The Turin Shroud Is Genuine: The Irrefutable Evidence Updated [Hardcover]

Rodney Hoare (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

For years, scientists and religious believers have been debating the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. Rodney Hoare spent more than 20 years researching the facts surrounding the shroud and came to the conclusion that it is indeed the cloth that once contained the body of Jesus Christ. This thorough work addresses all of the issues in question including why the carbon-dating evidence of 1988 should not be accepted, how the shroud’s Middle Eastern origin can be proven, how the famed image on the shroud was created, and how the shroud traveled from Palestine to Italy. This historical detective story, in paperback for the first time, includes an update by Clare Stevens on the most recent research and findings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rodney Hoare is the author of The Testament of the Shroud and A Piece of Cloth. He died in 1997.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Souvenir Press (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0285632019
• ISBN-13: 978-0285632011
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,765,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good start...bad ending, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Turin Shroud Is Genuine: The Irrefutable Evidence Updated (Paperback)

The author ends a fantastic bit of detective work with a rather novel, yet disatisfying twist. While concluding that the Shroud is genuine, the author then concludes that Christ did not die, but was merely comatose, was helped from the tomb, and then lived a normal life. What a pity to waste a great book with such an inconsiderate and unnecessary ending! The author seems to "forget" the Ascension altogether as he trudges through his quest to destroy the fundamentals of Christianity almost in the same breath that he proves that the shroud is genuine. Would have been five stars if not for his ludicrous, unsubstantiated and Anti-Christian conclusions. Read it but skip the last few chapters and be spared the twaddle.

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fair review of evidence but very very, very poor ending, December 20, 2001

By 

Gregorio - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Turin Shroud Is Genuine: The Irrefutable Evidence Updated (Paperback)

Let me first say a couple things about myself so you can better know how to interpret my review. First of all I am a physician who was previously a biochemist, and I have been an assistant professor of medicine at a major university; and secondly (actually primarily as a person) I am a devout Catholic Christian. Now for my review.

Mr. Hoare starts his book out with a solid review of the scientific research done upon the Shroud. This does help for those who want to review what has been studied. And to his credit Mr. Hoare does this rather even-handedly. Where the author really fails is what he does after reviewing the data. And what contributes to his failure is his very poor understanding of Christianity, despite the fact the book describes him as a "protestant". This quote from the book should help explain what I mean:

"Experience and studies have shown that on this earth there are certain laws that operate. Is the only answer really that God stepped right outside those laws in the case of Jesus?" (p. 130)

This short quote fairly clearly shows how the author either doesn't realize that Jesus Christ is Himself God (in the second person of the Holy Trinity) and therefore not subject to the laws of nature since He is the creator of all that is, or it shows that Mr. Hoare does not believe in Christ's divinity. Either way it leads him to draw seriously flawed conclusions about Jesus. He basically suggests that Jesus was in a coma in the tomb and removed by followers who nursed Him back to health!

This brings us back to the basic truth that how we see and interpret everything depends on our belief (or disbelief) in God. A poor analogy might be that if someone saw a jacket hanging on a door and had no knowledge of "hooks on doors" then their entire interpretation of gravity would be incorrect since they would postulate reasons why the jacket did not fall to the ground. This of course would not be reality - infact it is the layman's definition of insanity (failure to recognize and live in reality).

So in essence his book reviews the evidence fairly soundly but draws conclusions from that evidence that simply are far beyond what the evidence is able to say. Mr. Hoare arrives at the correct conclusion about the shroud being that of Christ but simply takes too much liberty beyond that.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A sweet and sour read, November 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Turin Shroud Is Genuine: The Irrefutable Evidence Updated (Paperback)

If other researchers along with forensic scientists say that the body on the shroud is in rigor mortis state, how can the man on the Shroud be "Comatose"? Although this book tries to give proof of the Shroud's authenticity, it turns into a "sour" experience once you find yourself with such a contradiction (not only for researchers and readers in general, but for Christians that believe in the death and resurrection of Christ).