Megalithic Marvels - Scientists make "Astonishing Discovery" regarding the Shroud of Turin

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

A new scientific discovery has been made involving one of the world’s most infamous artifacts - the Shroud of Turin, Christ's alleged burial cloth, which is one of the most studied and controversial artifacts in history according to a 2023 Harvard study. Also known as the Holy Shroud, this fourteen foot long piece of linen cloth bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. It has been venerated for centuries, especially by members of the Catholic Church, as the actual burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion, and upon which Jesus's bodily image is miraculously imprinted. Millions of believers worldwide have taken great interest in the Shroud of Turin as potential proof of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Using new ground breaking x-ray technology, an Italian group of scientists shared their recent findings that state the shroud to be 2,000 years old… Is the Shroud of Turin just an elaborate hoax or does this discovery help prove its authenticity?

Stargate Voyager. So a new scientific discovery has been made involving one of the world's most infamous artifacts, the Shroud of Turin, Christ's alleged burial cloth, which is one of the most studied and controversial artifacts in history on the planet. And this is according to a 2003 Harvard study. Now, also known as the Holy Shroud, this 14 foot long piece of linen cloth, There is the faint image of the front and back of a man. Now, it has been venerated for centuries, especially by members of the Catholic Church and even Christians worldwide

as the actual burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion and upon which Jesus' bodily image is miraculously imprinted. The human image on the shroud can be discerned more. clearly in a black and white photographic negative than in its natural sepia color, an effect discovered in 1898 by Secondopoeia who produced the first photographs of this mysterious shroud. Again, millions of believers worldwide have taken a great interest in the shroud of Turin because they believe it might be potential proof of the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, Italian scientists Liberato di Cara and Italy's Institute of Crystallography

shared their findings this week regarding the infamous shroud of Turin, and their new X-ray analysis revealed the Shroud of Turin to be 2,000 years old. Dikaro and his team argue that the previous carbon dating that took place back in 1988, that dated the Shroudraud to be somewhere between the years 1260 and 1390 AD may have been flawed due to contamination, and this claim has been made by other scholars over the years. Now, according to this Italian Institute, their dating process involved wax, W-A-X-S, or wide-angle x-ray scattering. Their wax analysis showed that the degradation of cellulose

in the shroud's fibers was consistent with the natural aging process expected over two millennia. The study also highlighted the need for a more accurate and systematic X-ray investigation of more samples to verify their findings. Again, the Shrout of Turin is believed by many to be the linen cloth that was the original burial garment of Jesus. Again, it's been revered by millions of Christians and Catholics and even popes, not millions of popes, but also popes, especially in modern times. In 2010, Pope Benedict, the 16th, I believe, spent several minutes praying in front of the shroud, and so did Pope Francis in the year 2015. Okay, so now let's get a little bit deeper into the history of the shroud of Turin. So according to the Bible, Jesus was wrapped in a linen burial cloth after his crucifixion.

So he's crucified on the cross. His body is brought down. And then this happens in John chapter 19 versus 38 through 42. It says, quote, afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus because he feared the Jewish leaders, asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus's body. When Pilate gave permission, came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night.

He brought about 75 pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial customs, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden where there was a new tomb never used before. And so because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover, and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. End quote. So again, that was the book of John describing the events that took place right after Jesus' crucifixion on the cross. Okay, now fast forward.

Jesus was laid in the tomb. He lied there three days according to Scripture, and then he resurrected three days later. So now what we're going to read in Luke chapter 2412 is describing what these disciples see, namely Peter, as he comes to the tomb after hearing that Jesus was no longer there. So here is what Luke chapter 24, verses 1 through 12 states. But very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they

went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn't here. He is risen from the dead. Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the son of man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified

and that he would rise again on the third day. Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his 11 disciples and everyone else what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn't believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look, stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings. Then he went home again wondering what had happened.

end quote. So after these events that I just read, the Shrad is not mentioned again in the Bible. There are some indications that might have been taken to Constantinople. We don't see it, though, in the written record until it emerges in the year 1354. In the hands of a knight, I believe his name is Jeffrey DeCarnie, and he was a renowned warrior and crusader, but we don't really know how he got it. So about the same time of 1354, it goes from the hands of this night into an exhibit in the new collegiate church of Liri, a village in north central France. And it was acquired by the house of Savoy in 1453 and later deposited in a chapel of Chambury, where it was damaged by fire in 1532. Now in 1578, the Savoys moved the shroud to their new capital in Turin, where it has remained ever since. And since 1683, it has been kept in the chapel of the Holy Shroud, which was literally created and designed to house the shroud.

