Why Protestants doubt the Shroud of Turin but believe "Heaven is for Real" Jesus is really Him

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I don’t. It’s a hard one for me to accept, too many chances for fakery if you ask me. I have not been convinced. Sort of like a visiting healing priest who came to our parish recently. He said he had a sliver of the Cross. Don’t believe that one either.
My reading leads me to a different conclusion. But, as I understand it, you are free to doubt it.

As to the true cross relics, it doesn’t seem impossible, as a concept, to me, per Charles Rohault de Fleury’s Mémoire sur les Instruments de la Passion.

GKC
 
I don’t. It’s a hard one for me to accept, too many chances for fakery if you ask me. I have not been convinced. Sort of like a visiting healing priest who came to our parish recently. He said he had a sliver of the Cross. Don’t believe that one either.
I have doubts about the shroud, too. According to Wikipedia, radiocarbon dating done in 1988 “at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology concluded with 95% confidence that the shroud material dated to 1260–1390 AD.” It’s also interesting that the first uncontested mention of the Shroud of Turin was in 1390, “when Bishop Pierre d’Arcis wrote a memorandum to Antipope Clement VII, stating that the shroud was a forgery and that the artist had confessed.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin
 
I don’t. It’s a hard one for me to accept, too many chances for fakery if you ask me. I have not been convinced. Sort of like a visiting healing priest who came to our parish recently. He said he had a sliver of the Cross. Don’t believe that one either.
Those slivers are real and many. The Monks of centuries ago preserved pieces of the cross found by St. Helena and over centuries small (and I mean small) bits were parceled out to various monasteries.

It’s fine if you don’t want to believe it, but I myself believe anything is possible with God.
Even if something had the remotest chance to being associated with Christ’s passion, (like the Shroud or a sliver of the true cross) I would feel humility and peace.
 
I have doubts about the shroud, too. According to Wikipedia, radiocarbon dating done in 1988 “at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology concluded with 95% confidence that the shroud material dated to 1260–1390 AD.” It’s also interesting that the first uncontested mention of the Shroud of Turin was in 1390, “when Bishop Pierre d’Arcis wrote a memorandum to Antipope Clement VII, stating that the shroud was a forgery and that the artist had confessed.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin
What the article doesn’t mention is the fact that the sample taken for analysis was a reweave along the edge not one taken from a part of the cloth untainted by those who tried to restore torn/damaged edges. If you go to one of these websites you’ll find more accurate information: google.com/search?q=shroud+turin+schwartz&gws_rd=ssl.
 
Forgive me if I am wrong in my observation. Is it because Colton Burpo (the little boy who had the near-death experience and met Jesus) is the son of a Protestant minister, and they just don’t trust the Catholic Church? Don’t get me wrong. I am not necessarily saying that Colton did not actually meet Jesus. I think it’s compelling that Colton saw Jesus the same way as the little the girl in former Yugoslavia who originally saw Jesus and later painted Him. I even own the picture because I think it’s an interesting depiction. It just seems like if you believe a near-death experience, shouldn’t it be easier to believe something that has compelling scientific evidence such as the Shroud of Turin? Would Hobby Lobby ever even consider selling pictures of the Shroud, like they do the Prince of Peace picture? Finally, are Protestants who own the latter piece of art worshiping an idol? 😉
I think many are skeptical especially since there have been hoaxes in the past. For most protestant denominations believing in the shroud of turin and the Colton Burpo’s account of heaven is not necessary for their faith…so it’s not something they will talk about that much.
 
No. I am speaking of bishops and ministers within the mainline Protestant churches who openly deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. A well known figure who did just this without any condemnation from his church was Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong. In 2003, he wrote…

…Even worse, there are mainline churches where one can be ordained while openly admitting to being an atheist, such as PC(USA) minister John Shuck
That is some messed up theology! :takeoff:

Still, that is definitely outside of what the Church would embrace as seperated brethren.
 
That is some messed up theology! :takeoff:

Still, that is definitely outside of what the Church would embrace as seperated brethren.
There were probably quite a few early Christians who did not believe in a resurrection of the physical body, so what Spong says is hardly anything new. For some Christians of a Greco-Roman background, the physical body was considered something bad which entrapped the soul or spirit. So they probably couldn’t figure out why Jesus would be raised in a physical body rather than in a spiritual body which they would have considered far superior.
 
There were probably quite a few early Christians who did not believe in a resurrection of the physical body, so what Spong says is hardly anything new. For some Christians of a Greco-Roman background, the physical body was considered something bad which entrapped the soul or spirit. So they probably couldn’t figure out why Jesus would be raised in a physical body rather than in a spiritual body which they would have considered far superior.
Yes, they were called variously Gnostics & Docetics. You’re right that they denied the resurrection. However, they were not Christians; they were heretics.
 
Yes, they were called variously Gnostics & Docetics. You’re right that they denied the resurrection. However, they were not Christians; they were heretics.
Even Paul talks about “spiritual bodies”:

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

What Paul means by a “spiritual body” is not completely clear and he also might have believed that Christ was raised in a “spiritual body” rather than in a physical body.
 
