Shroud of Turin

Introduction The link below is to an image of the Shroud of Turin. It will probably serve as a good visual aid. Like my opponent I'm having a hard time posting images as well. It may have something to do with me using an I-phone to post all my debate arguments. http://www.debate.org... I'm going to show that, The Shroud of Turin is indeed a fraud. Me and my opponent are going to give 2 dramatically different stories. You decide which story fits the available evidence better. History of/and the Shroud First appearance The Shroud first appeared in around 1350 [1]. It was in the possession of a French knight by the name of Geoffrey de Charny. The Shroud was put on exhibition. It was basically, like one of those old time traveling freak shows. The Shroud would be taken to a new town and people would come from miles around to see it. This time period was very shortly after the Black Death. People were looking for religion as an escape. If a supposed relic of Christ came to town, it was an amazing thing, to these simple people. Multiple Shrouds The Shroud of Turin wasn't the only fake burial Shroud going around at the time. At least 40 others were being peddled or put on exhibition [2]. It seems the fake Shroud business was booming in the 1350s. Selling hope to the hopeless is always a good money making scheme. Obvious fraud The earliest recorded writing mentioning the Shroud is in 1389. In a letter to Pope Clement the VII, one of his bishops says his predecessor discovered it was a fraud and secured a confession from the artist who painted it [3]. Even back during the Shrouds first appearance, respected members of the clergy were aware of the fraud. It was just a part of a faith healing scheme. Perhaps people like Benny Hinn looked into the early history of the shroud and felt inspired by it. The Shroud didn't belong to Jesus I'm going to show you some familiar looking verses. Matthew 27:59 - "And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth." Mark 15:46 - "And Joseph buying fine linen, and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock." Luke 23:53 - And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid. Do you notice how every single verse shows that Jesus was Wrapped in the linen. The Shroud of Turin, wasn't wrapped around a body. It was folded over like a sandwich [4]. This directly conflicts with the biblical account and therefore couldn't be the burial cloth of Jesus. More biblical evidence 'Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.' [Jn 19:40] 'So Peter... reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter... went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.' [Jn 20:3-7] 'Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves...' [Lk 24:12] All these verses show that the shroud Jesus was wrapped in, was in strips. The Shroud of Turin is in one piece. The bible keeps disqualifying the Shroud as a the burial cloth of Jesus. Evidence Outside the bible The first shroud discovered from the time of Jesus, was discovered in 2009. The shroud is a kind of patch work of different cloths with a simple weave pattern. The Shroud of Turin is a single cloth with complex weaving. It's not something very likely to have wrapped Jesus's body [5]. A 14th Century Work of Art Radio Carbon Dating 3 independent labs tested pieces of the shroud and all agreed that the shroud first originated in late 13th or early 14th century [6]. So it was created shortly before knight Charny, gained possession of it. Painting Testing was done to prove the image on the cloth was created by paint. This was an artistic rendition of Christ [7]. Another indicator of it being a painting are things such as the convenient placement of Jesus's hands over his groin area, when they should have been over his chest, or once again Jesus being depicted as a good looking Italian guy instead of a Hebrew. Disproportionate body parts Here is a test, I want everybody reading this to perform. This test isn't something you have to rely on a scientist for. It's not something that requires reading an experts opinion. You can do it yourself to help discredit the shroud. Look at the shroud and how Jesus's hands conveniently cover his crotch area. Lay down now. Make sure it's a hard surface. Relax. Now without stretching, and remaining relaxed cover your crotch with your hands. Now look at the image of Christ and his hand placements. Even if you got long arms and can cover your own crotch while being relaxed and not stretching, do your arms extend as far down as Jesus's arms. I didn't think so. This experiment I pulled from source 8. The head on the shroud is about 5% too big. The face is too big for the head. The nose is longer then it should be and looks European. The eyes aren't positioned correctly. This style of painting is representational of an amateur Medieval painter [9]. Conclusion The shroud is a hoax there is more then enough evidence to conclude this. I will go into rebuttals in the next round. I would like to thank my opponent for giving such a thorough argument earlier in this round. Sources [1]http://www.shroud.com... [2]http://www.dailymail.co.uk... [3]http://www.sillybeliefs.com... [4]http://m.voices.yahoo.com... [5]http://news.nationalgeographic.com... [6]http://www.shroud.com... [7]http://mcri.org... [8]http://paranormal.about.com... [9]http://shroudstory.com...