So I stumbled on some documentary type show, on some channel that was discussing whether the Shroud of Turin was really the image of Jesus Christ. It was one of those where all of these experts came up with all sorts of theories. My favorite was that Leonardo da Vinci made it by using techniques no one ever used before or since(and that couldn't be replicated because they don't know what the methods were). Even though he never wrote about it in his journal, and there are no documents to support the theory, it is believed that he was secretly commissioned by a church to create it, so that Christians would visit the church on a pilgrimage and part with their money. Kind of like the World's Second Largest Ball of Twine Exhibit.
I then flipped on the Leprechaun Factor on Fox News to see Bill O'Reilly interviewing a Catholic priest about it. The priest of course defended the authenticity of the shroud, and then in closing said it wouldn't change his faith if it wasn't real. I wish he would have focused on that point a little more. The Thinking Drummer was a little bummed. Here's an opportunity for someone of faith to really get it right, and he didn't.
This is the response that should have been: You know what, they are right. It's fake. Fortunately the Christian faith is not based on idols or relics. We don't need a crying statue or anything else to bolster our faith. What is real, is our relationship with Christ, our acceptance of His sacrifice, and our belief in His resurrection. If the authenticity a piece of cloth changes that, then our faith is as strong as the ancient cloth of which the shroud is made.
Time and time again "scientists" and "historians" try to explain away the miracles documented in the Bible with these over complicated theories, none of which can be tested any more so than Christ rising from the dead, and Christians get suckered into the debate and hold protests and boycotts. The movie The Da Vinci Code is a prime example. Oddly enough it seems that the non-believers show more faith in believing their theories than Christian show in believing their faith.
