An AI company has released a life-like image of what Jesus may have looked like based on a computer analysis of the Shroud of Turin. This mysterious linen cloth has divided Christians worldwide over its authenticity.
The AI image by the company Midjourney shows a man with long hair, a beard, and a mustache staring straight ahead. The image looks similar to modern-day portrayals of Jesus in movies and television programs and, of course, similar to the faint image in the Shroud. The Jerusalem Post reported that the AI image also shows the top portion of his body and he is wearing what appears to be a simple tunic. The history of the Shroud of Turin, The Post said, is complicated and full of mystery and controversy.
Thats putting it mildly.
According to Artificial Intelligence, this is what Jesus looked like if the Shroud of Turin is authentic. pic.twitter.com/CQaxwfv3Qn Lee Strobel (@LeeStrobel) September 27, 2023
The Shroud, 14 feet long, depicts an image of a crucified man and first surfaced in historical records in Lirey, France, during the 1350s, when a French knight by the name of Geoffroi de Charny purportedly offered it to the dean of the local church in Lirey, claiming it to be the genuine burial cloth of Jesus, according to History.com. No records exist on how de Charny got the cloth, thus leaving the preceding 1,300 years in silence.
The wounds of the crucified man in the Shroud are similar to the descriptions of the wounds received by Christ as described in the Bible, including a wound on the side.
Scientific analyses of the Shroud have dated it anywhere from 300 B.C. to A.D. 400, to between A.D. 1260 and 1390, according to History.com. A scientific test of pollen traces on the Shroud said the pollen came from Israel.
Gary R. Habermas of Liberty University is perhaps the most prominent evangelical who says the Shroud is likely the authentic burial cloth of Christ.
Theres a lot of historical arguments for its authenticity, he said in 2022. … I think theres a good chance that the Shroud is the burial garment of Jesus.
In a 1981 article, Haberman theorized that the image on the cloth was probably caused by a burst of radiation from a dead body.
Photo Courtesy: Getty Images/Pool/Pool
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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We would do well to consider how biblical patterns might inform our contemporary actions. Read James Spencer’s full article here.
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The winners of this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) have been revealed – a major predictor of the Oscars, with just a week to go.
Demi Moore continued her run of success to be named best actress for her performance in body horror The Substance, while Timothee Chalamet picked up the award for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
Image: Demi Moore adds yet another tropy to her collection for her performance in The Substance. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
While not a complete shock, before this Adrien Brody had probably just nudged it as favourite for an Oscar win for his performance in post-war epic The Brutalist.
Now, the race is closer than it has been in years – and both Chalamet, 29, and Moore, 62, could be on course for their first Academy Awards.
Following a BAFTAwin earlier this month, papal thriller Conclave was honoured with the top film prize, for best ensemble.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci, the film follows the drama of the selection process for a new pope.
Image: Conclave stars (L-R) Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes with the ensemble cast award. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Elsewhere, the supporting categories were true to 2025 awards season form – Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldanacontinued their runs of success with wins for performances in A Real Pain and Emilia Perez respectively.
‘I want to be one of the greats’
Image: Chalamet attended with his mum, Nicole Flender. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The awards are voted for by members of the SAG-AFTRA union and are held as a celebration of actors honoured by their peers.
For the best male actor announcement, Chalamet looked visibly surprised as his name was called.
After being accompanied by girlfriend Kylie Jenner to the BAFTAs last week, this time round he was celebrating with his mum, Nicole Flender.
“The truth is, this was five-and-a-half years of my life. I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero,” he said on stage. “It was the honour of a lifetime playing him.”
Making no secret of his ambitions, he added: “The truth is I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”
Moore said joining SAG-AFTRA as a teenager in 1978 gave her meaning as “a kid on my own who had no blueprint for life”.
Image: Jane Fonda was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, 87, provided the ceremony’s most passionate political moment as she was honoured with a lifetime achievement prize.
“We are in our documentary moment,” she said. “This is it. And it’s not a rehearsal.”
The word “woke”, she added, “just means you give a damn” about others.
The TV winners
Image: Shogun stars (L-R) Tommy Bastow, Shinnosuke Abe, Moeka Hoshi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroto Kanai. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The SAG Awards also include TV categories, with Japanese historical drama Shogun picking up the gong for best ensemble and its stars, Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, named best actor and actress.
Only Murders In The Building took home the prize for best comedy ensemble, with star Martin Short named best actor in a comedy series.
Jean Smart, who had previously called for cancelling the awards shows due to the wildfires that hit LA in January, was named best actress in a comedy, for her role in Hacks. She did not attend, but gave a recorded introduction.
In the limited series category, British star Jessica Gunning was named best actress for Baby Reindeer, while Irish star Colin Farrell was named best actor for The Penguin.
Russian oligarchs with links to the Kremlin can now be banned from the UK, the government has announced as part of a fresh sanctions package on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Home Office said “elites” linked to the Russian state can now be prevented from entering the UK under the new sanctions.
Those who could be banned include anyone who provides “significant support” to the Kremlin, those who owe their “significant status or wealth” to the Russian state, and those “who enjoy access to the highest levels” of the regime.
The announcement has been timed to coincide with the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Another set of sanctions is expected from the Foreign Office on Monday.
Security minister Dan Jarvis said: “Border security is national security, and we will use all the tools at our disposal to protect our country against the threat from Russia.
“The measures announced today slam the door shut to the oligarchs who have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people whilst bankrolling this illegal and unjustifiable war.
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“My message to Putin’s friends in Moscow is simple: you are not welcome in the UK.”
The UK government said Kremlin-linked elites can pose a “real and present danger to our way of life” as they denounce British values in public “while enjoying the benefits of the UK in private”.
It said they can act as “tools” for the Russian state to enable President Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and beyond.
Shortly after the war in Ukraine started on 24 February 2022, the UK imposed financial sanctions on oligarchs, including closing legal loopholes used to launder money.
In November last year, Operation Destabilise, run by the National Crime Agency (NCA), successfully disrupted two billion-dollar Russian money laundering networks operating around the world, including in the UK which was a key hub.
They provided services to Russian oligarchs and were helping fund Kremlin espionage operations.
Image: Ekatarina Zhdanova is said to have run a money laundering network called Smart that has been shut down. Pic: NCA
One of the key players was identified as Ekaterina Zhdanova who is alleged to have run a money laundering network called Smart. She was sanctioned by the US in November last year and is currently in French custody awaiting a trial.
A total of 84 arrests were made under Operation Destabilise in November and more than £20m in illicit funds seized.
The NCA has made a further six arrests since then and seized £1m more in case.
The networks also helped Russian clients to illegally bypass financial restrictions to invest money in the UK.
US officials have been in talks with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia over the future of Ukraine for the past week.
However, neither Ukraine nor any European country was at the table, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying he will not accept any peace deal Kyiv is not involved in.
Sir Keir Starmer has backed Mr Zelenskyy on that so all eyes will be on the prime minister when he visits Mr Trump in Washington DC this week.
US Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.14 billion in outflows over two weeks, the largest since their launch, as trade tensions and monetary policy concerns weighed on investor sentiment.