Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin

A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus’ burial cloth. The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery. Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud

A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus.

Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery.

Barbara Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, says in a new book that she used computer-enhanced images of the shroud to decipher faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the cloth.

She asserts that the words include the name “(J)esu(s) Nazarene” — or Jesus of Nazareth — in Greek. That, she said, proves the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have mentioned Jesus without referring to his divinity. Failing to do so would risk being branded a heretic.

“Even someone intent on forging a relic would have had all the reasons to place the signs of divinity on this object,” Frale said Friday. “Had we found 'Christ' or the 'Son of God' we could have considered it a hoax, or a devotional inscription.”

The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping from his hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen's fibers at the time of his resurrection.

The fragile artifact, owned by the Vatican, is kept locked in a protective chamber in a Turin cathedral and is rarely shown. Measuring 13 feet (four meters) long and three feet (one meter) wide, the shroud has suffered severe damage through the centuries, including from fire. ….

via Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin – Yahoo! News.

The curious economic effects of religion

What makes economies grow? It’s a question that has occupied thinkers for centuries. Most of us would tick off things like education levels, openness to trade, natural resources, and political systems.

Here’s one you might not have considered: hell.

A pair of Harvard researchers recently examined 40 years of data from dozens of countries, trying to sort out the economic impact of religious beliefs or practices. They found that religion has a measurable effect on developing economies – and the most powerful influence relates to how strongly people believe in hell.

That hell could matter to economic growth might seem surprising, since you can’t prove it exists, let alone quantify it. It stands as one of the more intriguing findings in a growing body of recent research exploring how religion might influence the wealth and prosperity of societies. In recent years, Italian economists have presented findings that religion can boost GDP by increasing trust within a society; researchers in the United States showed that religion reduces corruption and increases respect for law in ways that boost overall economic growth. A number of researchers have documented how merchants used religious backgrounds to establish one another’s reliability.

The notion that religion influences economies has a long history, but the specifics have been vexingly difficult to pin down. Today, as researchers start to answer the question more definitively with the tools of modern economics, what’s emerging is a clearer picture of how nations’ prosperity can depend, in part, on seemingly abstract concerns like theology – and sometimes on quite nuanced points of belief or religious fervor.

The work is preliminary, but offers the hope of useful findings. Knowing exactly how and when God influences mammon could lead to smarter forms of economic development in emerging nations, and could add to our understanding of how culture shapes wealth and poverty. And it stands as part of a larger movement in economics, in which the field is looking beyond purely material explanations to a broader engagement with human culture, psychology, and even our angels and demons.

via The curious economic effects of religion – The Boston Globe.

Holy water dispenser combats spread of swine flu

Many churches had suspended the tradition of keeping holy water in open fonts into which people dipped their hands following the outbreak of the H1N1 virus.

But an Italian inventor has combined faith and ingenuity to create the electronic terracotta dispenser, which is now being used in the northern town of Fornaci di Briosco. It functions like an automatic soap dispenser in public lavatories – a churchgoer waves his or her hand under a sensor and the machine spurts out holy water.

“It has been a bit of a novelty. People initially were a bit shocked by this technological innovation but then they welcomed it with great enthusiasm and joy,” said Father Pierangelo Motta.

Catholics entering and leaving churches usually dip their hands into fonts full of holy water – which has been blessed by a priest – and make the sign of the cross.

But fear of contracting the H1N1 virus has led many in Italy – where some 15 people have died of swine flu – not to dip their hands in the communal water font.

Luciano Marabese, who invented the dispenser, said he did so out of concern that fear of swine flu was eroding traditions.

And he is now blessing himself all the way to the bank.

“After all the news that some churches, like Milan's cathedral, were suspending the use of holy water fonts as a measure against swine flu, demands for my invention shot to the stars. I have received orders from all over the world,” he said.

via Holy water dispenser combats spread of swine flu – Telegraph.

Love those Italian inventors.

Police worker fired for backing psychic investigations claims religious discrimination

Alan Power, who has been a member of a Spiritualist church for 30 years, argues that his belief in the power of mediums should be placed on a par with more mainstream religious and philosophical convictions.

He has already secured a legal ruling that his principles are covered by laws designed to prevent religious discrimination in the workplace, and is now seeking to prove that they were the reason for his dismissal.

Mr Power's case follows a landmark ruling last month that environmental views should be considered equivalent to religious and philosophical beliefs, following a legal challenge by a green executive at a property firm.

At a tribunal in London, Mr Power will claim that Greater Manchester Police broke the law by sacking him for believing that mediums should be consulted in criminal investigations.

In an initial judgement seen by The Independent, Judge Peter Russell said that the case had merit because his Spiritualist views “have sufficient cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance” to be covered by the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

The judge wrote: “I am satisfied that the claimant's beliefs that there is life after death and that the dead can be contacted through mediums are worthy of respect in a democratic society.”

Mr Power's former employers are expected to argue that Judge Russell’s ruling was not justified, and highlight that the trainer did not initially claim that his belief in the usefulness of psychics to police investigations amounted to a religious conviction.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “GMP can confirm that a member of police staff was dismissed from his role as a trainer. The former staff member has appealed this dismissal. As the appeals process is underway it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

via Police worker fired for backing psychic investigations claims religious discrimination – Telegraph.

‘I Believe’ Christian License Banned by Judge

A United States District Judge has struck down a Christian-themed license plate that had been approved by the South Carolina Legislature, reports the BBC.

Judge Cameron Currie ruled that the plate was a violation of the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from making a law “respecting an establishment of religion.” The South Carolina plate featured an image of a cross in front of a stained-glass window, accompanied by the words “I Believe.”

“Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same,” Judge Currie wrote in her decision. “The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.”

The license plate was approved by South Carolina lawmakers last year, and according to The Associated Press, Judge Currie singled out Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in her ruling. And she ordered the state to cover the legal expense of groups that battled against the plate’s approval, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. …

via ‘I Believe’ License Banned by Judge – Wheels Blog – NYTimes.com.

Is “the fish” somehow just not enough to express your love of Jesus? You are in luck! Now for a special discount rate, we  give you…. the Jesus plate! (Not available in all states.)

US boy, 11, declared reincarnated holy man, moved to India

A US boy is not going back to school – after he was declared the reincarnation of a Buddhist holy man who first died in 1250.

Boston-born Jigme Wangchuk, 11, has now moved to India where he has been made the head of a Buddhist sect in the country’s eastern Darjeeling city.

His parents say they discovered their son was not like other children two years ago when he started talking about his “past life”. At first, they dismissed it as a childish fantasy, but began taking it seriously during a trip to a monastery in Mysore, southern India.At one point, he went into a trance in which he described a celebrated Buddhist monastery with a 35ft dragon on the roof.

After hearing his description of the temple he had never visited, the monks proclaimed he was the reincarnation of the ‘Rinpoche’ or high priest Galwa Lorepa, the founder of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.Now he will spent the next ten years in virtual seclusion and only be able to communicate with his former school friends by email.

“It has been a very difficult period for us over the past two years. I have been crying for the past five months, but have, at last, come to terms with it,” said his mother Dechen.”When we were in New Delhi on our way to Darjeeling, I asked him whether he would like to go back to Boston. He said he has to fulfil his responsibilities to his people.”But for ‘His Holiness’ Jigme, there’s no regrets: “I will miss my school days but I am happy in my new role. I like it here,” he said.

via Ananova – Boy, 11, declared reincarnated holy man.

What if you were a holy man/woman of a religion, but your people didn’t know it?

7,000 at shrine for ‘apparition’

A crowd of about 7,000 people turned up at a County Mayo pilgrimage shrine on Saturday after being told that the Virgin Mary was to appear.

Dublin man Joe Coleman, who claims to be a visionary, predicted that the apparition would take place at Knock at 1500 GMT.

Mr Coleman left the shrine claiming he had just witnessed an apparition but said he could not yet reveal details.

He told the Irish Times on Friday that up to 50,000 people would turn up.

Mr Coleman said the vision would only be visible to people who came “with an open heart”.

Earlier this month, about 5,000 people arrived at Knock Shrine after a similar prediction by him.

The Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary issued a statement earlier this week clarifying the church’s view of Mr Coleman’s predictions.

“It is not healthy, does not give glory to God and . . . is not good witness to the faith to be looking for extraordinary phenomena,” Dr Neary said.

via BBC NEWS | Europe | 7,000 at shrine for ‘apparition’.

Web is popular place to ‘open’ a church

The World Wide Web has become the hottest place to build a church. A growing number of congregations are creating Internet offshoots that go far beyond streaming weekly services.

The sites are fully interactive, with a dedicated Internet pastor, live chat in an online “lobby,” Bible study, one-on-one prayer through IM and communion. (Viewers use their own bread and wine or water from home.) On one site, viewers can click on a tab during worship to accept Christ as their savior. Flamingo Road Church, based in Cooper City, Fla., twice conducted long-distance baptisms using the Internet.

“The goal is to not let people at home feel like they’re watching what’s happening, but they’re part of it. They’re participating,” said Brian Vasil, Flamingo Road’s Internet pastor.

Religious fast food?

The move online is forcing Christians to re-examine their idea of church. It’s a complex discussion involving theology, tradition and cultural expectations of how Christians should worship and relate. Even developers of Internet church sites disagree over how far they should go. Many, for example, will only conduct baptisms in person.

via Web is popular place to ‘open’ a church – Tech and gadgets- msnbc.com.

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‘Miracle’ fail? Communion wafer becomes “heart tissue”.

The Catholic Church in Poland is investigating claims of a miracle after a piece of communion wafer was reported to have been transformed into human heart tissue after falling into water during a mass. In an incident that has generated a storm of publicity in devout Poland, Professor Maria Sobaniec-Lotowaska, of the medical university in Bialystok, has dumbfounded sceptics by saying she considered the material found in the container as heart tissue. But her findings have already been dismissed by other scientists.

“The professor saw what she wanted to see. She is very religious,” said Prof Lech Chyczewski, a blood specialist. “In order to rule out any doubts, it would have been necessary to carry out molecular and genetic testing.”

Pawel Grzesiowskia, a leading biologist from the National Medical Institute, has attributed the miracle to nothing more than bacteria growing on the small piece of wafer, which fell into a water container during a mass in the eastern village of Sokolka. But this has failed to quell many believing that something miraculous took place. The Catholic Church said already ruled out the possibility of a hoax, and local police have said that there is no evidence of fraud.

via ‘Miracle’ as communion wafer becomes heart tissue – Telegraph.

Did a qualified scientist examine the sample under a microscope? Section it and look at the type of muscle cells? Who did the DNA tests?  Where are the pictures and test results?  Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

Jesus fails to show at 2nd coming…

Enjoyed the introduction though. I’m a scientific thinker, but I had fun imagining that some real Jesus person would walk onto the stage and say something.

No matter what you believe, if Jesus Christ really did walk onto a stage after a great introduction like that, what  do you think his first line should be? Something funny?

I was thinking, before even speaking, he should pull a miracle. What would be a good opening miracle?  What would leave no doubt about tricks or mass hallucinations?

Leave a comment with your ideas for opening Jesus lines and miracles.