Chamblee54

“Jeremiah Johnston: Shroud of Turin, Dead Sea Scrolls, & Attempts to Hide Historical Proof of Jesus” was featured on the The Tucker Carlson Show recently. I have long been interested in SOT. It is a mystery with no obvious solution. Is SOT the literal burial garment of Jesus, or is it a medieval creation? SOT is fascinating either way.
Unfortunately, this show turned out to be heavy on the polemics. Much of the problem is the guest. Google says this: Google says this: “Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnston (PhD, MA, MDiv, BA) is a New Testament scholar, pastor, author, nationally syndicated radio host, Bible teacher, and apologist, and he ministers internationally as president of Christian Thinkers Society.” JJJ is a television preacher with blow dry hair. His agenda driven presentation made the show impossible to listen to.
I read an article in Rolling Stone once about SOT, which made many of the same points as JJJ. “The Shroud of Turin: Who is this man and why does he have no navel?” by Michael Thomas in the December 28, 1978, issue of Rolling Stone may be the best piece … ever published in the mainstream media.” I seem to remember seeing an online version of this article years ago, but cannot find it today. One way to see the actual article is to subscribe to RS, and go through their archive.
The RS article goes through the documented facts about SOT. It was displayed in France in 1354. SOT was in a fire, which would have destroyed any pigments that could have been used to create the image. RS came to the conclusion that SOT was likely the literal burial garment of Jesus.
The next question: how did the image on SOT get there? The image is a holographic, negative image of an anotomically correct man, who had recently been executed in a gruesome manner. We cannot create an image like this today. The RS article hypothesized that there was a burst of energy, coming out of the body. The supernatural implications of this were mentioned.
JJJ subscribes to this hypothesis. Here is another view: “The Vertically Collimated Radiation Burst (VCRB) hypothesis exemplifies retroductive reasoning—working backward from effects to posit causes. Researchers identified 27 distinct pieces of evidence related to the Shroud’s image formation and followed this evidence to a hypothesis: that radiation emanating from a body created high-frequency alternating current in the linen fibers, causing the distinctive discoloration pattern.”
The RS article was published in 1978, and mentioned the need for C-14 carbon dating. On April 21, 1988, samples were removed from SOT. The conclusion: “The results of radiocarbon measurements at Arizona, Oxford and Zurich yield a calibrated calendar age range with at least 95% confidence for the linen of the Shroud of Turin of AD 1260-1390 … These results therefore provide conclusive evidence that the linen of the Shroud of Turin is mediaeval.” JJJ loudly disputes this finding.
The RS article was skeptical, and came to the conclusion that SOT might be real, with amazing supernatural implications. JJJ performatively BELIEVES that SOT is real. As for those who disagree: “They’re liars and they hate truth and they hate God.”
I listened to as much of the Tucker Carlson interview as I could. Finally, JJJ said … “the liberal scientists want us to believe and the liberal Bible scholars” … Anyone who uses “liberal” as an insult loses my confidence. JJJ is an insufferable jerk. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the social media picture in April 1942. “Los Angeles, California. The evacuation of Japanese-Americans from West coast areas under United States Army war emergency order. Leaving for Owens Valley”.· ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah