Other Early Views

Other Early ViewsAdoration of the Magi dating to the early 3rd

century AD

Baptism of Christ circa 330 AD

Earliest Surviving Icon of Christ circa 6th Century Outside Zagorsk

Jesus as Teacher circa 4th Century

Christ Between Peter & Paul – 3rd Century

Christ as the Good Shepherd circa 250 AD

Christ Healing a Cripple circa 235 AD

Mandylion of Edessa best estimate circa 40 AD

Shroud of Turin negative best estimate circa 30 AD

Shroud Positive/Negative Comparison3-D distribution of pixels on Shroud

Shroud of Turin before restoration - face in middle

Full length negatives of the shroud of Turin

Anatomical Forensics of Shroud of Turin• A number of studies on the anatomical consistency of the image on the shroud

and the nature of the wounds on it have been performed, following the initial study by Yves Delage in 1902 who declared the image anatomically flawless. Among forensic pathologists, it seems that there is a clear consensus to say that the man of the shroud is a real man and in state of rigor mortis.

• In 1950 surgeon Pierre Barbet wrote a long study called A Doctor at Calvary which was later published as a book. Barbet stated that his experience as a battlefield surgeon during World War I led him to conclude that the image on the shroud was authentic, anatomically correct and consistent with crucifixion.

• In 1997, forensic pathologist Robert Bucklin constructed a scenario of how a systematic autopsy on the man of the shroud would have been conducted. He noted the series of traumatic injuries which extend from the shoulder areas to the lower portion of the back, which he considered consistent with whipping; and marks on the right shoulder blade which he concluded were signs of carrying a heavy object. Bucklin concluded that the image was of a real person, subject to crucifixion.

Anatomical Forensics of Shroud of Turin• For over a decade, medical examiner Frederick Zugibe

performed a number of studies using himself and volunteers suspended from a cross, and presented his conclusions in a book in 1998. Zugibe considers the shroud image and its proportions as authentic, but disagrees with Barbet and Bucklin on various details such as blood flow. Zugibe concluded that the image on the shroud is of the body of a man, but that the body had been washed.

• In 2001, Pierluigi Baima Bollone, a professor of forensic medicine in Turin, stated that the forensic examination of the wounds and bloodstains on the Shroud indicate that the image was that of the dead body of a man who was whipped, wounded around the head by a pointed instrument and nailed at the extremities before dying.

Carbon Dating the Shroud• Showed it was crested in the Middle Ages

• But the sample used was taken from an area of the cloth that had been repaired after the shroud was partly damaged in a fire

• No tests were done on a sample of the original cloth and he Church wants to stop tests out of fear of futher damage to the shroud

The Cloth Covering Jesus Face?• Discovered in Jerusalem and carbon dated to

time of Christ

• Contains male human blood but no image

• Mitochondrial testing of the blood reveals only a female component of the DNA. This man was born without any male contribution to his DNA.

• Draw your own conclusions