The Resurrection of the Shroud

Five Stars? Oh! You'd better believe it! The previous reviewers have done a very admirable job in extolling this "WONDER-FULL" book. I merely wish to add my voice to the chorus singing its praises. THE SHROUD OF TURIN is an ancient burial cloth containing the mysterious image of a Man who had evidently been crucified - believed by many to be Jesus Christ. The internationally renowned, Peruvian poet, Yoey O'Dogherty, once wrote, "Nothing astounds like Truth." And the truth that has made The Shroud the most studied and least understood artifact on planet Earth is astounding indeed! About 4 years ago, I happened to catch the author, MARK ANTONACCI, being interviewed on a radio program and found his statements so interesting that I went right out and acquired a copy of his book, 'THE RESURRECTION OF THE SHROUD.' From a young age, I had been intrigued by the implications of the Shroud although my knowledge was limited. Like countless millions of other people, when the 1988 Carbon-14 dating test results were announced, "proving" the Shroud to be a hoax conceived between 1260 and 1390 A.D., I thought, "Well, so it goes." Of course, I've learned A LOT about human nature and some so-called "scientists" since then. I'm not so gullible anymore, and after reading 'THE RESURRECTION OF THE SHROUD', I'm more intrigued than ever by this extraordinary treasure! In the preface, the former agnostic, Mark Antonacci, relates how he was somewhat mysteriously goaded into investigating the Shroud, and how in pacing his apartment, reluctantly pondering some of its unfathomable anomalies, it suddenly hit him in midstep, "If all of the possible implications from the scientific examination were true, it would not be bad news - it would be good news." Give Antonacci credit for having been an intellectually honest skeptic, unlike the flapjack who wrote the Kirkus review that our host has unwittingly presented in its Editorial section. That writer says that 'THE RESURRECTION OF THE SHROUD' "is unlikely to win any converts among empirical-minded skeptics." BALDERDASH! That is EXACTLY the sort of person who will be knocked for a loop by this great book! Actually, it is the intellectually dishonest (scared out of his wits) individual who will not permit himself to be converted, who will dismiss it. I know there are willfully ignorant people out there, but you'd hope that they could at least be a bit more imaginative and less blatant in their efforts to mislead others with their bias. True, the book explores some fairly heavy scientific principles, but necessarily so. Unless the reader understands the science behind it, they will fail to appreciate the incomprehensible attributes of the Shroud. But if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you with perfect honesty that I'm one of the least mathematically and scientifically-minded people on God's green earth! I must be operating from the "left field" side of the brain, or something. If I could follow the science, so

...Kirkus Reviews once again exposes their rabid bias ... see their other "reviews" on similar topics. What is the source of their contempt? Is there just one anti-Christian reviewer assigned to books with religious implications? Does he worship at the altar of Spong? I'll have to take a look later.At the beginning of the book the author shares his first encounter with the subject, as an agnostic. Intrigued, he continues his investigation, and ... surprise!Keep in mind that among conservative Christians, the issue of the Shroud is somewhat contested. Last time I looked, Josh McDowell and others were skeptical of the Shroud. So for a nonbeliever to assess the evidence is an interesting ride in itself.Among other topics, the author reviews different theories of image formation, discusses the different images on the Shroud, and offers a theory which seems to fit the facts on hand. He details the many factors which made the C-14 dating the least reliable indicator ... ironically, the only scientific result thus far to cast doubt on the authenticity of the Shroud. After reading this, why anyone would accept the C-14 results - a textbook example of shoddy science - as a reason to discredit the Shroud is beyond me, and can only be explained by a fear rooted in an emotional need to reject it.All in all, a good review of all the evidence currently available, and a good look into an honest skeptic's journey towards a truth stranger than fiction.

