ST. LOUIS, March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- One of America's foremost experts on the Shroud of Turin, Mark Antonacci, is calling for a new round of scientific investigations into the 14-foot-long linen cloth that contains the faint image of a remarkably Christ-like individual.
Antonacci, is urging these new studies both to refute a decade-old study that placed the shroud's origin in medieval times and to test advanced theories that the image on the cloth was created by particle radiation coming from Jesus' body at the time of the resurrection. He is the author of The Resurrection of the Shroud of Turin, ($21.95, M. Evans and Co.) available in bookstores or online.
Antonacci, a St. Louis-based attorney and long-time student of the Shroud, is convinced that the Shroud of Turin is the actual burial cloth of the historic Jesus Christ. "The preponderance of evidence -- medical, scientific archeological and historical -- is impossible to ignore. We must vigorously continue this investigation."
"Christianity certainly doesn't need proof, but it is exciting -- especially during this Lenten season -- to contemplate the physical evidence of the existence of Christ, the details of His crucifixion and the tell-tale results of His resurrection," Antonacci says. "These issues address the very foundations of Christianity."
Antonacci has approached his two-decade study of the Shroud as an attorney. "I'm not a scientist, doctor, historian or a religious scholar," he says. "But I have consulted with leading experts -- 'expert witnesses' -- to help me assemble my case."
"Each new scientific tool -- when applied to the Shroud -- has disclosed evidence consistent with the Scripture," Antonacci says. The same evidence also argues increasingly strongly against theories that the Shroud is a medieval forgery.
Antonacci says researchers are developing much new information about the shroud almost everyday. Many of these discoveries are bringing to light information that was unknown in past centuries.
"For example, when the first photograph of the shroud was developed, they saw that the image on the cloth was a negative -- a concept unknown until photography appeared in the 19th century.
"And detailed studies show unmistakable scourge marks -- many of which were previously unseen -- that precisely match wounds that would have been produced by Roman whips discovered recently by archeologists," he notes.
"I came to this study as an agnostic, seeking the truth. I was troubled initially by what I found, then amazed. Now I'm greatly comforted, excited and encouraged by what I've learned." Antonacci concludes: "The Shroud is real, and it is compelling."
03/20/2001 05:06 EST http://www.prnewswire.com