History of Jesus

QUESTION: History of Jesus - What about the Shroud of Turin?

ANSWER:

So what about the Shroud of Turin? Does it produce some history of Jesus? It is a piece of linen cloth claimed to have been purchased by Joseph of Arimathea to cover the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. Much ado has been made to prove or disprove the authenticity of this artifact. Usually evidence is produced to reinforce the beliefs of the claimant. I am not going to attempt such feat with this answer; the reality is that this object plays no significant role in spreading the word of Jesus.

We do know from pollen particles embedded in the material, and from faint flower images microscopically visible, that the cloth originated in Jerusalem in the spring-season. Dr. Max Frei, biologist and professor of criminology at Zurich University traveled throughout Palestine, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, and France collecting pollen and plant specimens during the mid to late 1970's. He claims to have made a positive identification of particular pollens found on the shroud, confirming that the shroud comes from that specific region. He succeeded in identifying up to 60 different plants species which had left microscopic evidence on the material. He notes in his findings, that none of the specimens were adhered to the cloth with tempura, or were covered with tempura. One specimen of particular relevance was identified to be from the plant zygophyllum.

We also know that while attending a conference at Paris in 1989 a certain Dr Alan and Mary Whanger presented to Professor Avinoam Danin data regarding faint images of flora which had been found on sections of the shroud. This is significant because 28 samples of the flora residue had their origin in or around Israel. These data showed characteristics of the plant 'rockrose', reported to have been recovered from the shroud previously by Dr Frei. In addition to that image of both summer and winter leaves from the plant zygophyllum were found.

Dr. Danin complimented Dr. Frei's work in acknowledging that the plant zygophyllum grows only in Israel, Jordan, and Sinai, with its northern most boundaries between Jerusalem and Jericho. Not only that but also the fact that a winter leaf was found on the zygophyllum, together with the remains of the stalk from the preceding year which proved to Dr. Danin that the plant was plucked in the spring, which coincides with the time of the crucifixion.

If the work of such notorieties can be considered to be valid it certainly advances the case for the shroud being authentic, however validating the shroud is not my objective as much as objectively reporting the findings.