Whether or not it has anything whatsoever to do with Jesus, the "Shroud of Turin" has to be one of the most fascinating archaeological finds that I know of. Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth for His burial by His followers and the similarities to the events of His torture and the images preserved on the cloth are staggering.

The history of the cloth is known as far back as the mid thirteen hundreds, but before that time it's origins are pretty tough to prove. It's about four feet wide and fourteen feet long. It's called the Shroud of Turin because that city is where it's permanently kept in Italy. Sometimes it is allowed to be moved to other locations for examination.

The markings recorded on both sides of the shroud have said to be consistent with those of a crucified man. It looks as though the man was laid at one end of the cloth and then the length of the cloth was drawn up over him. The torture marks match that of Scripture, even down to the piercing wound in the side, made shortly after He gave up His life.

It's no wonder that experts are divided on the origin of the Shroud and whose shroud it actually was. Non-Christian observers will likely go into their investigation bent on disproving any Christian connection. Often Christian observers will want to do the opposite, and even if their were original documents with the shroud that verified a connection to Jesus there would be those who thought it was a complete hoax. If the shroud is some type of forgery, then the person or persons who created had real talent. Some experts see the shroud as a rather clever hoax and some consider it to be authentic and the actual burial shroud of the Lord.

The biggest proof against the shroud's authenticity is based on carbon dating tests. Heh. I know enough of them to say that as many scientists find them as unreliable as are claims made for their reliability. Such tests say the shroud isn't more than about 700 years old. That's way too young to be Jesus' burial shroud. Other scientists say that the centuries old microscopic bacteria and fungi soiling the cloth interfere with the reliability of carbon dating. That opinion has merit, since the exposure of the examination item to organic materials, pressure or water can completely change the results of a carbon dating test.

One persons says the facial features on the shroud are disproportionate. Another argues that lots of people have features which are out of proportion. As a matter of fact, my older brother has claimed that my features are disproportionate all of my life. Seriously, the disproportional characteristics of the facial features on the shroud might be accounted for by not only by the tightness of the cloth at the time of burial or perhaps even by a severe beating before death.

The hundreds of arguments for and against the authenticity of the shroud or its historic relationship with Jesus might lead the average observer to think that science is at a standoff in this matter. Seems that's where it's at, because the fact is, nobody can prove that the shroud is genuine or not. It's left up to those like myself who are curious enough to examine the information and decide for ourselves.

At the heart of the matter, the shroud, whether it's a hoax or not, is just a piece of very old cloth made of linen. Some folks have been led to believe that the shroud is in some way sacred. That's a mistake. Whether it's a hoax or the actual burial cloth of the Lord, the shroud shouldn't be worshipped or revered in any way. If we assume, or if it's proven to be authentic that makes it a pretty significant piece of Biblical history, but not more than that.

I saw a picture today on a website where through the use of computer generated three-dimensional imagery taken from digitalized photos of the shroud, you could see a raised image of the face from the shroud. It really is fascinating to me personally, just to think that one might be gazing at a "photo" of God. What will really be cool though, is when I get to bow before His nail-pierced feet and gaze upon Him in His glory, face to face.