There were probably quite a few early Christians who did not believe in a resurrection of the physical body, so what Spong says is hardly anything new. For some Christians of a Greco-Roman background, the physical body was considered something bad which entrapped the soul or spirit. So they probably couldn’t figure out why Jesus would be raised in a physical body rather than in a spiritual body which they would have considered far superior.
"There were probably… quite a few…? What does that mean and upon what do you base this statement? As Per Crucem has already pointed out these were heretical notions, and there have been heretical notions from the start. There was a time when the majority of Catholic bishops had fallen into heresy. But the Church prevailed in preserving the Deposit of Faith from error and condemning the heresy.

If Spong is promoting a non-bodily resurrection then he is promoting heresy and he should be called on it. What I find even more sad then Spong’s position is the apparent acceptance of it by the Episcopal Church. 😦

And we want “unity”? 🤷
 
"There were probably… quite a few…? What does that mean and upon what do you base this statement? As Per Crucem has already pointed out these were heretical notions, and there have been heretical notions from the start. There was a time when the majority of Catholic bishops had fallen into heresy. But the Church prevailed in preserving the Deposit of Faith from error and condemning the heresy.

If Spong is promoting a non-bodily resurrection then he is promoting heresy and he should be called on it. What I find even more sad then Spong’s position is the apparent acceptance of it by the Episcopal Church. 😦
More accurately, there is no formal repudiation by TEC of it, institutionally. Which, given Episcopal motleyness, is not surprising.

GKC
 
The answer is simple.

The Shroud of Turin is held by those “eeeeevil Catholics” 🙂
The other one is held by those “totally awesome” protestants 🙂
Unless these statements were a belated April Fools’ joke, I wish statements like these weren’t made, because they are not very charitable and misrepresent the views of many of us Protestant Christians.

For me, I hope the Shroud of Turin is the real burial cloth of Christ but I think the jury is still out on that. I want it to be true but some analysis puts it in the 1100’s or 1200’s AD like someone else mentioned. However, it still could be the real deal.

As for the “Heaven is for Real” movie, I don’t necessarily believe of disbelieve that one, either.

It could be a fabrication, but I find it interesting that the little boy spoke of meeting his sister in heaven that his mother miscarried whom she hadn’t ever mentioned before, at least not around him.

Also, the boy had never seen pictures of his grandfather in his prime, but the boy later saw a random photo among others and said, “That’s Grandpa” or something to that effect, which I find interesting because he said that’s how his grandfather looked in heaven when he met him. .

Regardless of their authenticity, I am going to remain a steadfast follower of Christ so these things won’t change my faith one iota in that regard.
 
Even Paul talks about “spiritual bodies”:

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

What Paul means by a “spiritual body” is not completely clear and he also might have believed that Christ was raised in a “spiritual body” rather than in a physical body.
Paul’s contrast between natural bodies vs. spiritual bodies is not one of PHYSICAL bodies vs. GHOSTLY bodies. What Paul is contrasting is natural, fallen corrupted bodies with the glorified, sinless body of the resurrection.

Do you think the Gospel narratives go out of their way to show that Jesus was not a ghost for absolutely no reason? Jesus eating fish with the disciples, showing them the wounds, letting them touch him, etc? Do you forget that the passage you just quoted has, a few verses back, Paul going to great lengths to say that Jesus was raised and if he wasn’t, our faith is in vain? Does St. John not say that those who deny Christ came in the flesh are anti-Christ?

No offense to you Thor, but theological liberalism is utter and frustrating inanity.
 
More accurately, there is no formal repudiation by TEC of it, institutionally. Which, given Episcopal motleyness, is not surprising.

GKC
Yes, quite true. Does no repudiation = acceptance? Probably not. I hope not.
 
Yes, quite true. Does no repudiation = acceptance? Probably not. I hope not.
Hard to find something generally accepted, across Anglicanism. But somewhere around here I have a book by a number of Episcopal clerics and academics taking the Spongster head-on.
Reception was …um…mixed.

GKC
 
Hard to find something generally accepted, across Anglicanism. But somewhere around here I have a book by a number of Episcopal clerics and academics taking the Spongster head-on.
Reception was …um…mixed.

GKC
Thanks.
 
For me, I hope the Shroud of Turin is the real burial cloth of Christ but I think the jury is still out on that. I want it to be true but some analysis puts it in the 1100’s or 1200’s AD like someone else mentioned. However, it still could be the real deal.
I know very little about the shroud, but I was listening to an audio book where the speaker explained the dating issue like this. The dating was from a small piece from the very edge of the shroud. The speaker said that some have suggested that the piece tested was a mend to the original, so the dating speaks to the time of the mend, not the origin of the original shroud. The problem is that it is not possible to perform these tests without doing damage to it, and people are usually reluctant to damage valuable artifacts. Maybe someone will perform another test in the future.

My wife is from a very anti-Catholic family. Their view of Catholicism is basically like a Chick tract (yes, they do pass out Chick tracts). However, her father still believes that the Shroud of Turin is authentic. This is not insignificant, since he is a skeptic who even ridicules purported miracles from other Protestants.
Paul’s contrast between natural bodies vs. spiritual bodies is not one of PHYSICAL bodies vs. GHOSTLY bodies. What Paul is contrasting is natural, fallen corrupted bodies with the glorified, sinless body of the resurrection.
Just FYI, in former days, ghostly was used as a synonym for spiritual (in the sense of Holy Spirit/Ghost), so Catholics might refer to a priest as “ghostly father.”
 
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