Who is Guy R. Powell?
Guy R. Powell is a marketer, part-time historian, Christian, and author of the new historical fiction, The Jesus Resurrection Shroud, A History of the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud of Turin is the most valuable yet controversial relic, with theories and science proving and disproving its validity as the genuine burial cloth of Jesus Christ.
Guy lives in Atlanta and has been an active adult Sunday School teacher, focusing on the Old Testament and the history of the Shroud of Turin. His passion is writing and uncovering new facts. What pays the bills is his passion for marketing, where he leads a small consulting company helping major brands grow their companies. As part of the study for the Shroud, he has started collecting coins from the era, such as a gold solidus worth over 250,000 denarii, which generally meant a lot of money.
Powell builds a compelling history of the burial cloth, beginning with its witness to the most significant event in human history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Powell’s narrative describes how the Shroud travels from Golgotha in Jerusalem to Edessa, Constantinople, France, and Turin, Italy. If you’re interested in a Christian story intertwined with a possible history of the Shroud, then this story, The Jesus Resurrection Shroud, will be of particular interest to you.
What about the book?
During the research phase of this book, several interesting facts came up. For example, in terms of the level of alcohol consumption of just about everyone, the water wasn’t safe to drink, so mixing it with wine or vinegar helped reduce the probability of getting sick. Or that the Shroud actually has an image on both sides of the cloth. Although fainter, the image on the obverse of the cloth was hidden from view when the Poor Clare Sisters attached the cloth to the Holland Cloth during their repairs in the 1300s.
About twelve years ago, my brother presented me with a book on the Shroud. It was Ian Wilson’s The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the world’s most sacred relic is authentic. I read it and was immediately fascinated by two things: First, the science behind proving that the Shroud was real and, second, a possible history of the Shroud and how it traveled from Golgotha in Jerusalem through Asia and Europe ending up in Turin. The book was captivating but was told as a scientific treatise with many cold hard facts and more complex hypotheses.
After writing several business marketing books, I decided it would be much more engaging to write Shroud’s history as historical fiction. This would bring the story of the Shroud, and at the same time could highlight many of the lessons from Jesus Christ.
I began writing the story over ten years ago, but for many reasons, let it sit and age while life and other priorities got in the way. About a year ago, during the Covid-19 lockdown, I began in earnest to write the book that I thought would present the Shroud’s history. Without compelling evidence throughout the life of the Shroud, there is no question that this book is not the definitive history of the Shroud. Still, instead, it is only a possible history. There is no question that there are errors in the story, that there will be disagreement as to how it unfolds. Of that, I’m convinced. Over time, many hypotheses will be corrected as new data, and scientific findings come to light and are made known.
I look forward to the vigorous debate on what I’ve come up with and your feedback on potential errors or possible alternatives in the story. More importantly, I look forward to bringing the teachings of Jesus Christ to Christians and non-Christians alike.
Closing Thoughts
It’s a harrowing story to tell where it spans just under two millennia, where the characters change with each era [or epoch], and where, mainly just the Dark Ages, there are few historical references to go on. The only thing that remains constant is the Shroud, that it is with high probability the burial cloth of Jesus Christ and that it is the witness of the moment of resurrection – all that makes Christians into Christians.
I hope you’ll find what I’ve put together good historical fiction, good Christian theology, and also just plain good reading. The question I want to leave you with is whether Not seeing is not believing. Given the doubting, I think we all understand that seeing is believing, but what if you didn’t know the Shroud? Would you no longer believe in Christ?
Find Out More
To find out more about the Jesus Resurrection Shroud click the link [here].
Head over to the Facebook page by clicking [here].
To sign up for the email list to get exclusive content and updates click [here]
Recent Comments