Bertrand Russell, a well-known atheist, was once asked what he would say if, after he died, he found that God indeed did exist. Unfazed in the least, Russell answered: "I would tell him: 'Not enough evidence, God. You didn't provide enough evidence.'" Well, it's 2001, and scientists have been busy at work studying the Shroud of Turin for the past twenty years. But as usual, the mass media have told everybody "the scoop" about the Shroud: "It's a fake. Radiocarbon dating proves without a doubt---three well-respected international labs all agree---the cloth of the Shroud dates no earlier than 1260 A.D." Read this book if you want to get the rest of the story. Antonacci does a fine job of reviewing all of the reasons why no skeptics have been able to demonstrate how the image on the cloth, which turns out to be an overlay of two different images, laid down at different moments---one relating to the blood flowing from over 140 wounds on the body, and the other relating to the 3-dimensional image of the body itself---could have been created by a medieval trickster. Even today, after the majority of the data hidden in the image has been revealed only by ultramodern techniques that no one in the Middle Ages could ever have conceived of, let alone anticipated by "painting" details onto the Shroud, the most dedicated and disinterested scientists who have spent years investigating the image are at a loss to explain a definitive mechanism that would account for the incredible wealth of details they can observe. These details, by the way, match eerily with the accounts handed down by the Gospels, discredited for so long by skeptics who argue only from textual inconsistencies, and who have never considered the Shroud---because it's so easy to buy into the simplistic dismissal that it must have been faked. In company with Sherlock Holmes, Antonacci belongs to the school that believes "If you have eliminated all of the possible alternatives, then whatever remains---no matter how improbable---must be the truth." He does not flinch from the inevitable conclusion: those who have been arguing for centuries that Jesus' resurrection is a myth told by early Christians have never confronted the mass of evidence right before their very eyes, in the Shroud of Turin. The much-touted radiocarbon dating in 1988 established only that a single small piece of the cloth snipped from a border area that had been repaired in the 16th century, after being damaged by fire and water, had an "average" age somewhere in the 13th century. Antonacci makes a compelling case that the definitive dating test, based on samples drawn from all parts of the Shroud, has yet to be done, and so the question of the cloth's age is still open. (Were you aware that there was another radiocarbon dating done after the comprehensive examination of the Shroud in 1978, and that it showed one end of a fiber from the cloth was as old as 200 A.D., plus or minus several hundred years?) No? Well,

Kirkus Reviews states that the author "assembles a superficially impressive body of evidence to discredit the 1988 carbon-dating of the Shroud" that is "is unlikely to win any converts among empirical-minded skeptics." Folks, there is absolutely nothing "superficial" about this book and the empirically-minded will only be impressed. (There are literally hundreds of notes documenting the findings.) This effort represents the culmination of almost twenty years of research by the author that summarizes an estimated 250 thousand man-hours of study of the Shroud over the past twenty-five years by many individuals. This linen is absolutely unique. There is no other naturally occurring linen like it nor does anyone know how to fabricate it. While you may or may not agree with the author's theory of how the image was formed, after finishing this book, you most certainly will known why this cloth holds such fascination for so many.For those who have never read on this topic, you might want to consider first reading Ian Wilson's "The Blood and the Shroud" and perhaps Gilbert Lavoie's "Resurrected". Wilson's book provides an excellent overview of what is known regarding the Shroud and Lavoie's book contains some information regarding shadowing on the Shroud that I have seen nowhere else. Antonacci's book is a must read for the hardy because of its impressive coverage, but the print is quite small and the text is less than scintillating. If you start this book, but do not finish it, find one that you will complete so that you will know what all the fuss is about!

Exciting new theory explains the mysteries of the Shroud of Turin. Based on new evidence provided by the latest technology and recently uncovered details on the images from the Shroud. A fascinating and thoughtfully presented argument for the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. If you haven't read this book, you don't have all the facts you need to come to an educated conclusion.Chapters on the how the images were created are eye-opening. Prior carbon dating testing is debunked once and for all. Surprising evidence is presented from flowers, pollens and coin images found on the Shroud in the last few years. History of the Shroud cloth and where it has been for the last two centuries is unearthed. A must read.