Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY

Oh, those pesky scientists. First, in 1988, they used carbon dating to show the Shroud of Turin to have been created around 1350 AD, a little out of whack with the Jesus Timeline (TM). Of course, at that time, those evildoers couldn't explain how to create the artifact, so of course most religious artifact fans pooh-poohed the dating method. Now, an Italian chemist has shown precisely how to create a look alike Shroud using medievally-known chemicals. Looks like (surprise) a fake, likely created by religious profiteers and later obtained by the Church, having bought the profiteers stories hook, line and sinker.

I'm thinking religion might want to rethink the whole physical evidence angle. They don't win those battles much anymore, what, with the Scientific Method (TM) deployed by their sworn enemies over the past several centuries.

Oh, in other news...seems some neocons don't much care for that Liberal Commie Jesus of the New Testament and are rewriting the King James version of the Bible to suit their beliefs. I actually have no problem with this--this is how the Bible has been edited since it was first written.

Marc said about 19 hours later

I always thought the Church's stance on the Shroud was that it was merely a symbol and that they didn't officially support that it was a real thing. Is that not true? Granted, I will admit they certainly don't try to show this stance, by neither officially confirming or denying, they are essentially leaving it up to the millions of people to make the choice, and we all know how large crowds usually work out supernatural things. :)
GJ said about 22 hours later

Here's a snippet of the timeline for the shroud:

1983 The House of Savoy gave the shroud to the Holy See.

1988 Postage-stamp-sized pieces of the shroud were sent to three different laboratories for radio-carbon testing. All three labs dated the shroud to between 1260 and 1390. The Catholic Church accepted this, announced that it was not authentic, but could continue to be an object of devotion. The shroud is widely considered a medieval fraud.

1997 Another fire (possibly arson) threatened the shroud, but it was rescued from further damage by a fireman.

1997 Two Israeli scientists said that the shroud could not be from Jesus' time because the material could not have remained intact for 2,000 years.

1998 Pope John Paul II said of the shroud, "Since we're not dealing with a matter of faith, the church can't pronounce itself on such questions. It entrusts to scientists the tasks of continuing to investigate, to reach adequate answers to the questions connected to this shroud."

2000 Shroud is publicly exhibited for the 2000 Jubilee.

2000 An archaeologist discovered shroud-wrapped remains in a Jerusalem tomb, and the shroud was dated to the first century.

2002 The Holy See had the shroud restored. In the process, the cloth backing and 30 patches were removed, enabling the reverse side to be viewed for the first time.

2004 A National Geographic article suggested that the samples tested in 1988 came from a medieval repair job on the shroud.

so...

The Church says it's not authentic in 1998 (ten years after the first scientific study cast serious doubts on it), and yet can still be a symbol of devotion. Meanwhile, they pull it out for the 2000 Jubilee. In other words, they seem to want it both ways--and yes, like you said, leaving it up to millions of people to make the uninformed choice to believe in it and further bolster their faith--with a medieval fraud. That says an awful lot about the Church leadership, and their respect for their flock's intelligence and dignity.