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The Shroud of Turn has many devoted followers, pilgrims who flock to see what they believe is the bloodied face of a crucified Jesus Christ; yet, scientists have carbon-dated it to the Middle Ages, rendering the possibility of it actually being Jesus null and void.

Now an American artist is entering the debate.  Lillian Schwartz, a graphic consultant at the School of Visual Arts in New York, claims that the image is a self-portrait of Leonardo DaVinci, which was made using a crude photographic technique. Essentially he used a camera obscura to project his bust onto the shroud and using egg whites and gelatin painted his image.

Of course, Schwartz has nothing more than some giant coincidences; but it’s an interesting hypothesis based solely on the proportions of both DaVinci’s profile and the Turin’s face. Well, that and DaVinci was a genius artist.  He understood the technological advances needed to produce the Shroud and was in all likelihood a heretic willing to pull a fast one over on people.

Honestly, though, she doesn’t really have any evidence.  But I love the idea that the Shroud of Turn is nothing more than a giant practical joke by Leonardo DaVinci.

Because it’s Florida and because separation of Church and State matter little and because, um, why not?

[Via blogs.tampabay.com]

Probably not, but maybe Dan Brown will get the last laugh in the debate over Jesus’s relationship with Mary Magdelene and whether or not they sired a child. This of course goes beyond the bajillion dollars he made from the book, this is about his credibility as a storyteller. I almost said that with a straight face.

Anyway, Discovery Channel will be airing a documentary about the tomb of Jesus at 9 p.m. on March 4. “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” is a 90-minute documentary, directed by James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici. Not sure who the latter person is, but the former needs no introduction. He’s the guy who directed “Aquaman” staring Vincent Chase.

From the press release:

An investigative journey into the identities of and relationships among 10 ossuaries, which originally were discovered more than 25 years ago but never were connected conclusively. In conjunction with the film, HarperSanFrancisco is publishing a companion book, The Jesus Family Tomb, co-authored by Jacobovici and Dr. Charles Pellegrino, with a foreword by Cameron.

The Talpiot tomb originally held 10 ossuaries, nine of which are still within the Israel Antiquity Authority’s domain. Six of the limestone bone boxes that served as First Century Jerusalem-area coffins include inscriptions of names found in the New Testament – “Jesus son of Joseph,” “Maria,” “Mariamene e Mara,” “Matthew,” “Yose” and “Judah son of Jesus.”

Cameron claims his team has done the research and their homework to present their case and start a debate. Time Magazine’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief thinks this should be worrisome. The implications for Christians could be damaging. If this is the actual tomb of Jesus Christ, then it could mean he was not resurrected, which is one of the central beliefs of Christianity. On the other hand I’m not sure it really matters at this point. “The DaVinci Code” ruffled a few feathers but didn’t really have a lasting impact. Probably cause the movie sucked, but that’s another story for another day. I’ll definitely be Tivo’ing this and will provide some thoughts the next morning. After all, I’m the same person who watches “Biblical UFO’s” on the History Channel.