The first episode of this CNN documentary mini-series focuses on the "Shroud of Turin". Many Christians believe this cloth wrapped the crucified body of Jesus Christ. The unusual photographic "image" caught on the shroud is said to be evidence of Christ's resurrection. "Radiation" is the word one expert uses. Another garment is discussed toward the end of the hour, a scarf used to wrap Jesus Christ's head. The title "Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery" may suggest an informed investigation of the "Shroud of Turin". You won't find that here. On balance, the authenticity of the shroud is safe and sound on CNN...
Adam Bond and the cast perform well. The music, by Tom Howe, is hauntingly Biblical...
A clip of NBC newsreader Tom Brokaw announcing the shroud's "carbon testing" proved it could not have existed during Jesus Christ's time is shown. This widely known report could not have been left out of the story; and, it is dismissed before the hour's end. Also, the events of Christ's life from the New Testament are treated as fact. Most of this episode's time is spent contrasting the shroud with events depicted in the Christian Bible. Christ's final days are depicted as factual. Since they match clues on the shroud, we are led to conclude the "Shroud of Turin" is real.
Even if the relics are from the right era, how do we know they don't belong to Jo Schmo?...
A more interesting investigation of the shroud would be to track its historical appearances, through the years. We're told it appeared suddenly and reappeared later. This part of the story takes about five seconds. Tracking the relic's recent appearances would probably have been much more revelatory. Perhaps the questions about when, where and why the shroud first appeared were not illuminating or interesting. If so, they should have shared the inconclusiveness. Christ's burial cloth appears to have mysteriously taken up residence in Turin, Italy. It seems to have just appeared.
**** The Shroud of Turin (3/1/15) Nick Green ~ Adam Bond, Corey Johnson, Steffan Boje, Ben Affan