The Great Shroud Debate, Part 485

Well, the debate over the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin has new legs.

Personally, I think the shroud is a forgery. (I suspect that Nate Wilson’s theory is on the right track as far as explaining how such a forgery could have been accomplished using Medieval technologies.)

But even if the shroud is the real deal, so what? Catholics and Eastern Orthodox types may think this is significant – an icon or item for veneration – but Protestants aren’t supposed to go in for that, right? Right??? (Besides, the official stance of the Catholic Church is that it’s a fake, but that’s it’s OK to venerate it. Untangle that, if you dare.)

I mean, what the shroud tells us (assuming that it is Jesus’ burial cloth) is that it once contained a man that died by crucifixion. Is anyone disputing that? Even the most diehard atheists usually concede that Jesus actually lived and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. It certainly doesn’t prove the Resurrection, theories of Jesus’ body undergoing an effect like those in the movie Cocoon notwithstanding.

March 21 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Neither Here Nor There #1

Editorial Note:  "Neither Here Nor There" will be a recurring feature (hence the #1 in the title), chock-full of items on the Web that I find interesting.

  • Derek Thomas, blogging over at reformation21, has some interesting thoughts on postmillenialism today.  I think his assessments are on-target – I like Doug Wilson as much as the next guy (OK, maybe more than the PCA!), but postmillenarian theology just doesn’t make sense to me Biblically.  (For the record, my eschatology is pretty much classic amillenialism.  Which is rather fun, since I go to a church populated almost exclusively by dispensationalists!)
  • Speaking of Doug Wilson, his son Nate’s book 100 Cupboards is simply wonderful.  Highly recommended for kids ages 8 to, oh, 97 or so.  (Nota bene: If you get all bent out of shape at the use of the word "magic" in the Narnia or Harry Potter books, you may not find 100 Cupboards to be worthwhile.  But you’d be wrong.)
  • The annual Ligonier conference is about to kick off.  The sessions will be simulcast here, and Tim Challies will be live-blogging as usual.
  • Logos has just announced a new resource focusing on discourse analysis in the Greek New Testament (and also tied to the ESV).  Check out my friend Rick Brannan’s post on the details here.

March 13 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »