(OPINION) Artificial Intelligence has revealed the clearest ever image of the Turin Shroud to show what Jesus may have looked like. Today marks the 90-year anniversary of the first time the fabric was put on display in 400 years, drawing in crowds of more than 25,000 to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin.
The mysterious and controversial item has been claimed by some to show the true face of Jesus after it was allegedly wrapped around him after this crucifixion. And to mark the anniversary, the Daily Star decided to put a modern spin on this ancient relic.
With the help of Midjourney, you can now be met with a lifelike face of what AI thinks Jesus looks like compared to the 14 feet (4.2 meters) long original cloth. It shows a man with long hair and a beard with his eyes open looking directly out.
Part of his body can also be seen. Those who turned up at the cathedral back in 1933 were certain that the blood of Jesus Christ was on the cloth, although to this day much skepticism remains. It was first revealed to the masses some 600 years ago and even then, some thought that the Shroud was more likely to be a scam than the real traces of Jesus.
French bishop Pierre d’Arcis wrote to Pope Clement VII in 1390 to say he believed that the Shroud was little more than “a clever sleight of hand”. He instead said it was more likely to be someone “falsely declaring this was the actual shroud in which Jesus was enfolded in the tomb”.
“[The purpose] is to attract the multitude so that money might cunningly be wrung from them.” Work has of course been done to try and get to the bottom of the Shroud’s authenticity, with carbon dating having found that it may have been created between period 1260AD and 1390AD.
