Latest news with #Gospels
Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Key detail about Jesus' life uncovered in 'incredible 2,000-year-old boat discovery
In 1986, an ancient fishing boat was discovered at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee. While there's no proof it was actually used by Jesus, it provides an insight into maritime transportation during his era An ancient fishing boat, dredged up from the depths of the Sea of Galilee in 1986, offered a rare insight into seafaring during the time of Jesus Christ. Although there's no evidence to suggest this was the actual craft used by Jesus and his disciples, it typifies the kind of vessel common in the 1st century AD and is often dubbed the 'Jesus Boat'. The artefact is currently on display at the Yigal Alon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar, Israel. As reported by Aleteia, the boat was constructed using cedar planks, joined together by pegged mortise and tenon joints, a typical carpentry method of that era. Many museum-goers, particularly those of religious persuasion, find the boat a poignant and emotive exhibit, providing a link to both Jesus's ministry and the historical backdrop of the Gospels. The museum offers informative displays and a documentary detailing the boat's construction, the excavation process, and its historical and cultural importance. Some visitors also embark on a guided tour of Lake Galilee where those wishing to feel a connection to history can traverse the lake on a modern, replica boat akin to the one Jesus would have journeyed on. The ship's flat-bottomed design would have enabled it to sail close to the shallow waters near the shore for fishing. It would have been operated by a four-man crew who rowed, and a mast would have aided sailing, reports the Mirror US. These types of vessels are frequently referenced in the Gospels - around 50 times - underlining their significant role in Jesus' life and ministry. During a severe drought, amateur archaeologists and brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan ventured to the Sea of Galilee in search of artefacts. Spotting an object protruding from the mud, the two fishermen alerted the Israel Antiquities Authority. The team realised the remains of the boat were of tremendous historical importance to both Christians and Jews alike, so an archaeological dig was arranged. Rumour soon spread that the boat was full of gold and the dig had to be guarded night and day. The archaeologists spent 12 days meticulously removing the mud, eventually revealing the remarkably well-preserved 2,000 year old boat. Radiocarbon dating places the boat's construction between 40 BC and 50 AD. The 27-foot long by 7.5-foot wide vessel was encased in fibreglass and foam before being relocated. It then spent 12 years submerged in a protective wax bath until it was ready to be showcased in the museum. Upon closer inspection, the boat was discovered to be crafted from 10 different types of wood. This could suggest a shortage of wood at the time, or perhaps that the boat was constructed from leftover pieces, or even that it had been subject to numerous repairs, as per Wikipedia. The boat's construction style aligns with descriptions found in Roman literature, biblical texts, and ancient mosaics.
Time Magazine
05-07-2025
- General
- Time Magazine
Why the Dalai Lama Continues to be a Counselor to Us All
No sooner had a tsunami, in March 2011, swept 18,500 souls to their deaths in Japan than the Dalai Lama, in his home in northern India, expressed his determination to make a 'pilgrimage' to offer what he could to the devastated area. Before the year was out, I was accompanying him to Ishinomaki, a fishing village almost entirely leveled by the disaster. I'd met him first as a teenager and had already been speaking regularly with him for 37 years, as well as published a book on his work and his vision. The minute his car came to a halt amidst the debris, the Tibetan leader strode out and offered blessings to the hundreds lined up along the road, together with words of encouragement. He held heads against his heart, trying to soothe tears. Then, in a nearby temple that had somehow survived the cataclysm, he recalled his own sudden flight from Tibet in 1959. No life is without loss, he observed—but renewal is an hourly possibility. That morning is a tiny reminder of how, as he prepares to mark his 90th birthday on July 6th, the 14th Dalai Lama has come to symbolize a sort of planetary doctor of the mind, making house-calls on every continent. Regularly noting that 'my religion is kindness' and frequently reiterating that if scientific findings contradict Buddhist