The Shroud of Turin had been a mystery for centuries. It could be the most sacred and controversial artifact in the world. The Shroud is a cloth that some say was used to cover Jesus in burial after he was crucified. Others say it is nothing more than a painting created hundreds of years ago.

No one has proven the Shroud of Turin – depicted here at the Chapel at the Air Force Academy – is the burial cloth of Jesus. It’s image of a man’s wounded body is proof enough for true believers but skeptics quickly point to inconclusive evidence, carbon-14 dating, and a clever artist for its explanation.

Could this be the face of Jesus Christ? That question has been the center of debate for centuries.

It is clear that this is not the work of the human hand. It is not the work of an artist. John Jackson believes it is. He has been studying the cloth for a quarter of a century. He and his wife, Rebecca, run the Turin Shroud Center here in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jackson says in order to see the big picture, you have to piece together all of the evidence.

First, there are the bloodstains still visible today. Jackson says they are consistent with what are in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion. Then you look at the historical context of where this comes from. In order to understand the Shroud – you have to take the Old Testament and the New Testament – you have to use both of them.

The Jackson’s point to Jewish tradition – one burial cloth folded hands. Even the measurement of the cloth fits precisely to that of the Cubit – the only standard of measurement at the time. Jackson says just last year there was a major development with the Shroud. Scientists got the chance to study the other side of the Shroud – photographing the fold marks, which could be one more piece of evident to date this cloth. They are hoping that will help prove their case.

I consider this development to be a real breakthrough in scientific studies of the Shroud. Jackson says other scientific tests, like carbon-14 dating have done damage to the credibility of the Shroud. The tests place the Shroud’s creation more than a thousand years after Christ was crucified.

Jackson says the results could be misleading partially because of microbe contamination. He says even carbon dating done on mummies has proven to be off by a thousand years. Jackson believes the image was created as a bi-product of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Barry Fagin, member of the Rocky Mountain skeptics thinks what Jackson and other believers in the Shroud, practice is not science, rather pseudoscience. Fagin says they start with the answer and work backwards. For example, take the bloodstains – they show proteins that might be in blood but are also found in paint.

Paint like red ochre and vermilion, Fagin says that was also detected in the tests. Yet he says believers in the Shroud have failed to mention that. Fagan also points to the fact that human blood turns black over time not red as shown on the Shroud.

The Shroud of Turin has no historical provenience before the 14th century as far as we can tell it didn’t even exist until 1389. That is where carbon-14 dating placed the Shroud, which Fagin says is only further proof the Shroud is a painting. He says contamination during testing is just a way for believers to deny the truth.

Another key ingredient to Fagin’s argument – this letter – a memo from the Bishop of Troy, Bishop Dasci. This copy, which can be found in the National Library of Paris archives, explains how the Shroud came about. It was written by the Bishop and addressed to the Pope to tell him that an artist friend painted the Shroud and that he was very upset that it was being passed on a Jesus’ burial cloth.

It was done to attract revenue and lure people and this is a really bad thing. The letter’s dated from the 14th century exactly when the Shroud was supposed to appear. John Jackson says the letter is vague and it is not even clear the Bishop is talking about the Shroud.

Even with all of these current studies, it may be some time before we know for sure whether the Shroud is a hoax or the Holy Grail. The Shroud is currently housed in the Turin Cathedral in Turin, Italy for safekeeping. Although it is on display there, the Catholic Church has not yet acknowledged the Shroud as authentic. Members of the church say that should be left up to science.