Earliest actual image of Christ?

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I notice the critics are coming down on the Gibson film saying that Jesus was shown more to be like a Roman (with long hair), than a Jew.

Are there any written descriptions of how Jesus looked? Any early portraits?

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), February 24, 2004

Answers

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-- The Bumper! (bumpity@bump.bump), February 24, 2004.

As far as I know, the the Holy Shroud of Turin is a first class relic and an accurate image of the Face and Body of Jesus.

-- John (jjmcintosh@yahoo.com), February 24, 2004.

i thought the shroud was found to be a hoax, or at least NOT belonging to jesus.

i saw a documentary on this maybe 2 years ago. the chemical data suggested the shroud was from the 1200's or so. am i right?

-- JAS (JAS_R_22@HOTMAIL.COM), February 25, 2004.


As always with the media, they only tell you what will make you go against Christian things. The Shroud has been carbon dated twice. The first time, in 1984 it yielded a result of 1st century, the second time it yielded a result of 13th. BOTH carbon datings FAILED to meet peer review. All the other evidence points to a first century dating. Either ignore the failed carbon tests or give them equal weight and decide according to which result has more corroborating evidence. The second point to make is that even if it is a 13th century result in the carbon dating this should not exclude its authenticity. Carbon dating of Egyptian mummies and their wrappings ALWAYS produces differing results. They have scientific certainty that the wrappings on the mummies are exactly the same age as the mummy yet it always dates later, often many centuries later.

I used to be a non-believer in the shroud based on the carbon dating until I got the facts. The evidence is overwhelming in favour of its authenticity. For a good listen go to:

http://www.catholic.com/radio/calive.asp?date=4/1/2002

then click on the the first, 'Shrouded in Controversy'

Oh, by the way, the Church doesn't require anyone to believe in the Shroud. So if you choose not to then that's perfectly okay.

One other interesting note. The blood on the Shroud has been tested and came up as AB. Interestingly enough this is the same blood type as the flesh tested in the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano (11th century). In fact, every single thing tested that is supposed to have the blood of Christ in it has yielded this same result of AB (eg: the one piece robe that was taken by the Roman guard).

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), February 25, 2004.


As far as I know, the the Holy Shroud of Turin is a first class relic and an accurate image of the Face and Body of Jesus.

No. The Church has never said anything of the kind, and probably never will.

i thought the shroud was found to be a hoax, or at least NOT belonging to jesus.

No. Neither thing was declared.

The Shroud has been carbon dated twice. The first time, in 1984 it yielded a result of 1st century, the second time it yielded a result of 13th. BOTH carbon datings FAILED to meet peer review. No. There has been carbon-dating only once, by more than one laboratory. It happened about ten years ago, and the results indicated a medieval origin for the cloth. This was considered "peer reviewed" and reliable by most people at the time. However, reputable scientists, especially in the last five years, have been putting forward various theories to show how the carbon dating could have been unreliable. As a result, the Church may be considering allowing another carbon-dating test some day.

All the other evidence points to a first century dating.

True, which is one of the reasons for which more carbon-dating may be done some day. On the other hand, it has been theorized that the event of the Resurrection itself -- or fires that damaged the shroud -- could have altered the carbon atoms in such a way that no accurate dating will ever be obtained.

-- (Yikes!@Facts.Please), February 26, 2004.



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