The Jesus Conspiracy: The Turin Shroud & the Truth About the Resurrection

by Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Grüber

Book Overview

Is the Turin Shroud really a fake, or was there an ulterior motive for having it declared as such? This book reconstructs the circumstances surrounding both the Crucifixion and the carbon-dating to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156619878X
• ISBN13: 9781566198783
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Persuasive Case

The basic idea of this book, written by two European investigators and translated into English, is that the Shroud of Turin is genuine and represents the actual image of Jesus. So why did carbon-dating tests conducted in 1988 show it dates only to the 14th century? The authors spend many pages showing in detail that the test was rigged. The cloth pieces that were analyzed by three labs were not from the shroud, but from a piece of cloth known to date from the 14th century. The authors were obsessive in their pursuit of the facts of the testing and show how the cloth could have been substituted. They interviewed everyone involved, often many times, and sometimes having to pursue people doggedly over time. They obtained photos of the supposed pieces of cloth and had the photos analyzed, and they watched (over and over) the video of the actual cutting of a piece of the shroud. They show how the reported weights of the pieces given to labs does not add up to the weight of the cloth cut from the shroud. Nor does the herringbone weave of the shroud match exactly to the weave pattern of the tested pieces. So who would want the test to show that the shroud is not the burial cloth of Jesus? The surprising answer is -- the Vatican! The evidence that the rigging was a Vatican job is strong, and the reason also makes sense. The authors say the shroud shows a crucified man WHO IS NOT DEAD. If Jesus was not dead when he was taken down from the cross, then Catholic Church doctrine that makes Jesus' death a "sacrifice" that redeemed mankind from its sins is flawed. The Church cannot back down from any of its teachings, and would protect its existence by relegating the shroud to status of "interesting relic," probably hoping people would just forget about it.But this is a story that holds endless fascination for the Christian nations of the world. Is the image on the cloth that of Jesus? And how did the image get onto the cloth? The authors tackle that mystery too, postulating that the mixture of aloe and myrrh described in the Bible and possibly used to heal the wounds of an alive Jesus would contribute to creating the image. They experimented with their own mixture and tried smearing it on one of the authors, who was then wrapped with a linen cloth similar to the shroud material. They succeeded in obtaining an image, but it was not of the amazing lifelike quality of the shroud image.The authors' conclusion -- that Jesus did not die on the cross -- is not unique, since many other researchers and authors have stated the same belief, and many of the attendant theories include the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had children, and founded a dynasty that still exists. The Jesus Conspiracy just adds more fuel to the fire. This book builds a persuasive and believable case, built around an extensive investigation of the Turin Shroud.

A Fantastic Piece of Investigative Journalism

Kersten and Gruber have pieced together the puzzle to get to the same conclusion that was REVEALED to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah of our time. His claim was made entirely on divine revelation, and now in front of us we have compelling evidence of its validity from sources with no links to him whatsoever. The revelation being that Jesus is burried in India, and that he survived the Crucifixion. This book along with Kersten's work on Jesus in India provide a compelling and beautiful theory.The Vatican conspiracy side of things has, to some extent, been disproved, but there are MANY questions that still remain to be answered about the C-14 tests. The comments on the Shroud itself, and also the presentation of the survival of Christ from the cross are amongst the best I have read.I highly recommend this book. Of course some people are going to reject the information it contains outright, as if they accept it then there faith is destroyed. The objections mentioned in an earlier review about the spear having been put in the side of the "Man of the Shroud" are quite hollow. The spillage of blood shows that the man did have a wound in his side, this in total agreement with the survival theory. The spear did not reach the heart, as some say, that was not its purpose. Trying to discredit the author as not being qualified is the easy way out when the conclusions they draw are so controversial and challenging.This book has powerful material powerfully presented. Read it!

The truth about the resurrection?

This is the most ineresting books that i have read that talk about the turin shroud,christ and the resurrection. The authors of the book postulate that christ did not die on the cross but was actually rescued from his death.This theory is based on the findings of their painfully detailed scientific research that blood flowed from the body of christ into the cloth after he was removed from the cross. This bleeding as such has revealed that christ was indeed still alive at the time of being wrapped in the cloth. Their thorough analysis of the scriptures then lead them into a hypothesis that Joseph and nicodemus in conjuction with the centurion had a plot to rescue jesus. They site in their detailed research that jesus had a "quick" death. He was put on the cross at 12pm and then removed at 3pm, they site that other people who where crucifed at the same time who had the same punishment survived a much longer period of time; days in fact. It is postulated that Jesus was drugged with an opium based vinegar that was presented to him by the centurion. This made him unconscious and then he was removed from the cross and moved to a tomb made by Joseph. According to the book this tomb that was supposedly built by Joseph for his family was indeed intended to save jesus. As Joseph and his family lived far away and building a family tomb so far away made no sense ..unless it was built to save jesus. The theory then states that the burial of jesus was in fact incomplete, according to the eyewitness account of john. He had previously been witness to the burial of Lazarus and therefore understood the jewish method of burial. In the case of jesus this was very different, it was incomplete becasue he was not being buried but being 'healed'. Jesus upon being packed with aloe,oil and myrth was wrapped in the cloth to help heal his wounds..which were still bleeding. After jesus had regained consciousness he was escorted away by joseph and nicodemus. The authors explain there was no guard at the tomb to prevent this because it is highly unlikely that the romans would have complied to such an unusual request.Upon his regaining of consciousnous they helped jesus from the tomb and then he was dressed in gardners clothes to help disguise him. This is where mary magdalene mistakes jesus for a gardner. The theory states that it would be likely for her to mistake him as he was badly beaten and his faced was bruised and discoloured from the aloe and mirth cocktail. After this the authors state that jesus was then taken away by the essenes and recovered in a settlement with them. After a period of time he came back to see his disciples and he revealed himself again, but in a bodily form. It is said that he ate with them to show them that he was indeed a body and not a spirit.The Turin shroud is the underlying key to the hypothesis that jesus survived the crucificion. As it has a great many details about the person that was wrapped in it. The shroud itself is very carefully tra

This is *among* the most challenging books of the century.

Perhaps one may assess the value of this book by the almost palpable *silence* emanating from *any* branch of the media with regard to its contents: It's hot stuff!! Perhaps *too* hot, even for a media which is generally perceived as "liberal."For hundreds of years the Church, though never "officially" claiming the Santa Sindone (Holy Shroud) to be burial cloth of Jesus Christ, paraded this cloth in such a manner as to make it quite obvious that, indeed, the Church had a position: The Santa Sindone belonged to Christ, and represented the "truth" of the divinity and ressurrection of Jesus Christ.Then came Holger Kersten! In his book, Kersten reveals that the bloodstains and markings on the Santa Sindone show NOT that Christ died, but that he SURVIVED the crucifixion.Kersten covers every aspect of the Santa Sindone: Its interest to modern science; it's facinating and intricate history; the murky events surrounding the crucifixion ! itself; and a deep conspiracy he believes emanates from the highest authorities in the Vatican. And he does it all in stunning *detail.*This book is must reading!!

Finally the real "book of Truth"

I was studying to be a priest when I first read this book, now I have no religion but for this I am glad. It is an honest look at history and an interseting read. Only one problem though, for those of you who have read it, page 293 proves the shroud to be a fake because the blood on the feet are flowing in the wrong direction. Besides this one minor problem the book is an excellent source of truth and on of my most prized possesions.