The Shroud of Turin is back in the news again. Now, I've got no problem with people trying to determine the provenance of this relic, from an archaeological point of view, but I am astonished at the religious fervor that always seems to be involved.

It really doesn't matter whether the shroud is an authentic artifact from the 1st century, or a medieval fraud. In either case, it has no religious significance. It could very well be the burial shroud of a crucified man from Roman Jerusalem, that doesn't mean it belonged to Jesus. And even if it can be proven to have been Jesus' burial cloth, it still can make no claim as to his divinity. And if it is a forgery, that does not in any way invalidate the gospel account and significance of the death and resurrection. The only thing that can be proven or disproven is whether or not the shroud is old and from Palestine. And those facts alone, or their absence, can neither support nor challenge Christian doctrine.

Either way, this case is still shrouded in mystery. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist that.)

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-na-turin17-2008aug17,0,4950965.story