Christmas leads inevitably to Easter in Christian understanding and so it is not surprising that the origins of the Shroud of Turin are back in the news. ABC News (US) reports, ‘Experts at Italy’s National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development have concluded in a report that the famed purported burial cloth of […]
Weeks after posting a story about new three-dimensional imaging of the Shroud of Turin, Utterance continues to field search inquiries about the Shroud from around the world.
Fascination with this enigmatic cloth apparently never ends and no doubt has been heightened with the Shroud’s first public display in 10 years having just ended at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin.
Another factor is the quest for faith or unfaith as some seek in the Shroud evidence of Jesus’s reality while others continue the quest to disprove him.
While Christ’s reality does not hinge on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin (there are many other historical evidences), it is still a powerful symbol of faith for millions of Christians and a ‘thorn in the flesh’ for secular atheists.
Two recent Shroud findings are split between supporters and detractors.
‘You have to really seek the face of Jesus if you’re going to find it,’ says 3D computer graphics artist Ray Downing, the man responsible for an ambitious project to recreate the actual face of Jesus from the faint image on the Shroud of Turin.
‘Something extraordinary had happened here. Something beyond human reason,’ said Ray describing his experience in working with the Shroud.
The incredible results feature in the History Channel’s premiere documentary, The Real face of Jesus, which screened in the US on March 30 and will again on April 3. It is unclear when it will screen in Australia.
The History Channel said, ‘For the devout and curious alike, this documentary feature may bring us the closest we have ever come to seeing what Jesus actually looked like.
‘Science and religion join together, bringing cutting-edge computer technology to an ancient stretch of fabric, and creating a living, moving 3D image of the man many believe to be Jesus Christ.’