teachings, science must trump Buddhism, he's become the rare spiritual teacher who can speak across every border in our ever more divided world. In an age when moral leadership can be hard to find, he's become a voice of ecumenical wisdom and compassion to whom millions from every tradition can turn, for both solace and guidance. Read More: A Monk's Struggle Born in a cowshed in a village three hours from the nearest road, Tenzin Gyatso, as he became known, is the first Dalai Lama to set foot outside of Asia. He often says that while having lost his home after he had to leave Tibet—to prevent outright war against China—he's gained the whole world as his home. Having traveled with him everywhere from Okinawa to L.A. and Jaipur to Zurich, I can see that's no idle claim. Here is a Buddhist leader who delivers talks on the Gospels to a group of Christians, tears misting his eyes as he describes some of Jesus's parables. Here, too, is a champion of 'secular ethics' who calls himself a 'defender of Islam,' consults rabbis on how to sustain a culture in exile, and regularly refers to himself as a student of India, the predominantly Hindu country where he has lived for 66 years. This would be liberating in any circumstance, but it offers an especially powerful example at a time when so many of us are torn apart by competing belief systems. Over half a century of talking with him, I've noticed how the Dalai Lama's first impulse is to find common ground with every child—or soldier, or Chinese Communist party member—he meets. He begins each day with prayers for his 'Chinese brothers and sisters,' taking care to distinguish between often heroic individuals and a government in Beijing that has more or less tried to destroy Tibet. And though he's one of the world's most respected religious leaders, he notes that religion is a luxury, like tea, that adds savor to life. But the water that none of us can live without is everyday kindness and responsibility. Above all, he's a master realist; as leader of his people since the age of four, he has no interest in impractical schemes or romantic gestures. He knows that, in the 8th century, Tibetan troops captured the Chinese capital, Chang'an, while at other times, China has almost erased Tibet. No border lasts forever. For 10 recent Novembers, I traveled across Japan with him, spending every moment of his working day by his side; what moved me most deeply, every year, was when we stepped into a room full of ragged, sobbing figures, and I realized that every one of them was Han Chinese, from the People's Republic, depleting hard-earned savings to come to Japan to listen to the Dalai Lama. For Buddhists, he is a formidable scholar who draws on ancient texts to show that people's interdependent destinies make environmental awareness and global consciousness a necessity. For Tibetans, he has become one of the three defining Dalai Lamas of their history. But for the rest of us, he's been an open-hearted incarnation of conscience who puts his faith in 'common sense, common experience, and scientific findings.' A natural democrat, he renounced all temporal power in 2011, though his people often wish he'd make all their decisions for them. He has also often stated that he may be the last Dalai Lama—though not the last spiritual leader of the Tibetans—since, on his death, Beijing will surely choose a boy who's a Party member and present him as a successor. It's a curious paradox in his life that he has set up Tibetan monasteries and communities in India and across the world, even as Tibet itself is ever more eroded by foreign settlers and murderous policies. He has inspired confidence in many countries, even as his own people, in their suffering, are driven to self-immolation and calls for armed resistance. And he's become a beloved visitor to almost every continent, even though unable to return to his homeland. Yet one of his sovereign gifts, in our short-attention age, is for never losing sight of the larger picture. The day after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1989, I barged in on him with questions on behalf of this very magazine. Though Tibetans across the globe were celebrating the victory, the Dalai Lama was, as ever, more measured and far-sighted. He really wondered if he'd done enough, he told me, but all he could do was give all of himself, day after day, in the knowledge that in the long run—as his peers and teachers, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King knew—the moral universe bends towards justice. Ninety years from now—and in centuries to come—he will be remembered as one of our first global spiritual leaders, and one of the most enduring.
