After a New Jersey priest has a near-death experience he begins to resemble the image depicted on the Shroud of Turin, prompting a skeptical Vatican representative to investigate the claim and subsequently question the assumptions he has held for so long. THE PRIEST… Brought back to life on an operating room table, Father Paul Bartholomew is haunted by visions of Christ as Golgotha. Then, as he celebrates Mass, blood starts running down his arms. The horrified congregation watches him collapse, his vestments soaked in the blood pouring from wounds on his wrists. Mysteriously, he now resembles in almost every physical aspect the Christ-like figure represented on the Shroud of Turin. THE SKEPTICS… Worried lest Bartholomew’s case be proved a hoax, the Vatican employs two prominent scientists to investigate. Dr. Stephen Castle, an American psychiatrist, is renowned for his book arguing that religion is a figment of human imagination. Professor Marco Gabrielli, an Italian religious researcher and chemist, has made a career of debunking supposed miracles, of explaining the unexplainable. THE MIRACLE… For centuries, the Shroud of Turin has defied science. Is this ancient remnant truly Christ’s burial cloth, or the biggest fraud ever perpetrated? When the priest’s uncanny resemblance to the picture on the Shroud prompts Castle and Gabrielli to investigate the artifact itself, each is finally forced to face mysteries reason alone cannot explain—in a journey of discovery that plumbs the farthest reaches of science and the human spirit.
Today, we live in a time of images, photos, and videos that we continuously show others. Why? Because we love the person pictured. Thus, if my heavenly Father left a photo of His Son Jesus and His passion whom we love, I want to know about it and show it to others. The Shroud is one of the most scientifically investigated artifacts in the world. Numerous scientists, authors, researchers, and experts have published abundant literature. Notable figures, such as Rogers, Habermas, Jackson, Rucker, Whanger, Antonacci, Schwortz, and many more, have contributed to the ongoing dialogue. This book merges the phenomenal works of these experts with the scriptures, historical and physical evidence to create a comprehensive narrative. For example, What supernatural timing of three events confirms the exact date of Jesus' death? What prophet predicted that exact date? What ancient prophecy is only confirmed in the Shroud? How does the Shroud confirm Jesus' body left the tomb in three days? I hope to provide a deeper understanding of the Shroud by presenting a unified story incorporating all available evidence, adding power to your faith and its relevance in today's world.
Following a summary of all available information on the Internet about the Shroud, the author discusses the place of God in the contemporary world. As long as, in the name of science, men reject the transcendental world, and first the idea of God, how could they envisage that a man, worst a man disfigured, a man flagellated, a man crucified, a man pierced, could be God come on the Earth to give the meaning of life? But also resurrected? If the principles of science are entirely contrary to any idea of resurrected, philosophy should it not also reject the idea of an absolute God and therefore unique, according to the mind of Socrates, but who would be multiple? Father, Son and Spirit. These Mysteries are recalled by the Shroud, beyond a Way of the Cross drawn by the blood of Jesus of Nazareth.
How did a first-century Jew called Jesus manage to spark a new religion? Christianity was born nearly two thousand years ago and has won untold millions of followers. Yet, historians still cannot say how it really began. The Sign finally provides the answer. Traditionally, the birth of Christianity has been explained via the miracle of the Resurrection, but historians have been unable to account for Christianity’s remarkable success without the Resurrection to spark it. If no one really saw the Risen Jesus, how were people convinced that he was their immortal Messiah? Art historian Thomas de Wesselow has spent the last seven years deducing the answer to this puzzle. Reassessing a much-misunderstood historical source and reinterpreting critical biblical passages, de Wesselow shows that the solution has been staring us in the face for more than a century. The Shroud of Turin, widely thought to be a fake, is, in fact, authentic. And it holds the key to the greatest mystery in human history.
