(Friday, December 14, 2012, 11:53 AM)
“A man pours fragrance or water on Jesus’ body”(above)
and “An angel points to Jesus’empty shroud” (below),
illustrations in the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, 1192–1195,
National Szechenyi Library, Budapest.
The scriptural puzzle of Burial and Resurrection
(see The only possible "harmony" between Luke's and John's account of Jesus Burial)
John clearly speaks of the "face cloth" [soudarion], "which had been around Jesus’ head", and which has nothing to do with —and is clearly distinct from— the "strips of linen cloth" [othonia] (John 20:7).
There is no doubt, from the Synoptics, that the "Pious Women", followed Joseph of Arimathea, "saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it", BUT DID NOT anoint it, because “It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning”, so there was no time. “Then they returned [to their accommodations] and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes”, with the plan of returning to anoint Jesus “on the first day of the week”. There is also no doubt that no woman is mentioned in John's Gospel, where ONLY Joseph and Nicodemus took part in the cleaning, anointing and wrapping of Jesus' body in "strips of linen cloth" [othonia].
Nicodemus certainly took part in the cleaning, anointing and wrapping of Jesus' body in "strips of linen cloth" [othonia], BUT there is no evidence that he arrived at the same time as Joseph, nor that that "Pious Women" were present at the procedure. Why would they have wanted to come back to the tomb with the "aromatic spices" (Luke 23:56-24:1), if they had attended to what Joseph and Nicodemus had already (and thoroughly) done?
It is hard to believe that there is no intentional reason for Luke to use the word sindon before the tomb was closed (Luke 23:53 — BTW, the ONLY word used in Matthew and Mark), and then to use the word othonia after the tomb was found open (Luke 24:12 — 3 tn In the NT this term is used only for strips of cloth used to wrap a body for burial — LN 6.154; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνιον — BTW, the ONLY word used in John). It is hard to believe that Luke casually used those two words (sindon and othonia) as though they were interchangeable.
Luke says explicitly that Peter was puzzled ("wondered what had happened"), going home after he'd seen in the tomb "only the strips of linen cloth [othonia]" (Luke 24:12). There is no suggestion whatsoever that he took the absence of Jesus' body as "evidence of the glorious resurrection of his Lord itself".
Historical and scientific clarifications
(see The Shroud of Turin: authenticity and image formation)
Some people, so as to exclude Raymond Rogers' (non miraculous) theory of the image formation by means of the Maillard Reaction (see The Shroud of Turin: An Amino-Carbonyl Reaction (Maillard Reaction) may explain the Image Formation, by Raymond N. Rogers & Anna Arnoldi, ©2003), opposes to it the "radiation theory". See, for instance, the article, "The Shroud is not a fake" - Vatican Insider (Dec 12, 2011), produced by a faithful "Vaticanate" like Marco Tosatti, in turn providing the "evidence" of the Italian agency ENEA. The later article Radiation could have created Holy Shroud image - Vatican Insider, (March 9, 2012), by another faithful "Vaticanate", Andrea Tornielli, is of the same "quality" ...
Why would the Vatican oppose the "Maillard reaction theory"? For (at least) two reasons:
1) the Maillard reaction theory would imply an (at least incipient) corruption of Jesus' body, which is obviously felt as "theologically embarrassing" for a strict and literal interpretation of Acts 2:27; 13:35 (cp. Ps 16:10), especially if applied to one who would be not just Messiah, Son of God, Incarnation nof God's Word, but even "god-the-son";
2) the "energy burst" theory (while totally incompatible with scientific evidence — see Raymond Rogers' "Frequently Asked Questions"‚ 2004‚ PDF @ shroud.com, no. 3) is, of course, felt as much more "theologically appropriate": nothing, of course, would suit the Resurrection better than a suggestion of Jesus' body turning into "pure light"!
The Turin Shroud is special precisely because (while not necessarily miraculous, in the sense of "unexplainable by the ordinary behaviour of nature" — although even Raymond Rogers admitted that the clarity and resolution of the image is uncanny) it provides support for the conclusion that a severely brutalized body was only temporarily in contact with it.
It is clear that (at least after 1978) we have become SURE (pace dishonest "scientists" and various quacks) that NOBODY can reproduce ALL the characteristics of the Shroud image, that we have a realistic hypothesis of image formation, viz. the "Maillard reaction theory" (albeit insufficient to explain the uncanny clarity and resolution of the image), and that we have a plausible route of the Shroud (at least from Edessa, to Constantinople 944, to Athens 1204, to Lirey 1356), the Shroud may indeed be a silent attestation to the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.
So, far from appealing to the "marvellous", the Shroud of Turin is indeed a "silent Gospel" ...
... that helps fill the gaps of the Four Canonical Gospels, and, in particular, the manifest discrepancies between Luke and John ...
“A man pours fragrance or water on Jesus’ body”(above)
and “An angel points to Jesus’empty shroud” (below),
illustrations in the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, 1192–1195,
National Szechenyi Library, Budapest.