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
Un renard euthanasié pour un cas de rage à Ottawa
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... In a moment that captures the spirit of our cultural age, comedian Stephen Colbert recently celebrated the casting of Cynthia Erivo as Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl. The talk show host, who frequently touts his Roman Catholic faith, called the casting 'long overdue.' Erivo, a bald, black, self-described bisexual British actress who uses 'they/them' pronouns, will become the first woman to portray Jesus in a major production of the musical. Colbert struggled to contain his excitement. But what, precisely, is being celebrated? Colbert's enthusiasm is not an isolated gesture. This is reflective of our cultural malaise whereby ideological agendas take precedence over truth and tradition. Just as in biblical times, idolatry remains a central feature of our age, perhaps even more pervasive and sophisticated. Today it is not the worship of carved statues but the elevation of progressive ideologies that seek to displace God. Essential truths are not merely ignored but actively reimagined under the banner of diversity, equity, and inclusion, along with appeals to creativity and progress. This is not, as some claim, an effort to give voice to the marginalized. Any astute observer of our culture can see that it is a theological distortion: a recasting of God in our own image to suit contemporary tastes and agendas. Even well-meaning thinkers who speak of faith or divine truth can fall into this trap when God is reduced to an abstract or subjective principle. Jesus is not a figure to be reshaped according to personal or cultural preferences. He is a historical person. Apart from those who seek to subvert Christianity, we must remember that Jesus is neither a Jungian archetype nor an abstract object. He is the incarnation of the second person of the Holy Trinity (God the Son), who is fully divine and fully human. He is a person who entered into our world at a specific moment in history, through specific people, in an actual and physical body. This is not some metaphor. It is a concrete event, despite being mysterious and miraculous, that occurred in human history. And as such, the Incarnation is not something we are free to reshape to fit current cultural trends that cater to identity politics. It is an eternal truth that stands at the heart of Christian faith and has direct consequences for our salvation. Therefore, a Jesus who is not male, not Jewish, and not rooted in the world of first-century Galilee is simply not the Jesus we find in the Gospels nor one who has the power to redeem. Therefore, a Jesus who is not male, not Jewish, and not rooted in the world of first-century Galilee is simply not the Jesus we find in the Gospels nor one who has the power to redeem. Tweet This To envision what is truly at stake here, let's consider the thought of the early Church Fathers. The early Church Fathers understood this with clarity. They taught that redemption is directly tied to what Christ took on in becoming human. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus put it, 'That which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved.' In other words, Jesus had to 'take on' the fullness of human nature in order to heal and redeem it. His intervention was not a symbolic gesture or a selective act. It was a real and singular event in human history, an act of love that touches every part of who we are. St. Gregory argued that Jesus was fully human in every way except for sin. For those who affirm free will, sin is not intrinsic to human nature but a contingent possibility. It is an immoral action rather than a necessary feature of what it means to be human. Jesus is the perfect human, so sin would make us in some sense subhuman. St. Gregory articulated this view in response to the fourth-century heresy of Apollinarianism, a heresy that taught that Jesus had a human body and soul but lacked a rational human mind. (Apollinaris claimed that Christ had solely a divine mind.) Gregory opposed this, insisting that if Christ did not assume a rational human mind, then that aspect of humanity would remain unsaved. This view was officially condemned at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, thereby affirming the Church's commitment to the full humanity of Christ. Given the Church Fathers' emphasis on assumption under the context of undertaking a complete human nature, this theological insight has profound implications. If Jesus had to assume every aspect of human nature in order to redeem it, then His maleness is not an unplanned feature but essential to the Incarnation. Jesus being born a first-century Jewish male was not as a cultural accident but part of God's intentional plan. His maleness is embedded in the typological, covenantal, and sacramental structure of salvation history. He is the New Adam who undoes the sin of the first man (Romans 5:12-21). He is the Bridegroom (John 3:29) who lays down His life for the Church, His Bride. He is the eternal High Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 4:14-16). These roles define the order of salvific history and are not haphazard or decided by contingent socio-cultural events. They are grounded in the revealed logic of Scripture and the theological identity of Christ. The mere suggestion that Jesus could have been incarnated as a woman repudiates God's plan and the purpose of Incarnation; it controverts sound theological doctrine. It is important for modern ears to realize that this is not a question of dignity or value but of doctrinal coherence. Jesus