into the family of God and will spend eternity with Him. You can read more about Jesus in the Gospel of John.

Topics.
The Good News - the Gospel of John.
The Sermon on the Mount
The Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Paley's Evidences of Christianity
Sherlock's The Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Words of wisdom and warning.
The Authority of the Holy Scriptures - the Bible.
The Sign of Jonah.
The Two Babylons.
Thoughts.
Thoughts for today and every day.
...a refiner and purifier of silver.
Prophecies confirming Jesus as the Messiah.
To the Jew first and to the Gentile - Come let us reason together.
The Way.
Spirit.
Atheism.
Belief in God or science?
Old fossils?
Evolution or devolution?
The Shroud and The Sudarium.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Blood and Flesh.
Christmas.
Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
How should followers of Jesus live?
A praise and worship leader gone astray?
St. Valentine's Day.
The influence of feminism, new-age and pagan philosophy in the church.
God, the Father.
Marriage is for one man and one woman.
Touchy subjects.
The apostate church.
The last days.
Ancient conflict - Isaac vs. Ishmael.
A Tale of Two Films - The da Vinci code and The Passion of The Christ.
Current events and topics.
Fascism.
To veterans and to those who serve in the armed forces.
The world.


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