I think it is authentic because out if several hundreds of tests that have been done over it, the only one that came out with a result to support the theory of being a fake was the C14. And the big problem with that test was that it created a million more questions than before that no one can anseer. The C14 has been dismissed and contested by a huge number of members of the scientific community. Moreover, if the date in the C14 is accurate how in the world someone I’m the medieval ages was able to do such a perfect fake. Some have come up with the theory that it was done through a photographic technique already available during medieval times which may explain the negative issue. But the problem with that theory is that the shroud does not contain painting it has human blood. The proposer of that particular theory stated that after the negative came out the faker painted the surface (see the finding Jesus program) but it is a proven fact that the fact contains human blood. So basically this theory suggest that a faker in the medieval age kidnapped someone (because I don’t anyone would have volunteer to be killed) tortured that person and crucified that person just to be able to make a fake. That makes absolutely no sense to me.
If the shroud is indeed from medieval times, where the blood came from and how? And how someone from medieval times (with no crystal ball to look at the future and know that six of seven centuries after human would have technology to determine the difference between red paint and blood) knew that the shroud will be tested for authenticity to make the faker go to the extreme of murdering someone just to make? Wouldn’t it be more logical to think that someone from medieval times would have painted it with red paint?
Again, the medieval fake theory just creates more problems and based on that plus the fact that are so many experts questioning the use of the C14 plus the presence of polen from plants from the middle east, I lean towards its authenticity.
Granted, our faith does not require us to believe that the shroud is real and if indeed it was a medieval fake (or if it was someone else’s burial cloth) it wouldn’t have any impact on the faith or on my faith. To me is more that the theory of medieval times makes absolutely no sense and that if you look at the results of tests that are not disputed, the likelihood of it being Jesus’ cloth seems high.
