From The Living Church-
An interest that began in incredulous laughter has led an Episcopalian to deep immersion in Shroud of Turin studies.
Daniel Porter, a longtime member of Trinity Church, Wall Street, joins other shroud scholars on The History Channel’s Easter-season documentary, The Real Face of Jesus? The documentary premiered on April 3, repeats on April 10, and is available on DVD.
Porter said he became interested in the shroud while reading Thomas Cahill’s Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus during a flight. Porter was amazed that Cahill gave serious attention to the shroud, and began laughing aloud as he read.
Porter’s curiosity was piqued, though, and he began research on whether the shroud could have covered the body of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion.
Today he tends toward considering the shroud authentic rather than a clever artistic forgery, and he writes on the topic frequently at his Shroud of Turin Story website.
“History is the part that fascinates me,” he told The Living Church. “In fact, I think history gives the best argument for the shroud’s authenticity.”
Evidence of the shroud’s presence at Edessa (present-day Urfa), Turkey, in the 3rd or 5th century argues against its being a medieval contrivance, Porter said.
He calls the shroud a “strange icon.”
“Icons tend to be stylistic,” he said. “They exaggerate features, they try to capture expressions.”
The expression of the figure on the shroud is “subdued, realistic and serene,” he said.
“It’s almost what I would call an intellectual tease. I think it’s real, but I would be the first to say I don’t think we can know that,” Porter said.
“God is not trying to provide answers so much as raise questions,” he said. “You can’t entirely get your arms around it, and if you could it wouldn’t be so interesting. God not only gave us free will; he also gave us a brain.”
More here-
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/4/7/studying-the-shroud-as-a-strange-icon
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