Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are available here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thank you for joining us today as we welcome our special guest, Russ Breault. Over the years, Russ has contributed to several of my studies as a biblical scholar. He is also a compelling speaker and an internationally recognized expert on the Shroud of Turin. In that role, Russ appears for a follow-up interview to celebrate the first anniversary of his best-selling book “Shroud Encounter – Explore the World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery,” which I featured here at Townhall last June.
Russ regularly appears across numerous media platforms. His long list of impressive credits includes major broadcast networks and the History Channel. Russ is also an executive team member of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit, with our mission to produce a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C., titled “The World’s Greatest Mystery.”
Let's welcome Russ Breault to Myra’s “interview couch!”
Myra Kahn Adams: Congrats on the success of your book. After your whirlwind year-long national speaking and media tour, please share your thoughts about how the Shroud of Turin is perceived among the public.
Russ Breault: Over the past few years, the Shroud of Turin has been experiencing a significant upswing in interest. That surge relates to the period when the bottom dropped out of the Shroud world in 1988, following the Vatican-authorized carbon dating test that concluded the Shroud was the work of an unknown medieval artist, dating between 1260 and 1390.
Since then, much has been revealed about how those infamous dating tests were botched. Most notably, the sampling protocol was violated, which called for three samples from three different areas of the cloth. However, only one sample was cut from the outside corner edge, and then that one piece was cut into three pieces.
Moreover, it was the worst possible location — the corner edge. An area that people had handled hundreds of times over the centuries, leaving many scientists to conclude that carbon dating was at best inconclusive. Fortunately, decades later, a new understanding of the faulty 1988 conclusion resonates with the media and the public.
Science has always taken the Shroud to the next level. In 1898, the “new technology” of photography revealed a photographic miracle that remains unexplained in the 21st century. Then, in the 1970s, computers discovered the Shroud’s 3D properties. Today, it is AI with compelling new pictures of Jesus circulating the internet based solely on the Shroud image.
MKA: What, if anything, surprised you about the reaction to your book?
RB: The response to my Shroud Encounter book has been remarkable, with numerous positive comments on Amazon. It repeatedly sells out as I do Shroud Encounter events nationwide. Various chapters examine all the exciting scientific discoveries related to the Shroud, explore the probable historical trail, and directly challenge those who claim a medieval origin.
Chapter nine, “The Challenge of Art History,” discusses the transition from science to history, clearly showing that no artist living in the 14th century had the knowledge and skills to create the Shroud image. The chapter examines two such artists mentioned by modern critics and shows no artistic comparison to their work and the Shroud. Another chapter reveals how Adolph Hitler tried to steal the Shroud in 1943 and how the sacred linen miraculously survived his evil scrutiny.
MKA: What are the most frequently asked questions you receive about the Shroud?
RB: I am often asked what the most compelling attribute of the Shroud is that would lead me to believe it is authentic. My answer is that I am always drawn to the “either/or proposition.” The irony is that if the Shroud is not authentic, it must be the work of an artist and therefore must show evidence of an artistic process involving paint, ink, dye, pigment, or stain. And yet, a team of 33 American scientists who analyzed the cloth for five days and nights in 1978 concluded that the Shroud “was not the product of an artist,” and the pattern of bloodstains indicates real blood.
In addition to the lack of any artistic substance or process is the extreme superficiality of the image itself, which only penetrates the cloth to a depth of one to two micro-fibers. Understanding that each thread comprises approximately 200 micro-fibers indicates that the image only affects about 1 percent of a single thread. This holds wherever you examine the Shroud image, a uniform depth impossible to produce consistently with human hands or without advanced technology.
MKA: Briefly explain the breakthrough Shroud research called Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering that dates the cloth to the time of Jesus.
RB: This new dating technology directly challenges the medieval origin of the Shroud. Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering measures the natural aging present in the Shroud’s cloth fibers compared to various ancient linen samples with undisputed dates.
The amount of natural aging found in the Shroud’s fibers indicates far more aging than would be possible if the Shroud were only 700 years old, as carbon dating suggests.
In fact, the linen sample that best compares with the amount of aging found in the Shroud’s fibers is from Masada, Israel, dating from 55 to 74 AD. Therefore, with a probable first-century origin, the Shroud of Turin assumes new significance. When a modern scientific discovery helps confirm “the greatest event in human history,” that makes for an irresistible “ah-ha” moment fusing faith and science.
MKA: Please share your most inspiring concept with our readers about why the Shroud could be considered a “receipt.”
RB: After feeling “called” to search the Scriptures for all the words that describe what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, I discovered four such words: bought, purchased, redeemed, and ransomed. Then, I realized those words convey a transaction, a payment made on our behalf. Furthermore, a record of any transaction or purchase always generates a receipt.
Therefore, what did Peter and John see in the tomb on Easter morning that caused John to write in his Gospel that he “believed” in the resurrection? I believe it was an itemized “receipt” of the most expensive purchase ever made — Christ's burial cloth with His front-to-back full body image. We recognize that Salvation is a gift, but the cost of that gift through the ordeal of the crucifixion is more than we can comprehend. God left a “receipt” in the tomb to record the transaction, to help all generations believe in Him and be blessed with the promise of eternal life.
MKA: Are you planning a second Shroud book?
RB: I am writing my next book, which will include information and research that I couldn't include in the first book without making it too lengthy. One chapter will detail how an exorcist brought a thread from the Shroud into an exorcism and how the possessed individual reacted to it. It is a fantastic story and anecdotally supports the authenticity of the Shroud. This book will explore various esoteric concepts, including how Jesus appears in dreams, visions, and near-death experiences, and how these experiences directly correlate with the Shroud image.
MKA: Russ, thanks for your time on behalf of Townhall readers. I look forward to seeing you and Shroud.com editor Joe Marino at the Shroud of Turin Conference in St. Louis from July 31 to August 3.
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” reprints Vols. 57 –113. Order it here.
She is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit, dedicated to building a future permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. Join our effort! Click to attend a major Shroud conference July 31- August 3 in St. Louis. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>