THE LANGUAGE AND SENSIBILITY OF ... - Shroud of Turin

4. the loss of identity of Jesus,5. the depersonalization of Jesus,6. the use of euphemisms for the name of Jesus,7, the dehumanization of Jesus,8. a disturbing sensibility.My analysis of the research papers will discuss the above points.(i) The Significance of the Religious RelicMy first argument relates to the fact that the Holy Shroud is a religiousrelic.William Meacham in a thoughtful paper ‘An Authentication ofthe Turin Shroud: An issue in Archaeological Epistemology’ (6) states,“The fact that it is a religious relic associated with supernaturalclaims is of no consequence here; certainly there is nojustification for employing different or stricter criteria than forany other important artefact, except perhaps in accordinggreater consideration to the possibility of forgery.” (myemphasis) (7)I disagree. Not with the proposal of uniform standards and criteria for allresearch, - which is the reason for my paper - but with the basis of Meacham’sargument that the classification of the Holy Shroud as a religious relic is of “noconsequence”. How can it be of no consequence that these are religious relics? It is ofno small consequence that these Holy Shrouds are believed to be the relics of JesusChrist. That is why there is so much interest in the Holy Shrouds.Meacham’s error is to refer to the Holy Shroud as both a ‘religious relic’ andan ‘artefact’. This is a contradiction in terms. An artefact belongs to archaeology, arelic belongs to religion.The fact that the Holy Shroud is a religious relic demands some considerationfrom all researchers, believers and non-believers in its authenticity, both Christian andnon-Christian. Consideration should at least be perceived in the sensibility that informsthe writing of research papers. Yes, the standards and criteria used when conductingresearch into the Holy Shrouds should be as stringent as for other research; so tooshould the writing of the research papers. Researchers should keep in mind that theHoly Shrouds are religious relics for Christians. One’s disbelief should not empowerone to scorn another’s religious beliefs.Proposal 2:Research papers should reflect the awareness that the Holy Shroud of Turin and theHoly Sudarium of Oviedo are believed to be the relics of Jesus Christ.(ii) The Universal Uniqueness of Jesus ChristMy second argument is based on ‘Universal Uniqueness’. Where there is oneperson of a type, a person who is unique in the universe, our language permits us to4