did not assume a generic human nature. He assumed a specific human nature—including a rational mind, a male body, and a historical-cultural identity—to redeem the whole of humanity through that particularity. Altering His identity, even in the name of artistic expression or inclusion, misrepresents the very nature of salvation. To reinterpret Christ's identity, such as portraying Him as a woman, is not a harmless artistic liberty. It undermines the theological coherence of the Incarnation and risks leading people into error about who Christ is and what He came to do. Without a doubt, Jesus Christ Superstar has always been problematic. From its debut in the 1970s, the rock opera reduced the Gospel to existential angst and human misunderstanding, portraying Judas as a tragic hero and downplaying, if not outright denying, the Resurrection. But what we are seeing now is a much deeper level of desecration. Jesus is being remodelled in the image of postmodern identity politics, under the guise of inclusion and progress. In Erivo's own words, this is 'a very special thing.' Yes, but not for the reasons she or Colbert imagine. This is the crowning of a new secular dogma based on the teachings of the LGBTQIA2S+ movement. The Jesus of this production is not the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In the eyes of postmodern ideology, Jesus is no longer the Savior but a symbol of inclusivity and rebellion. It is the Gospel emptied of its theological content and rebranded as therapeutic theatrics. But no amount of musical talent or vocal range can compensate for the loss of truth. An ideologically-shaped Christ is as distant from the one true Christ as Heaven is from Hell. It is not entirely surprising that Colbert would express such views, given that he has long distanced himself from traditional Catholic teaching. In truth, it is unclear which doctrines he actually upholds, especially considering his public association with figures like the heterodox Fr. James Martin. The deeper concern, however, lies in the fact that Colbert identifies as Catholic. For those unfamiliar with the Church's actual teachings, both within and outside its visible boundaries, this can be deeply misleading and may lead many into confusion about what the Catholic Faith truly affirms. Yet the confusion he represents is not unique. It is symptomatic of a Church, especially in the West, that has grown silent, ambiguous, and compromised in the face of cultural pressure. We are told that to resist this is to be hateful, bigoted, or backward thinking. However, emotions or social trends do not dictate what is true. Insisting on portraying Jesus as male does not diminish the dignity of women or those struggling with issues related to identity. But rather, it is to affirm the logic and truth of the Gospel. Jesus came to fulfill the Scriptures not conform to the shifting demands of the age. These roles are not arbitrary. They are deeply embedded in the typology and logic of divine revelation. To ignore these roles is not merely to play with aesthetics. It is to tamper with the meaning of salvation itself. This latest production at the Hollywood Bowl will attract applause, media coverage, and predictable denunciations of anyone who dares to question it. However, we Christians must resist the pressure to remain silent. Our judgment of falsehoods does not stem from our disdain for beauty or creativity or because we harbor resentment toward our opponents. On the contrary, we honor truth and beauty by preserving their proper intrinsic value. We must speak the truth out of love for those we disagree with and those who persecute us. As Pope Benedict XVI recognized, art and beauty must always be at the service of truth; otherwise, they risk becoming extravagant public debauchery, as in the case of the upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar , which serves to mask a theological void—the absence of any serious engagement with the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection. As Christians, who affirm that Jesus is Lord, we must reject all the misrepresentations of Him. And we should do so peacefully but with clarity, courage, and compassion at the service of truth. Part of rescuing this downward-spiralling culture is to reclaim the sacred from the hands of those desecrating it. Jesus was crucified not for being inclusive or symbolic but for the exact opposite: for declaring Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That's why people rejected Him. Humans, in their fallen nature, have a propensity to turn away from truth. Perhaps that is the most ironic twist of all. In seeking to make Jesus relatable in our troubled times, Colbert and company have merely joined the chorus that once shouted, 'Crucify Him!' But the true Christ remains unchanged: 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever' (Hebrews 13:8).
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A Tomb Once Said to Hold ‘Jesus's Midwife' Might Instead Hold Ancient Royalty
