Shroud of Turin Old as Christ

[ethics]

Well, it's back in the news again and the source is not TheNation but <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/27/science/27shroud.html?ex=1264568400&en=6eb90c1c75582018&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland">NY Times</a>. </i>

e Shroud of Turin is much older than the medieval date that modern science has affixed to it and could be old enough to have been the burial wrapping of Jesus, a new analysis concludes.

Since 1988, most scientists have confidently concluded that it was the work of a medieval artist, because carbon dating had placed the production of the fabric between 1260 and 1390.

In an article this month in the journal Thermochimica Acta, Dr. Raymond N. Rogers, a chemist retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, said the carbon dating test was valid but that the piece tested was about the size of a postage stamp and came from a portion that had been patched.

"We're darned sure that part of the cloth was not original Shroud of Turin cloth," he said, adding that threads from the main part of the shroud were pure linen, which is spun from flax.

The threads in the patched portion contained cotton as well and had been dyed to match.

From other tests, he estimated that the shroud was between 1,300 and 3,000 years old.

[John R. Beanham]

I am confused, last weeks infallible experts told me it was only a few 100 years old, now this weeks infallible experts tell me it is 2000 years old.Who am I to believe?


John.

[ethics]

Today? The experts who believe it's 2000 years old.

[Violet1966]

It was never dismissed as not that old. What I remember reading...was that they couldn't prove the age because water damage had froze the carbon dating onm the tested material to medieval times or something like that. They had to do more extensive tests on various areas of the shroud. I guess they finally hit the part that ages back now.

[Swamp Fox]

Test it again, with a proper piece of the shroud.

[MorWired]

From other tests, he estimated that the shroud was between 1,300 and 3,000 years old.I'm not so surprised that they say it might be 2000 years old, but what surprises me is that they gave themselves nearly 2000 years of wiggle room -- what's there to question here? :doh:

[Violet1966]

I think it's more like, they know carbon dating is not a perfect science when certain conditions are factored in, and there's been such gaps in other datings performed in the past, due to bacterias in the samples tested. This is a very real and proven phenomena, and it's a shame that the imperfection of the test, is somehow becoming a negative reflection on Christianity :shake:

[MorWired]

I think it's more like, they know carbon dating is not a perfect science when certain conditions are factored in, and there's been such gaps in other datings performed in the past, due to bacterias in the samples tested. This is a very real and proven phenomena, and it's a shame that the imperfection of the test, is somehow becoming a negative reflection on Christianity :shake:Oh, I realize that the test has limitations, and that something as ephemeral as fabric is not exactly a permanent repository of scientific data, but with a span like that, why not just say it must have been created sometime while humans have been on earth (in the Biblical 6k-years sense) and just call it a day. A 2k-year possible span renders the conclusion to be pretty meaningless when you're talking about wanting it (to be the "proof" that people would like it to be) to actually BE 2k years old.

[Kangaroo]

Apply Occam's Razor. The likeliest explanation is that it is a fake, like 99.999999% of European-Catholic 'miracles' and artifacts.

[MorWired]

I'm at this very moment watching a very interesting program on The National Geographic Channel, that's making a very convincing case for the Shroud to have been the product of da Vinci's genius.

As far as I've watched between his artistic abilities, his scientific genius, his connection to the region, and various other factors it's sounding well-reasoned. Can't imagine we'll ever really know though. :)