Shimon Gibson is a top drawer archaeologist, an interesting and approachable person, and he has been involved with many of the most interesting archaeological finds over the last thirty years (e.g. the Talpiot tomb). This particular find of a piece of a burial shroud from the first century of a man who had leprosy (confirming the existence of Hanson’s disease in that era) is fascinating and helpful. Some think this newly discovered piece of a shroud also counts as evidence against the antiquity of the Shroud of Turin, but of course that assumes that it is representative of how all shrouds were made in the first century, and we cannot make such an assumption. One piece of ancient shroud does not a scientific sampling survey make. Nevertheless, this is a significant find. Enjoy the video from CNN and comment. BW3
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posted December 18, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I checked with snopes and it is a fake.
Just kidding.
Thanks for sharing this.
posted December 19, 2009 at 9:12 am
To assume that all burial clothes would have the same weave seems unreasonable given that cloth production was likely a cottage industry at this time. Also given that people often try to distinguish themselves from others even in death, it is likely that there were many different styles at several price ranges.
We note in the gospels that the soldiers who crucified Jesus were about to tear up his clothes until they noticed its quality and so they gambled for it instead. Remembering also that Jesus had been anointed for burial with extremely expensive perfume, it seems reasonable that the women supporting His ministry would use an expensive and intricate shroud material.
posted December 19, 2009 at 9:13 am
I found this interesting too. I thought of your first book and what you had said in other books about Simon the Leper and Lazarus . I just love seeing proof that the bible writers were not making up stuff but actually knew and saw what they wrote. One’s faith can only be strengthen by these finds.
posted December 19, 2009 at 9:16 am
In all I would say this find only adds to the credibility not only of the shroud but also of the gospels
posted December 19, 2009 at 10:39 am
What does liberal snopes or untrustworthy factcheck.org have to say about this?
posted December 19, 2009 at 2:54 pm
When I was in my teens, years before I became a Christian, scientists were allowed for the first time to inspect a piece of the Shroud of Turin. One of the scientists involved said in an interview that he and his fellow scientists were going to prove once and for all that the shroud was a fake. That statement had a HUGE impact on me as I first realized that even scientists could have their own biases that could affect their conclusions. I have since come to doubt that the Shroud is genuine. However, I would like to hear from someone who would state what evidence there is that it is indeed genuine. I don’t know if the video provides any such evidence because I have not had a chance to see it.