This essay divulges what the research has established about the famous Shroud of Turin, and it is not intended to persuade to believe that the Cloth of Turin really wrapped the body of Christ a couple of thousands year ago. The author returns several times to certain subjects, according to different perspectives: the reader does not consider such reiterations as not necessary and involuntary: the work includes a general introductory part - at some point, considering it useful, already with in-depth studies, as for the medical conclusions of the anatomopathologist Pierluigi Baima Bollone - and a section, divided into chapters, specifically dealing with particular topics already covered in the first part, for example the photographs of the Shroud, and a chronology. This essay has been updated several times by the author. The essay is not intended to persuade to believe that the Sheet of Turin has really wrapped the body of Christ a couple of thousand years ago or, as commonly said, that it is authentic- On the other hand, authenticity can also mean something else, you can say the Shroud preserved in Turin is the Cloth that wrapped body of Christ, but it could be different than simply assume that an item is two thousand years old; and if I do not take a position on the fact that this famous Sheet wrapped Jesus, I suppose that the reasons for thinking that the Shroud is very ancient are prevailing, as there are currently lots of evidence to support it and only two against, of which only one seems objectively to be considered: the radiodating tests on Shroud samples which determined the age of the Sheet at lower medieval period; but they are increasingly disputed by Christian experts, scientifically and not only. The other reason against the Shroud is a prejudice, that comes both from anticlerical laity and from the majority of the Christians Reformed, preclusion that leads the first to ignore the theme, and sometime to mock it; and leads the Protestant believers to condemn the veneration of the Shroud, which they consider to be a mere ”symbol” created by human hands: they follow the Old Testament condemnation of ”make for yourself images”, historically born for anti-idolatrous reasons, although Catholics argue that the prohibition existed only before God was incarnated in Jesus, showing himself to the world as ”image”, that is as carnal human figure, without any possibility to be confused with graven images; there are, moreover, Catholics who deny authenticity, in the sense that the Shroud isn't precisely the one that wrapped Jesus , and you can find Protestants which assume it is authentic, at least in the second sense of the term or even in the first. In any case, it should be stressed that the Christian faith is not based on the Shroud of Turin but, historically, on the oral witness of the Apostles on Christ’s resurrection, gathered within the first century in the books of the New Testament and come down to us because it was preserved by the Church over the centuries, with systematic control of matching between the new copies and the previous ones, starting with the oldest. With this spirit comes the second edition of the essay of Guido Pagliarino on the Shroud, , carried out considering new data and correcting a couple of inaccuracies in the book released years ago The author returns several times to certain subjects, according to different perspectives: the reader does not consider such reiterations as not necessary and involuntary: the work includes a general introductory part - at some point, considering it useful, already with in-depth studies, as for the medical conclusions of the anatomopathologist Pierluigi Baima Bollone - and a section, divided into chapters, specifically dealing with particular topics already covered in the first part, for example the photographs of the Shroud, and a chronology. Translator: Nanni Marsili PUBLISHER: TEKTIME
In The Search for the Codex Cardona, Arnold J. Bauer tells the story of his experiences on the trail of a cultural treasure, a Mexican “painted book” that first came into public view at Sotheby’s auction house in London in 1982, nearly four hundred years after it was presumably made by Mexican artists and scribes. On folios of amate paper, the Codex includes two oversized maps and 300 painted illustrations accompanied by text in sixteenth-century paleography. The Codex relates the trajectory of the Nahua people to the founding of the capital of Tenochtitlán and then focuses on the consequences of the Spanish conquest up to the 1550s. If authentic, the Codex Cardona is an invaluable record of early Mexico. Yet there is no clear evidence of its origin, what happened to it after 1560, or even where it is today, after its last known appearance at Christie’s auction house in New York in 1998. Bauer first saw the Codex Cardona in 1985 in the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, where scholars from Stanford and the University of California were attempting to establish its authenticity. Allowed to gently lift a few pages of this ancient treasure, Bauer was hooked. By 1986, the Codex had again disappeared from public view. Bauer’s curiosity about the Codex and its whereabouts led him down many forking paths—from California to Seville and Mexico City, to the Firestone Library in Princeton, to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Christie’s in New York—and it brought him in contact with an international cast of curators, agents, charlatans, and erudite book dealers. The Search for the Codex Cardona is a mystery that touches on issues of cultural patrimony, the workings of the rare books and manuscripts trade, the uncertainty of archives and evidence, and the ephemerality of the past and its remains.
