Last night I was watching a documentary on the Shroud of Turin. I had two issues with it.

First, several scientists were trying to prove the Shroud was the burial cloth of Jesus. But, if they were real scientists, they would simple gather data and let the data tell them more about the cloth. But these “scientists” were clearly trying to find evidence to support their point-of-view.

When the carbon dating came back that the Shroud was medieval, and not from the time of Christ, they begin speculating on reasons why the carbon dating was wrong. That seemed to be opposite of what any respectable scientist would do.

Second, it crossed my mind that maybe Jesus wants to keep a secret.

I never understood why people were so determined to find total evidence of his existence and proof of miracles – either miracles reportedly of Jesus, or miracles in general.

Religion is supposed to be a choice. If there is a mountain of evidence, where is the choice? I recall from my religious school, bible class days of God wanting humanity to have a choice.

If not, God could have smote Satan in the Garden of Eden. The story of the Garden is not the story of a true garden, or of the first human, but an allegory that says, we have a choice to do what we wish, but making bad choices has consequences.

On a side note, the bible itself refutes the Shroud of Turin. The bible says Jesus was buried with one cloth wrapped around his body, and another wrapped around his head. Not a single long cloth, which is what the Shroud is.

Isn’t the point of any religion, regardless of which one, to find inspiration from within and not from provable validation? That’s why it’s called “faith,” right?