The Pope Has Important Things to Talk About: The Shroud of Turin!

Image from source, Live Science

Really, are we back to this? Earlier this month they found Noah's Ark (again). Now, we're back to the Shroud of Turin, dubious Biblical relic. Whatever, Ratzinger. It's not like there are important things for you to tend to.

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Pope Nearly Endorses the Shroud of Turin, But Is It Real?

On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI prayed before the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus. Benedict said that the shroud (which he called "an icon written in blood") provides a lesson in maintaining hope in the face of adversity, and that the faithful can see their trials and sufferings "mirrored" in the suffering of Christ as depicted on the shroud.



"This is a burial cloth that wrapped the remains of a crucified man in full correspondence with what the Gospels tell us of Jesus," Benedict said. . .

Read more at: LiveScience

Thanks again to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Religious Discovery: Ancient Hebrew Tablet

Photo from source, New York Times

Religious artifacts offer something for everybody. For the devout, they offer affirmation, and excitement. For the irreligious, they often offer a chance for debate. Like, does this prove that the religion is true, or does it merely lay the groundwork for a fabrication that came after it?

Either way, it can be fascinating.

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Ancient Hebrew tablet sparks debate on Messiah

A 3-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing reevaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, because it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Thanks again to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.