A new study in Scientific Reports ran PCR-free metagenomic sequencing on samples officially collected from the Shroud of Turin back in 1978. Instead of hunting for one person’s DNA, it reads everything on the linen at once.
- Multiple human mitochondrial DNA lineages, meaning people from different populations touched or were near the cloth over time.
- A diverse microbiome: skin bacteria, fungi, plants, animals, and even Mediterranean red coral.
- The team calls it the most complete picture yet of what the Shroud picked up through its history.
My take
This doesn’t prove or disprove anything about Jesus. It shows the cloth has been handled by a lot of people across a lot of places, which fits its long, well-traveled history. I covered a former skeptic who now calls the Shroud evidence of the Resurrection. My faith doesn’t rest on a cloth. It rests on a risen Savior, and “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Still, I love it when good science and church history meet.
God Bless, and May the Source Be with You!
