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The Jesus Cloth

Album: 18: A Time of Discovery

Episode: 222

Lesson/Theme: The object of our faith.

Bible Verse: 2 Timothy 1:12

Characters: George, Lucy, Connie, Whit

Writer: Phil Lollar

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: March 6, 1993

Last Air Date: October 23, 2008

Description:
Connie brings Whit a package that arrived in the mail from Alfred Brownlee, who used to send Whit unusual archaeological artifacts. The package contains an ancient, smelly leather pouch. Inside is a piece of very old cloth. A letter from Brownlee explains that he found the pouch and cloth at a dig site in the Holy Land. The cloth is dated from the time of Christ, and is possibly a piece of Jesus' robe! Connie is excited about this and urges Whit to see if it is authentic. Whit says he will check it out. He tells Connie to keep quiet about it until they know something for sure. But Connie lets the news slip out, and soon Whit's End is besieged with people wanting to see the "Jesus Cloth". Whit tries to convince them that there is no conclusive proof that the cloth is from Christ's robe. But when he mentions that the only way to know if it's even from the right time period is by radiocarbon dating, which involves burning the cloth, the crowd nearly riots, and the police are called to Whit's End. Whit sends the cloth to a museum in Jerusalem and sadly ponders whether we Christians are putting our faith in relics or in the risen Christ.

Questions:
Can you think of a real-life example of "The Jesus Cloth"? How do people act around it? What do you think should be the real purpose of relics? Is it bad to believe in relics? Should we expect them to perform miracles? Explain your answers. Upon what do you base your faith?