Revisiting The Shroud of Turin

Although the Shroud had been scientifically studied previously from 1969-1973 radiocarbon dating had not yet been performed on the Shroud either by STURP or the earlier study.  In 1988 the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology independently performed radiocarbon dating and concluded that the Shroud was only 600 years old and presumed to be a medieval fake.  Many of us sadly remember that day when the press and media broke the story.

Not long after in a separate and unrelated study, microbiologist Dr. Garca Valdez found that a coating on ancient cloth fibers, caused by bacteria, can distort carbon dating.  In 1996 Valdez tested a few fibers of the Shroud and found the same coating on the Shroud fibers.  Thus, the veracity of the 1988 carbon dating became suspect.

Dr. Harry Gove, one of the inventors of carbon dating came to agree with Valdez’s findings. Referring to the coating as “bacteriological contamination” Gove stated that the scientists who performed the carbon dating could not have known about this at the time of the 1988 carbon dating.  As of the time of this documentary, there has not yet been developed a cleaning method to clear this “Bio-plastic” from fiber specimens.

In 1978 the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), a collection of over 30 scientists and experts in the various forensic disciplines, gained direct access to the Shroud for comprehensive testing.  This documentary tells the story of their research and findings.  Frankly, their results were astonishingly affirmative of the authenticity of the Shroud.

This video of a 1998 Learning Channel documentary tells the story of the astonishing findings by the STURP group.  Findings that are inspiring and even exciting to all faithful Christians.

You can watch the video right on this page or you can open it in your own YouTube page with this link:  https://youtu.be/EmdI5WvWpfE

Enjoy!