> So how do we know that this shroud is the real Shroud, and not > one of the other fakes.
"Real" shroud meaning what?? No credible scientist would ever claim that they can prove that it is "real" in terms of it being the actual shroud of Christ. Short of having a DNA sample of Jesus that we could test against, there's really no way to prove that beyond all doubt. As for showing it's not a fake...again, there is basically no credible evidence of a foreign substance/pigment having created the image. Also, that the image is only microns thin...paint or other methods of creation would leech much further into the threads that what we see with the shroud. There's much more data that proves it is not a man-made creation, I'm not going to rehash it here. As for the "other" fakes, there simply is nothing out there that has the properties of the shroud. Certainly artists tried to mimic it in many ways over the years but they are crude representations at best. > So the rule of extraordinary claims have to demostrate extraordinary > proof must be used. In my mind the shroud fanbois have not > demonstrated such at this time. I'm not sure I follow...you are saying that the shroud cannot be the "real" one simply because there is a lack of a historical trail? We're talking 2000 years of history, that's hardly a length of time you can expect to find a perfect, unbroken trail of records through. But it's a moot point. Even if we absolutely date the shroud beyond all doubt to 1st century Palestine, that hardly is proof that it is "real" in the way that you are implying. Again, the fallacy here is that the scientists that work on the shroud are looking to make "extraordinary claims". They are not....they are simply seeking the truth of what this image is and how it came about. It is *not* an extraordinary claim to say that there is no evidence of it being painted and that is was created in some fashion as of yet undetermined. There certainly are people that want to claim it is the burial shroud of Jesus and was created by some supernatural means, but that is a religious, not a scientific statement, and debate on it is hardly worthwhile. Even the Church themselves though do not make this statement (saying basically only that it bears his image and should be revered as a reminder of his suffering for us.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:250333 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
