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A Chemist's Perspective On The Shroud of Turin

By Raymond N. Rogers

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Paperback, 149 pages

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A Chemist's Perspective On The Shroud of Turin

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Raymond N. Rogers was the head of the chemistry experiments for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the team of 24 researchers that performed the first ever in-depth scientific examination of the relic in 1978. He was a professional chemist for 52 years and spent 35 years as a research chemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, until his retirement in 1988. Rogers shares his frank and often-unvarnished personal perspectives on his 30 year involvement in Shroud studies. He details his own research and backs it up with solid observations, chemical analysis and microscopy. He provides us with his own theory of the Shroud’s image formation and his own opinion on its authenticity. He discusses the role of religion and science and how each has impacted Shroud research. Most importantly, he discusses the possible future for the Shroud itself. Rogers’ unique perspective, straightforward style and in-depth knowledge will both inform and enlighten you. Includes 68 Color and B&W Illustrations.

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Dec. 13, 2008 By Paterson Brown

"Ray Roger's book on the Shroud" A work of supreme importance by the acknowledged dean of STURP, an impeccable critique of the entire range of modern scientific Shroud research, presented with both technical detail and popular intelligibility. A masterwork which defines the field henceforth.

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Sep. 11, 2008 By okguy2

"A Chemist's Perspective on the Shroud of Turin---Part 1"
A new book has just been published on the mysterious Shroud of Turin. Unlike many others, this one chronicles the research of a legitimate scientist who had published over fifty peer-reviewed scientific papers in journals during his lifetime. A Chemist’s Perspective on the Shroud of Turin (Lulu Press, 2008) was written earlier by the deceased Raymond Rogers and published after reviewing by Ray’s widow Joan, also a chemist. In my opinion, it is a must-buy for anyone intrigued by the famous Shroud. The book summarizes Rogers’ 25 years of research on the mysterious linen reputed by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus. Ray was a... More > chemist with a graduate background in archaeology, soil chemistry, anthropology, and geochronology. In this book, Rogers takes the reader behind the scenes during the famous STURP (“Shroud of Turin Research Project”) tests of the Shroud in 1978, discussing in detail what he was measuring and why, and clearly explaining some challenging chemistry and physics aspects of the cloth. As one example of Rogers’ thoroughness and attention to detail, he and his STURP colleagues produced a table of sebaceous excretions from humans including 13 different constituents (such as fatty acids, wax alcohols, squalene, etc.) to see if any were detectable on the cloth in the event that the Shroud had been in contact with a human being. But the team also included the typical excretions from other animals (sheep, rabbit, ox, etc.) in case a clever hoaxster had somehow used one to stain the cloth. In the end, only human excretions---including blood---were found on the Shroud along with the remarkable image.

Ray was an almost ideal choice to join the STURP team. He had never heard of the Shroud, and assumed it was probably a painted fraud. He told a colleague, “Give me the classical scientific method and 20 minutes, and I’ll have that thing shot full of holes.” But as Rogers soon discovered, after an exhausting series of tests and analyses over a quarter century using some of the best scientific instruments and methods, the Shroud remains a frustrating mystery to anyone with an open mind. In fact, Rogers found the lack of open minds a major hindrance to understanding the true nature of the Shroud. He wrote that there were some devout Christians so fanatical about it that they actually made three separate threats on his life. Ray’s attitude was that “if both fringes hate you, you must be doing something right”---and Ray Rogers was doing a lot right.

There were some scientists in the other “fringe” Ray encountered who “used selected evidence to make it appear that the Shroud was a forgery or hoax.” Ray was convinced these scientists had not “maintained their objectivity.” His disappointment in deceased microscopist Walter McCrone’s involvement with Rogers’ Shroud samples comes across strongly. Ray wrote, “McCrone had not followed the simplest procedures of rigorous analytical chemistry…all he wanted was to debunk the Shroud…I was disappointed to find that Walter could not be objective when he wanted publicity.”
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Product Details

ISBN	978-0-615-23928-6
Copyright	Joan Rogers & Barrie M. Schwortz (Standard Copyright License)
Publisher	Joan Rogers & Barrie M. Schwortz
Published	August 5, 2008
Language	English
Pages	149

Binding	Perfect-bound Paperback
Interior Ink	Full color
Dimensions (inches)	8.5 wide × 11.0 tall