Shroud Is Fake? Scientists Say ‘Yes’…
Apparently a group of scientists led by Luigi Garlaschelli, believe they have proven the Shroud of Turin to be forgery. According to a news report, “researchers in Italy have replicated the markings on the original shroud, above, using techniques available in the 14th century. Carbon dating has placed the origin of the cloth to medieval times, but experts had previously failed to understand how the facial markings were made.”
Also according to the report, “Luigi Garlaschelli said in the statement. ‘The result obtained clearly indicates that this could be done with the use of inexpensive materials and with a quite simple procedure’.” The problem which immediately comes to mind is that IF the Shroud is real, then it would date back to around 30 A.D., not the 14th century of the Middle Ages. Since scientist Garlaschelli indicated that he replicated the Shroud with techniques which would have been available in the 14th century, he has not proven whether or not the Shroud is actually real. All he has proven is that the during the 14th century, techniques were available with which would have allowed people to create something like the Shroud.
While there is some question as to the actual date of the Shroud, in order to actually prove its veracity (or not), he would have to attempt to replicate the Shroud using techniques from 30 A.D., which he has not done. In essence, his experiments were a waste of time. IF the Shroud dates back only to the 14th century, that alone would prove it to be a forgery. Garlaschelli needs to try to reproduce the Shroud using techniques from the First Century A.D., not the 14th Century.
The Shroud has undergone Carbon Dating, which places it in the 14th Century. However, as pointed out after this initial dating, the small portion of the Shroud that was used for the Carbon Dating process, was unfortunately taken from a section of the Shroud that had been repaired due to a fire. This repair was said to have been done around the 13th-14th centuries. The Carbon Dating wound up merely showing that this repaired part of the Shroud had, in fact, been completed during that time.
The Carbon Dating needs to have been done on a part of the Shroud, which had not been repaired. This would have allowed the researchers to verify the authentic age of the Shroud. Since the Roman Catholic Church has not allowed anyone since then to take another sample of the Shroud, it has been impossible to verify the actual age of the unrepaired portions of the Shroud.
So in essence, what Garlaschelli and his team have done is to show (to an extent) that techniques might have been available to replicate the Shroud during the 14th Century A.D. What he has not shown is that he could do the same thing with techniques, which were available during the 1st Century A.D. and if the Shroud is actually from the 1st Century, then this is what would need to be done. If the Shroud in actuality, only dates to the 14th Century, then it is a forgery anyway, and that alone – not Garlaschelli’s experiments – proves it.
What needs to be done is for the Roman Catholic Church to allow scientists to take another sample from the Shroud – this time, from an unrepaired section – and have that sample undergo Carbon Dating. If that section of the Shroud is shown to be from any century other than the first, it is at best, a shroud not from Christ’s burial, and at worst, a forgery.
Sometimes, one wonders whether scientists have common sense at all. This entire focus on trying to replicate something that may well have been created in the 14th Century to begin with, actually proves nothing. The Carbon Dating is what makes or breaks this case surrounding the Shroud of Turin…at least for now.
Entry filed under: Atheism and religion, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology. Tags: luigi garlaschelli, shroud, shroud fake, shroud of turin, shroud real.