Ownership of the shroud passed from the house of Savoy to the Catholic Church after the death of former King Umberto the 2nd in 1983. So fast forward in 1988, a piece of the shroud is carbon dated for the first time by team of scientists. The world stood and watched with bated breath for the results to come back on how old the shroud of Turin was. And when the dates came in, they estimated the shroud to be somewhere between 1260 and 1390 AD. So not ancient, but definitely medieval, sometime around, the time where that night had gained possession of the shroud. But again, this new groundbreaking research with even more advanced technology has changed the narrative and breathed new life into the mystery of the shroud of Turin.

As they say, this thing is not medieval. It is around 2,000 years old. It should also be noted that nobody really has a clue how the image on the cloth was made. There's no pigment or dye present. The fibers themselves seem to be discolored to form the image, and the concentration of those fibers is what creates a darker or lighter section. Its luminance correlates continuously with distance from the body to the cloth, like a 3D image. So if this was some kind of medieval hoax, pulling this off would seem to be almost miracle in itself. And then there are still the physical accuracies.

When you look at the shroud, the wounds are consistent with Roman crucifixion and the specifics of even the Bible account, the marks from the crown of thorns, the stab wound in the side, the lacerations on the back and bruises on the shoulders. And as other researchers have noted, even if this wasn't Christ himself depicted in the shroud, it appears to at least be the victim of real crucifixion. Analysis of nanoparticles on the shroud revealed high levels, get this of creatine and ferretin, which are supposedly found in patients who suffer trauma like torture.

Pollan analysis has suggested that plant pollen found in the shroud is native to Jerusalem, a weave pattern common to the ancient mrs. Middle East, not medieval Europe. And though any ancient record is hard to establish, it seems the shroud might have had an impact on art before 1354. Byzantine icons like the Sinai Panto Kratar from the 6th century appear strikingly similar to the shroud of Turin. And before this icon, there was no standardized way to depict Christ in art. Another point to share on the new discovery with the shroud states the new x-ray techniques that were used to study the aging of the

linens flax cellulose found that the breakdown of the cellulose matches that of other 2,000-year-old samples and not necessarily medieval ones. So if it was just seven centuries old, as the 1988 test suggests, the cellulose would have had to have aged incredibly fast. And to do that, it would have had to have been kept at a temperature very close to the maximum values registered on Earth, which likely would have burnt it up. But this new discovery from the Italy team isn't the only reason why the shroud of Turin is back in the news because it has also inspired a new artificial intelligence image of Jesus Christ, of Nazareth. Now, I believe it was the Daily Express, which is a news publication.

that is responsible for creating these AI images of Jesus that went viral based on the shroud of Turin. And the app they used is really the same one I use. It's called Mid Journey. It's probably one of the most powerful AI image generators out there. You can use it on your phone. You can use it on your desktop. And basically what you do is you input specific keywords, dimensions, styles. Like you can put in their Rembrandt style if you want whatever you're creating to look like a Rembrandt painting. Now you can also attach photos online to give the AI computer something to base your image off of. And I think that's what the Daily Express did here.

I think they uploaded images of the Shroud of Turin and then probably put in keywords like Shroud of Turin, Jesus Christ, and out popped these images. And these images have gone viral worldwide as the, quote, true face of Jesus, end quote. And as you look at these, you see they appear to show what looks like Jesus Christ with long flowing hair and a beard, much like many of the classical depictions of him. And there appears to be cuts and grazes around his face and body, pointing to the fact that he had just been. killed. And again, this image is being called by many as the true face of Jesus. What do you think?

Do you think somehow the AI computer mysteriously or even supernaturally sped out these images? Or do you think anybody with the right keywords and images could have created something similar? Also, do the latest discoveries regarding the Shrout of Turin increase your belief that the shroud of Turin might have actually imprinted the actual depiction or look of Jesus from 2,000 years ago. Do you believe the shroud is authentic, I guess is what I'm asking? Or do you think it's all really just some elaborate hoax, maybe medieval hoax? I'd love to know what you think. Leave me a comment from wherever you're watching this, whether it's Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, And while you're at it, go ahead and subscribe to this podcast from wherever you are watching or listening.

And if you can, leave me a five-star review, which will help me to cut through the algorithms and reach more people regarding our ancient past. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Until next time, keep exploring.