As Easter approaches, we find Something Not Nothing. Something in a letter and an apparently related piece of cloth.
This is the reported letter from Pontius Pilate to Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar (14 to 37 AD) that is purported to relate his impressions, observations, fears and interaction with "The Nazarene" during the time of Jesus according to the 1913 transcribed records held in the Vatican.
(Keeping in mind that the Vatican has directed and literally fought wars for the control of the information, narrative and interpretation regarding the facts surrounding Jesus and the curation of the documentation regarding the historical events and the text contained in the Bible. GOD & SPIRITUALITY V POLITICS, LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMERCE & RELIGION (sigma3ioc.com)
Acta Pilate (Letter of Pilate to Caesar about Jesus, His Crucifixion & Resurrection): https://youtu.be/nQUJGceTH9I?feature=shared 34 min.
And you think that politics is contentious today? Not everything is about politics? All and every important and worthwhile thing in life is directly related to politics and the influence and control thereof.
A team of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA scientists are allowed over 5 days to scientifically with instrumentation examine the Shroud of Turin without conditions. Very interesting.
"We can conclude for now that the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved."
Barry Shwartz shroud of Turin interview: https://youtu.be/wIUDaMatODM?feature=shared
56 min.
The conclusion. A painting? A hoax? Authentic? How is there produced a three-dimensional image in a photographic negative with such a high level of specific information regarding a crucified human man first taken in 1898? No human being of any level of technical training, ability or expertise as of this date has any idea how such a unique technical feat of imprinting such a specifically detailed image on a cloth was accomplished.
The effect regarding the very specific historical information pertaining to the crucifixion of a human man imprinted on a cloth and the biological data that has been documented is not reproduceable and it remains unknown.
What do you think?
Are you paying attention yet America? JGL 2/29/24
The letter attributed to Pilate is certainly interesting, but I'm not buying it. I have no knowledge of ancient languages, and can only read it in translation, but the language, sentence structure, cadence--everything seems quite modern. It hits all the high points that we know from the Bible's record of Christ's passion, but to me it doesn't ring true--it's just too pat.
The Shroud, however, is fascinating, and much more believable, IMO. First, because there is the point that the cloth was contaminated, which skewed the radiocarbon dating. In the Middle Ages it was damaged by fire (which produces carbon!), and supposedly the section tested had also been repaired at that time. So it is really no surprise that …