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: For centuries, a cave near Jerusalem was believed by Christian pilgrims to be the tomb of an attendant to the birth of Christ. Salome is depicted in the apocryphal Gospel of James as doubting the 'virgin birth' only to repent and be visited by angels. A new study suggests that the Salome buried in this tomb was, in fact, not the apocryphal Biblical figure, but rather the younger sister of Judean king Herod the Great. This story is a collaboration with For centuries, a subset of Christian pilgrims have journeyed to a cave southwest of Jerusalem in Israel referred to as the 'Cave of Salome,' due to its asserted connection to a figure associated with Jesus of Nazareth. Now, a new study in the Israel Antiquities Authority's journal 'Atiqot posits that this cave does serve as a tomb to someone named Salome, but not the one it's long been purported to have been. Rather than the Biblical figure sometimes described as 'Jesus' midwife,' the tomb might have held a figure of Judean royalty. But if you've only read the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you might find yourself wondering just who this Salome was supposed to be in the first place (while there is a Salome briefly alluded to in Mark 15:40 said to be present at the crucifixion, this is not the Salome in question). For that, we need to dip into a subset of Christian texts known as 'the apocrypha.' Given the underground origins of Christianity amidst the Roman Empire, it's no surprise that there was not one single written text relied upon to spread the word of the new faith. Even the four Gospels widely considered part of the Biblical Canon are traditionally believed to have been originally composed with different audiences in mind (Matthew wrote for those with a familiarity with Jewish tradition while Mark for a Roman audience, for example). This means that there are an array of texts, both extant and lost, that offer different, divergent, and at times even contradictory tellings of the story of Jesus than those that were ultimately determined by church bodies to be the 'canonical' works. One particular and prominent subset of these are what is called the 'infancy gospels,' stories of Jesus during his childhood. Little is said of Jesus' youth in the four canonical gospels, with only Matthew and Luke mentioning the story of his birth, and Luke alone including a single anecdote of a child Jesus visiting a Temple (Luke 2:41-52). But the apocryphal infancy gospels contain a wide array of events allegedly involving a child Jesus, including a confrontation with a literal dragon (the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew). One of these texts, the apocryphal Gospel of James, introduces the character of Salome. While Salome is present for the birth of Jesus in this text, she was not actually 'Jesus' midwife.' Rather, this gospel depicts the actual midwife during Jesus' birth, referred to only by her title of 'Emea,' crying out to Salome about the virgin birth she had witnessed, only for Salome to dismiss it: 'And the midwife went forth of the cave and Salome met her. And she said to her: Salome, Salome, a new sight have I to tell thee. A virgin hath brought forth, which her nature alloweth not. And Salome said: As the Lord my God liveth, if I make not trial and prove her nature I will not believe that a virgin hath brought forth.' Salome then goes to witness the newborn child herself and decries her earlier doubts, seeking atonement, and is visited by an angel, healed, and told not to speak of what she had witnessed 'until the child enter into Jerusalem.' Some scholars point to this story of Salome as a predecessor and/or parallel to the more famous story, post-Resurrection, of Doubting Thomas. As Live Science reports, the aforementioned Cave of Salome gained its religious reputation when an ossuary, a casket filled with bones, was discovered in that cave bearing the name Salome. Adherents to the Gospel of James took to attributing these bones, and therefor the tomb that held them, as belonging to the Salome of the birth story, and began making pilgrimages there. As Live Science notes, those pilgrimages were a common enough occurrence that they continued for two hundred years after the area had been conquered by the Islamic Caliphate in the 7th century. The cave was excavated in 1984, where they found 'hundreds of clay oil lamps from the eighth and ninth centuries, which archaeologists think were sold to Christian pilgrims so they would have light while exploring the dark cave.' But to determine who might really have been interred in this tomb, the 2025 IAA study, co-authored by Vladik Lifshits and Nir-Shimshon Paran, they looked not at what had been left within the tomb, but rather how the tomb itself had been constructed: 'Lifshits noted the monumental architecture — including a large courtyard at the entrance — indicated that a member of the royal family may have been buried there. The authors also discovered the remains of several luxurious villas nearby, which indicates the site once belonged to a very wealthy family.' Their study suggests the possibility that the Salome in question may not have been connected to Jesus' birth, but rather to a different figure who factors into the story of the young Jesus: Herod I, also known as Herod the Great. Biblical tradition holds that Herod I, who ruled from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C., ordered the death of all male babies in Bethlehem, but no objective historical evidence has yet emerged that supports that particular tale. Instead, what is known about Herod I, as Live Science recounts, are his contributions to the kingdom he oversaw: 'For example, he was a prolific builder who restored the decrepit Second Temple on the Temple Mount, and the massive rock walls he had built are still standing today as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.' The study asserts that the Salome buried within the cave was Herod I's younger sister, who died in approximately 10AD. This Salome is not to be confused with Herod I's granddaughter who also bore that name. That Salome, recorded in the Bible as ordering the beheading of John the Baptist, would later be immortalized in an array of fictional works like Oscar Wilde's 1893 play and the subsequent 1905 opera by Richard Strauss. When Live Science spoke to Boaz Zissu of Israel's Bar-Ilan University, a scholar unaffiliated with the study, they conceded that 'The authors correctly identify the original phase as a monumental tomb belonging to local elites of the Herodian period' but suggested 'more rigorous evidential support' was required before it could be firmly established to be the tomb of Salome. For their part, study co-author Vladik Lifshits conceded as much. 'It's not that I think it must be the tomb of Salome the sister of Herod,' Lifshits told Live Science. 'I'm suggesting that this is one of the possibilities.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Scottish Sun
