There are a lot of doubters out there. They seem to know the answer to everything. 2000 years ago there were a lot of doubters out there. Then too they knew the answer to everything. Funny how some things never change. Funny how some people never change. They never have and they never will!

Walter, SLIDELL, USA

Isn't the correct name for these people: "Sore Losers"?
Just asking...

Roel, Leuven, Belgium

"Geri B., Mesquite, USA"

Scientific evidence is based on observable fact. Hit your thumb with hammer and the resultant pain is a fact. You can then hypothesise as to whether your own clumsiness or the intervetion of the devil made you miss the nail, but the pain and the cause remain a fact

Homer, London,

Nice one John regarding miracles on toast. Can China deliver this third revelation?

iain rae, tunbridge wells, u.k.

for those of you who are sceptical or sneering, read the science. It is hard to examine the depth of evidence in favour of this cloth being the burial shroud of Jesus and remain unmoved - unless, of course, you have made up your mind before you begin ........

michael, harrogate, uk

Ian: The same thing just happened to my toast!! What do you think the chances are of that happening to two toasts on each side of the Atlantic? It MUST be a miracle. (Now, if John the Baptist appears on a toast in China...third times a charm!)

John, Branford, CT, USA

Having attended a Shroud lecture by Dr. Jackson, I can opine that the carbon dating determination is a square peg to the plethora of historical data that shows the Shroud in Constantinople centuries before 1260. Data can be skewed by circumstances. Many med. tests have false positives and negatives

Dr. Steve, Missoula, USA

Geri,US: Nice rhetoric, so Earth might turn out to be square next week & the bible has the truth more than science.The shroud is a fake & clinging to it proves how flimsy the faith of some people is. Should'nt we move on?

Heath, surrey, UK

Whatever your religious belief's, one thing that is known is that the early Christian church made big money from pilgrims by displaying holy "relics", be they genuine or fake. Whatever the age of this thing I would be very suspicious of it's origin, especially having such a clear image

Bob, Sittingbourne, UK

Johnathan: The Church offers to the Faithful a treasury of relics, including those of Saints, such as St Therese of Liseux. At St Mary Magdalen's Church in Brighton, we have relics of St Mary Magdalen. These are holy gifts of the Church, which give honour and reverence to God.

Laurence England, Brighton, United Kingdom

This morning the face of John the Baptist appeared on my toast. This is surely proof of the almighty,and i hope the Vatican will deem this as a miracle.

iain rae, tunbridge wells, u.k.

I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky !
Sharon, could you book me a ticket to heaven, please? And make it first-class, I don't like to mingle with ordinary believers.

Joris, Woerden, Holland

This piece of cloth has been proven to be a fake, but faith clings to the flimiest of illogical hopes.
Faith is just that--believing in something when there is no evidence.

William Judd, West Wickham, England

What always puzzled me is that the face on the shroud looks anglo-saxon. If the shroud were genuine, wouldn't the face look Jewish?

Liz, Christchurch, NZ

John Dale from the UK just 'owned' the hick Sharon from Houston

Kazuki, Tokyo, Japan

Sharon from Houston: I'm sorry, but what you said made no sense:
"Only those who wish to disprove the existence of God, or whose faith is tenuous, look to relics to support their belief -- or disbelief."
It has been the Catholic Church which has been the greatest promoter of 'relics' and 'miracles'.

jonathan, stirling,

You're so right Sharon. What use are facts, reality or rationality, when you've been "blessed" with faith?

John Dale, Sunderland,

Whether the Shroud of Turin is an "authentic" relic or not is of scant importance to those of us who believe. Only those who wish to disprove the existence of God, or whose faith is tenuous, look to relics to support their belief -- or disbelief.

Sharon, Houston, US

The Shroud is not an article of Faith, neither is private revelation such as devotion to the Divine Mercy after the apparition of Our Lord to St Faustina, or to believe Our Lady appeared at Fatima. All we are called to believe is the Doctrine of the Church, anything else is personal devotion.

Laurence England, Brighton, United Kingdom

Why does no one apply common sense to the Turin Shroud? Think about it - if you wrap a person in a piece of fabric, any impression that results will appear distorted when the fabric is laid flat. And yet the supposed image of JC is perfectly proportioned! Ooh, doesn't God move in mysterious ways.

David, Cheshire,

This argument isn't about giving credence to religion, it is about the false idea that we need something to place a physical trust in an event that Christians already believe happened, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Catholic CHurch has for centuries held relics as something sacred

Jim, New Haven, USA

The truth about scientific evidence is; it's always changing it's mind.
Today scientific evidence supports this theory, next week, it will support a different theory.
The wisdom of man is foolishness to God.
Just read the Bible, you will know the Truth.

Geri B., Mesquite, USA

If scripture says that there was more than one(1) peice of cloth wrapping the body of jesus, why do people put their faith in science. Read John 20:7.The napkin which was around the head was lying seperate to the other cloth.There were 2 pieces of cloth.Have faith in God and scripture, not in icons

Bob Taylor, Newcastle,

Gerald, how can you say that science is bias? It is SCIENTISTS who are saying that the relic should be re-tested. Because science is based around rationality and evidence. Even the professor who did the original carbon date said more research is needed.

Chris G, London, UK

There is a clear desire in the scientific community to debunk anything giving credence to religion. Believers don't mind having artifacts related to their faith tested by impartial scientific investigation, but they don't want science to be actively hostile, as seems to be the case with the shroud

Gerald Jennings, Gilboa, Ohio, USA

A waste of money and resources. Those who believe will continue to do so, whereas those that don't won't.

Carol, Leicester, UK

Roman Catholics must have their relics (idols). Why don't they live by faith as we are instructed?
Paul David

Paul David, Canton, USA

This Andrew Milner guy has it all figured out. Maybe "John Jackson, a physicist at Colorado University and a prominent expert on the relic" should let the world know that this is just a super athlete from Leanardo's time. Why would we need to prove the age of the Shroud with such Genuis hypothesis

Travis, Halifax, Canada

This is a fascinating matter of art history or the history of religion but not of religion.

Liam, Dublin, Ireland

Proving that the artefact is early would prove precisely nothing. Fakes could have been made at any time. This is all titillation.

Jim Guest, G. Manchester,

Come on guys, the Shroud of Turin is Leonardo ad Vinci's best work. Sure the cloth is old, but the artwork is centuries younger. It shows a male super athlete; that's the image the Church wanted to promote. So assume the complete opposite.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan

The catholic Church often seem to doubt what could be the real deal when it comes to our Lord and savious Jesus Christ !!!! Perhaps the Vatican has something to hide !!!!!!!!!!!!

ian payne, walsall,