Is the Shroud of Turin Real or Fake? New Research May Shed Light on Its Authenticity

Sometime in the mid-'80s, I remember going to Atlanta with a group from my church to see the Shroud of Turin, the linen cloth that some have claimed was the cloth that Joseph of Arimathea used to bury Jesus and place Him in the tomb. I remember images and videos in that crowded exhibit hall that told the story of the shroud, and of course, the shroud itself was on display in a glass case.

I was probably 12 or 13, so I wasn’t mature enough in my faith to be able to conclude whether it was real. I do remember the controversy surrounding the dating of the artifact even then, and there were rumors that people were experiencing healing after coming near the shroud. Nevertheless, it fascinated me enough to keep an eye on any news I see about it even today.

The Shroud of Turin first came to prominence in the 1350s, and by the 16th century, it had a permanent home in Turin, Italy. For hundreds of years, the faithful believed that it was Jesus’ burial cloth, and plenty of people believe it today. But in the ‘80s, some researchers concluded that the shroud only dated to the Middle Ages.

Now, a group of Italian researchers have used a new technique called Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) to study the shroud. Comparing the shroud to another linen sample that dates to the New Testament era, they conclude that the cloth dates back to the time of Jesus.

Scientific Technique Dates Shroud of Turin to Around the Time of Christ’s Death and Resurrection

Liberato De Caro discusses his peer-reviewed findings, based on an X-ray method of research, used to determine the age of the shroud’s fibers.⤵️ https://t.co/uLzCh09gCt

— National Catholic Register (@NCRegister) August 20, 2024

“We obtained one-dimensional integrated WAXS data profiles for the TS sample, which were fully compatible with the analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55–74 AD, Siege of Masada (Israel),” write researchers Liberato De Caro, Teresa Sibillano, Rocco Lassandro, Cinzia Giannini, and Giulio Fanti. They conclude, “The experimental results are compatible with the hypothesis that the TS is a 2000-year-old relic, as supposed by Christian tradition, under the condition that it was kept at suitable levels of average secular temperature—20.0–22.5 °C—and correlated relative humidity—75–55%—for 13 centuries of unknown history, in addition to the seven centuries of known history in Europe.”

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The Daily Mail explains the features of the shroud that lead Christians to believe that it was Jesus’ burial cloth:

The cloth appears to show faint, brownish images on the front and back, depicting a gaunt man with sunken eyes who was about 5ft 7 to 6ft tall. 

Markings on the body also correspond with crucifixion wounds of Jesus mentioned in the Bible, including thorn marks on the head, lacerations on the back and bruises on the shoulders.

Historians have suggested that the cross he carried on his shoulders weighed around 300 pounds, which would have left contusions.

The Bible states Jesus was whipped by the Romans, aligning with the lacerations on the back, who also placed [a] crown of thorns on his head before the crucifixion.

Does this new research prove that the Shroud of Turin is actually the cloth that covered Jesus while He was in the tomb? We can’t know now, and we may never know. But our faith in Jesus shouldn’t rest on the status of artifacts. As Jesus told the Apostle Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b, ESV).

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