02-06-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Scientists ‘disprove' one of Jesus Christ's best-known miracles as study claims it was just ‘a natural phenomenon'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TEAM of scientists claims to have debunked one of Jesus Christ's most famous miracles — saying the Son of God may not have fed 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish after all. Instead, researchers believe it could have been a freak natural event in Israel's Lake Kinneret — known in the Bible as the Sea of Galilee — that brought a massive haul of fish to the surface for easy collection. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Ghent – Crucifixion paint on the wood from side altar in underground chapel of st. Baaf's Cathedral from 16. cent. on June 23, 2012 in Gent, Belgium. Credit: Getty 4 A vintage illustration of Jesus Christ, published in Germany, circa 1900. (Photo) Credit: Getty - Contributor The story of the 'Feeding of the 5,000' is told in all four Gospels, where Jesus is said to have blessed a small amount of food and miraculously distributed it to feed a vast crowd. But in a 2024 study published in Water Resources Research, scientists monitored oxygen levels, water temperature, and wind speed across Lake Kinneret — and say they discovered evidence of sudden mass fish die-offs caused by unusual weather patterns. Strong winds sweeping across the lake, they say, can churn the water and cause an 'upwelling' of cold, low-oxygen water from the bottom, which kills fish and sends them floating to the surface. According to the researchers, to anyone watching from the shore, it would look like fish were suddenly appearing by the thousands — creating the illusion of a miracle and allowing them to 'be easily collected by a hungry populace'. The team believes this could explain the Gospel passage where Jesus tells his disciples — after a fruitless night of fishing — to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, suddenly hauling in a bounty. However, Biblical scholars aren't buying it. Critics slammed the theory for missing the point entirely, pointing out that no fish were caught during the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The article on hit back, saying: 'Jesus simply took the five loaves and two fish, thanked God, broke the loaves, handed everything to his disciples, and the disciples handed the food out. No fish were caught!' According to Matthew 14:13–21, Jesus 'saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.' Brit shares 'proof' he's found Jesus's TOMB & Ark of the Covenant in cave When his disciples told him to send the people away to find food, he replied: 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.' After blessing the five loaves and two fish, the Bible says: 'they all ate and were satisfied. 'And they took up 12 baskets full of the broken pieces left over.' Despite the backlash, the researchers argue that understanding how fish may have mysteriously appeared in huge quantities doesn't take away from the spiritual message of the event — which many see as symbolic of generosity and faith. Still, religious sceptics say the study adds weight to theories that Jesus' wonders may have had natural explanations — while believers insist some things just can't be explained away by science. It comes after a stunning AI-generated video claims to reveal the true face of Jesus Christ — using images based on the mysterious Turin Shroud. Believers say the Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth wrapped around Jesus after his crucifixion. 4 AI has created a video of Jesus Christ by feeding it the Turin Shroud Credit: X 4 Christ can be seen smiling, blinking and praying in the video Credit: X Now, photos of the ancient linen have been processed through Midjourney, an AI image generator, to create a realistic image and video of Christ. The video shows Jesus blinking, smiling, and praying — potentially as he did before his crucifixion around 33AD. He appears with shoulder-length brown hair, a beard, brown eyes, a straight nose, and high cheekbones. His skin tone is pale, which has sparked debate among academics and online. Last year, The Sun also used AI to recreate the Son of God's appearance. The Gencraft tool was fed the prompt 'face of Jesus based on the Shroud of Turin' and returned images of a man with hazel eyes, a gentle expression, a neat beard, clean eyebrows, and long brown hair. Under his weary eyes, signs of exhaustion were visible. Many researchers agree that the man wrapped in the Shroud appeared to be between 5ft 7in and 6ft tall, with sunken eyes and a full beard. The markings on the cloth also show what some believe to be crucifixion wounds — including injuries to the head, shoulders, arms, and back, consistent with a thorn crown and Roman whips. The Bible recounts that Jesus was scourged by Roman soldiers, crowned with thorns, and forced to carry his cross before dying in agony.