In this intense and “absolutely brilliant thriller” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor), a forensic anthropologist sets out to prove that the Shroud of Turin is a fake, but quickly discovers the opposite—and must race to stop the evil forces who want to use traces of blood in the fabric to clone Jesus Christ and bring on the second coming of their own design. Throughout his career, forensic anthropologist and outspoken atheist Dr. Jon Bondurant has investigated many religious artifacts said to be real, but he knows better. Only weak minds rely on such obviously false relics to maintain their silly, pointless faith. So when he is invited by the Vatican to examine the Shroud of Turin, said to be the burial cloth that covered the body of Christ—and the most revered of all Christian artifacts—he is delighted for the opportunity to prove once and for all that the Shroud is a fake. But when he meets Domenika Josef, the beautiful and devout Vatican representative who finds him arrogant and self-important, he realizes his task will not be as straightforward as he once imagined. Domenika believes that the relic is real, and wants nothing more than to rescue the tarnished reputation of the church by announcing the good news. As Bondurant and his team examine every element of the Shroud, he and Domenika begin to see each other in a whole new light. And as the evidence about the origin of this highly contested piece of fabric starts to pile up, he begins to realize that he’s been seeing a lot of things incorrectly. But when a sample of the blood from the Shroud—believed to be the real blood of Jesus Christ—vanishes, he realizes his problems are just beginning. The DNA in that sample could have earth-shattering consequences if it falls into the wrong hands. When Domenika vanishes too, Bondurant is caught in a globe-spanning chase to rescue the woman he loves—and stop the evil forces who have their own motives for bringing on the Second Coming.
In a world filled with scientific explanations and theories, it can be easy to lose sight of the ultimate truth of our existence. The truth is that the universe, with all its intricate complexities, did not come into being by mere chance or a random explosion. It was carefully designed and orchestrated by a higher power, a Creator who holds everything together. When we look up at the night sky and see the countless stars and galaxies stretching out into infinity, we cannot help but be in awe of the sheer magnitude and beauty of it all. The heavens declare the glory of God, as it says in the Bible, and remind us of the greatness of the one who made it all. The theory of the Big Bang, which posits that the universe began as a singular point and expanded over billions of years, is a flawed explanation for the origin of the universe. It fails to account for the intricate design and order that we see in the cosmos, as well as the existence of life on earth. The marvel of our planet Earth, with its perfect conditions for sustaining life, points to a Creator who had a purpose and a plan in mind when he made it. The countless galaxies and stars that we observe in the universe are a testament to the power and creativity of God. They show us that we are part of a vast and wondrous creation, one that was made by an intelligent designer who had a vision for it all. The theory of evolution, put forth by Charles Darwin, is another flawed explanation for the diversity of life on earth. It fails to explain the intricate complexities of living organisms and their unique design, as well as the existence of the human soul. It is clear that we are not the product of blind chance or random mutations, but rather the handiwork of a loving and powerful Creator. “The truth of the origin of the universe” points to a Creator who holds everything together and has a purpose and a plan for it all. God stretches out the heavens and allows light to reach us here on earth, showing us his care and provision for his creation. We are not the product of random chance or blind evolution, but rather the cherished creation of a loving God who made us in his image. Let us never forget the marvel and wonder of the universe, and the greatness of the one who made it all.
The Templars and the Shroud of Christ is the second book in this series by Vatican historian, Barbara Frale. The Knights Templar – the most powerful religious-military order of the Middle Ages – almost certainly looked after the mysterious shroud that is now kept in Turin. Worshipped in a relentlessly secret manner, and known in its intimate nature by only a handful of the order’s officials, the swathe of fabric was kept in the central treasury of the Knights Templar, who were known for their expertise in the field of relics. In an age of doctrinal confusion, the shroud might have represented for the Knights Templar a powerful antidote against the spread of heresy. By tracing faint clues concerning the shroud’s movements during medieval times, Barbara Frale reaches back into the centuries and explores complex hypotheses on the shroud’s origins and offers a new viewpoint on this controversial relic.
The Shroud of Turin is the most important and studied relic in the world. The many scientific studies on the relic until today have failed to provide conclusive answers about the identity of the enveloped man and the dynamics regarding the image impressed therein. This book not only addresses these issues in a scientific and objective manner but also leads the reader through new search paths. In the second edition, besides including some of the most recent findings on the Shroud, the authors follow the many tips and comments received from readers. The Shroud’s dating by means of alternative methods has not been free from controversies, some of which have even implied the non-authenticity of the Shroud’s samples tested. So the authors duly expand Chapter 7 to include the proof of the origin of the samples used in the recent scientific research and also address the provenance and the path of the original sample. Furthermore, a new section contains a personal interview with the authors that is the result of the interesting and praiseworthy work of a Bavarian high school student. Although there are many books on the subject, none contains such a formidable quantity of scientific news and reports. Unique in its genre, this book is a powerful tool for those who want to study the Turin Shroud deeply.
