Has an artist created an accurate rendering of Jesus? Graphic artist Ray Downing's 3-D depiction of Jesus, based on the Shroud of Turin, appears in the History Channel documentary The Real Face of Jesus? INSIDE EDITION has more.
Has an artist rendered the real face of Jesus? Graphic artist Ray Downing has created an amazing 3-D portrait that could be the most accurate depiction of Jesus ever created.
In the image, he has an olive complexion, dark hair and beard, and wounds on his forehead that seem to come from a crown of thorns.
"Not exactly handsome but not an ugly man either. It just looked like somebody that you could feel for," says Downing.
He created the extraordinary portrait for the documentary The Real Face of Jesus? The complete image of the face will be unveiled on the History Channel on March 30th.
The History Channel's face of Jesus is based on the image on the Shroud of Turin. Many believe the shroud is the actual burial cloth of Jesus, and that it bears a ghostly image of him.
The Catholic Church considers the shroud one of its most sacred relics, even though scientific tests have dated it to the Middle Ages, raising questions about its authenticity
Believers say those tests are not accurate because the shroud has been contaminated by pollution and human contact for the past two thousand years.
"Do you believe the shroud is authentic?" INSIDE EDITION's Paul Boyd asks Father Jonathan Morris, a priest who appeared in the documentary.
"If scientists today were to give me a consensus about this not being valid I would say, 'I'm not going to waste my time on this,' but scientists have not come to that consensus," says Father Morris.
The Shroud of Turin was studied for a year, and then Downing made his three-dimensional picture of it. Special computer technology allowed him to bring the haunting image to life, right down to the bushy eyebrows and stubbly beard.
Now he's ready to show the world what he says is the real face of Jesus.
