Shrouded in mystery? Not really

I open the weekend Wall Street Journal and find a full page article on the enduring Swindle of Turin, the piece of rag which various millions of Christians around the world insist must be the burial sheet of Jesus, because, lo, upon it is the supposed facial imprint of a bearded man! Case closed.

But a glance at John's Gospel chapter 20 suggests otherwise, and only with the authority and force of the Word of God. Who do you believe, Christians? In the passage quoted below, Simon Peter comes to the tomb of Jesus and goes into it. He finds no body, for Jesus has of course risen from the dead. What does he find? Chapter 20 states:

^{Verse 6} Then cometh Simon Peter... and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

^{Verse 7} And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

So, the Shroud of Turin, which is one whole piece of cloth, is hardly a likely contender. Happy Easter.