The scriptural puzzle of Burial and Resurrection
(see The only possible "harmony" between Luke's and John's account of Jesus Burial)
John clearly speaks of the "face cloth" [soudarion], "which had been around Jesus’ head", and which has nothing to do with —and is clearly distinct from— the "strips of linen cloth" [othonia] (John 20:7).
There is no doubt, from the Synoptics, that the "Pious Women", followed Joseph of Arimathea, "saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it", BUT DID NOT anoint it, because “It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning”, so there was no time. “Then they returned [to their accommodations] and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes”, with the plan of returning to anoint Jesus “on the first day of the week”. There is also no doubt that no woman is mentioned in John's Gospel, where ONLY Joseph and Nicodemus took part in the cleaning, anointing and wrapping of Jesus' body in "strips of linen cloth" [othonia].
Nicodemus certainly took part in the cleaning, anointing and wrapping of Jesus' body in "strips of linen cloth" [othonia], BUT there is no evidence that he arrived at the same time as Joseph, nor that that "Pious Women" were present at the procedure. Why would they have wanted to come back to the tomb with the "aromatic spices" (Luke 23:56-24:1), if they had attended to what Joseph and Nicodemus had already (and thoroughly) done?
It is hard to believe that there is no intentional reason for Luke to use the word sindon before the tomb was closed (Luke 23:53 — BTW, the ONLY word used in Matthew and Mark), and then to use the word othonia after the tomb was found open (Luke 24:12 — 3 tn In the NT this term is used only for strips of cloth used to wrap a body for burial — LN 6.154; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνιον — BTW, the ONLY word used in John). It is hard to believe that Luke casually used those two words (sindon and othonia) as though they were interchangeable.
Luke says explicitly that Peter was puzzled ("wondered what had happened"), going home after he'd seen in the tomb "only the strips of linen cloth [othonia]" (Luke 24:12). There is no suggestion whatsoever that he took the absence of Jesus' body as "evidence of the glorious resurrection of his Lord itself".
Historical and scientific clarifications
(see The Shroud of Turin: authenticity and image formation)
Some people, so as to exclude Raymond Rogers' (non miraculous) theory of the image formation by means of the Maillard Reaction (see The Shroud of Turin: An Amino-Carbonyl Reaction (Maillard Reaction) may explain the Image Formation, by Raymond N. Rogers & Anna Arnoldi, ©2003), opposes to it the "radiation theory". See, for instance, the article, "The Shroud is not a fake" - Vatican Insider (Dec 12, 2011), produced by a faithful "Vaticanate" like Marco Tosatti, in turn providing the "evidence" of the Italian agency ENEA. The later article Radiation could have created Holy Shroud image - Vatican Insider, (March 9, 2012), by another faithful "Vaticanate", Andrea Tornielli, is of the same "quality" ...
Why would the Vatican oppose the "Maillard reaction theory"? For (at least) two reasons:
1) the Maillard reaction theory would imply an (at least incipient) corruption of Jesus' body, which is obviously felt as "theologically embarrassing" for a strict and literal interpretation of Acts 2:27; 13:35 (cp. Ps 16:10), especially if applied to one who would be not just Messiah, Son of God, Incarnation nof God's Word, but even "god-the-son";
2) the "energy burst" theory (while totally incompatible with scientific evidence — see Raymond Rogers' "Frequently Asked Questions"‚ 2004‚ PDF @ shroud.com, no. 3) is, of course, felt as much more "theologically appropriate": nothing, of course, would suit the Resurrection better than a suggestion of Jesus' body turning into "pure light"!
The Turin Shroud is special precisely because (while not necessarily miraculous, in the sense of "unexplainable by the ordinary behaviour of nature" — although even Raymond Rogers admitted that the clarity and resolution of the image is uncanny) it provides support for the conclusion that a severely brutalized body was only temporarily in contact with it.
It is clear that (at least after 1978) we have become SURE (pace dishonest "scientists" and various quacks) that NOBODY can reproduce ALL the characteristics of the Shroud image, that we have a realistic hypothesis of image formation, viz. the "Maillard reaction theory" (albeit insufficient to explain the uncanny clarity and resolution of the image), and that we have a plausible route of the Shroud (at least from Edessa, to Constantinople 944, to Athens 1204, to Lirey 1356), the Shroud may indeed be a silent attestation to the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.
So, far from appealing to the "marvellous", the Shroud of Turin is indeed a "silent Gospel" ...
• those who DO NOT believe
in the Resurrection, will affirm, at most (if they consider the Gospel
accounts at all reliable ... up to the Resurrection — excluded, of
course) that the body of Jesus was transferred elsewhere (“They have
taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put
him!”);
• those who DO believe in the Gospel accounts of the Burial and Resurrection of Jesus, and, most of all, in the uninterrupted Apostolic witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, will consider it as a ... "Fifth Gospel" ...
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