The Truth About Miracles

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A miracle is defined as: “an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.” (courtesy of dictionary.com) The Christian Bible illustrates the miracles of Jesus that both inspire faith, and happen as the result of faith. Miracles are not the domain of Christians alone. Hindu, Muslim, Wicca and sundry other faiths have their own traditions of events that cannot be explained by natural laws or scientific proofs.

When ever a miracle is proclaimed, however, there will be many who step forward to offer proof that the event in question has a logical explanation. Sometimes these skeptics will go to extraordinary lengths to debunk the idea that God, a saint, or any supernatural force is at work.

A recent news story concerning the Shroud of Turin is behind this post. Being Catholic, I have known about the Shroud for over 20 years. It is a length of fabric that bears an image, in negative, of a man who appears to have been tortured and then crucified. Visible in the image are what appears to be signs of scourging, wounds to the head and brow, and wounds in the hands and feet consistent with crucifixion. The man’s features are consistent with someone from the Middle East and the hair is similar in style to that worn by Hasidic Jews.

Many Roman Catholics belief this is the image of the crucified Jesus, and the cloth is the shroud used to cover his body before he was placed in the tomb. They also believe that the image was created at the moment of Jesus’ resurrection by some supernatural energy produced as a result of that event.

Recently, scientists in Italy were able to produce a similar image on a piece of cloth using materials that would have been available in the 14th century. This, coupled with carbon dating done in 1988 that indicates the cloth was created in the 13th or 14th century, seems to indicate the image could not be an image of the crucified Jesus. In fact, lead scientist Luigi Garlaschelli, has stated, “The result obtained clearly indicates that this could be done with the use of inexpensive materials and with a quite simple procedure.” In his mind, all questions of the origin of the image have been answered by his research.

But there are questions that have not been answered by pointing out that a similar image can be created using methods and materials readily available in the 14th century. For instance, a study by the Hebrew University identified pollens in the cloth that originated in the area around Jerusalem and date to some time prior to the 8th century. How does one account for the presence of pollen 1300 years old on a piece of cloth that they claim is only 700 years old?

It is also interesting to note that the image appears in negative on the shroud, and any understanding of photographic processes did not come into being until the early 19th century. How would a medieval artist come up with an idea to create a negative image. And what would be the reason for doing so?

When one considers the image itself, there are factors that would probably not have been commonly understood. In almost all painted images and sculptures depicting the crucifixion, the wounds that resulted from being nailed to the cross are shown in the palms of the hands. In reality, victims of crucifixion were probably secured to crosses by piercing the wrists with nails…which is where the wounds appear in the image on the Shroud of Turin. The other wounds found on the body shown on the Shroud of Turin indicate details consistent with archeological findings that suggest a level of detail that would not have been known to an artist of the 14th century.

My point is that there are many questions that are not answered with discovering a way to duplicate the image on the shroud.

Even if one were able to explain every question raised about the creation of the Shroud of Turin, does that take away from its role as a source of inspiration to Christians in general, and Roman Catholics in particular? I don’t think so. At the very least, this artifact is a stark representation of the suffering that Jesus endured at the hands of the Romans. And, according to Christian tradition, he accepted his fate willingly. To many Christians, this visual reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made is a source of inspiration.

The Roman Catholic Church has never officially declared the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, or proclaimed that the faithful must accept it at any level. They have only said that “it is a powerful symbol of Christ’s suffering.” In other words, each individual is free to accept whatever explanation of the shroud’s origin they are comfortable with. The same is true of most miracles.

To non-Christians, there is no meaning that can be ascribed to the Shroud of Turin, other than it depicts a historical fact. Namely that crucifixion did occur in the history of mankind. To Christians, even if there is a logical explanation for how the image was created, the shroud remains a powerful symbol of the basic tenets of their faith. For those who do choose to believe in the miraculous creation of the image, it is the image of the object of their faith and adoration.

In the end, the efforts to debunk such miracles seem to me to be a waste of time. It does nothing to diminish the faith of a believer, and it adds nothing to the “proof” sought by the unbeliever. If anything, such attempts raise more questions than they answer. Maybe the best that can be said is that it gets everyone thinking.

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• Proof Positive: The Shroud of Turin Is A Fake – Scientist Creates A Duplicate (dvorak.org)
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• Italian Group Claims to Debunk Shroud of Turin (time.com)
• A shroud over the truth (guardian.co.uk)