Exploring the Bible

  The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin has been hotly debated for many decades. Is the Shroud the burial cloth of Jesus and could it possibly contain an image of Jesus? Some believe this is exactly what the Shroud to be, while others insist the Shroud is a fake manufactured sometime during the Middle Ages. A new study in Italy has now given us new reason to believe the Shroud may indeed be from the first century and therefore, could be the actual burial cloth of Jesus. The primary area of controversy surrounding the Shroud is the age of the fabric. If the fabric is from the first century, or earlier, then it opens the door for the Shroud to be authentic. If the fabric was produced in the Middle Ages, then obviously the Shroud is a fake and all but worthless.  For years the church would not allow testing of the Shroud because the testing would require the destruction of a small piece of the Shroud. While the church does not official say the Shroud is genuine or fake, ...

The Holy Grail has been sought after by everyone from King Arthur to Indiana Jones. Can the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, ever be found? Is it conceivable it has already been found? For me the Holy Grail is the easiest of the artifacts directly related to Jesus to believe would have been kept. Both the cross and the nails likely would have been kept by the Romans and re-used. The crown of thorns likely would have been thrown out, and the garments of Jesus would have been taken by the soldiers. The cup however, is a different type of artifact. It is highly conceivable the apostles carried some items with them, and personal drinking cups may have been included. I can certainly envision someone packing these up after the Last Supper in a pack of some type so they could use it at their next meal. After the crucifixion, it is doubtful the apostles would have thrown out the Lord’s cup. So, if it was in fact saved, where is it today? Many would have you believe ...

  It has been shown that people who were crucified had their hands and feet nailed to the cross rather than being tied. This of course means nails, rather large nails, were required. In most paintings or depictions of Jesus being crucified He has one nail in each hand and his feet are set one atop the other with a third nail driven through both feet. This is certainly possible, but most consider it unlikely. Some believe this trio of nails is a symbolic remembrance of the Holy Trinity. In reality the crucified person would likely have a nail through each hand or wrist, and each foot would be separately nailed to each side of the cross. In this scenario there would be four nails used in a crucifixion. The evidence seems to indicate the only times the nails were left with the body was if they could not be removed. The only reason they would need to be removed is if they were planning to reuse the nails. If this is the case, it is highly unlikely anyone would have the true nails fro...