First, my apologies for making such a late reply- I don't check my e-mail very often.

The Shroud of Turin is (as many Christians believe- other religious groups, or the atheists who have no religion, probably don't believe this, otherwise they would probably be Christians) the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in when he was taken down off the Cross and placed in his tomb.  There is the image of a man (Jesus) on it.  There have been various tests performed upon it, many of them indicating that it is an image of Jesus, and that Jesus was actually imprinted upon it (seemingly due to Jesus emmitting a burst of radiation) and not painted on or otherwise made artificially.  The image shows various injuries (cuts from whips, nail holes through wrists and feet, evidence of beatings, etc... it is obvious that the man is Jesus, as he is the only man to have sustained various specific injuries and the specific set of tortures visible on the Shroud).  It also has pollens that were in the air during the approximate time of Jesus' death and various other minor details indicating that it is Jesus' burial cloth.  It was possible for scientists to identify the blood type of the man who was wrapped in the Shroud.  They found evidence that there was indeed a man wrapped in the cloth, and proof that he was not removed from the cloth in any way.  I'm afraid I can't tell you much more about the Shroud, seeing as I'm no expert on the subject.

The bible does say not to question God, that's true, but I personally don't think that I'm questioning God.  If you're questioning God and He dislikes it, that has little effect on me, thus I will tell you what I can.

The begining of time for God?  First, tell me about the begining of the universe (or, if you prefer, of all existance; it really doesn't bother me).  You can't; you said yourself that you didn't believe that there was a begining to the universe.  It is written in the Bible that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Begining and End.  While perhaps there was no begining, not all of the Bible should be taken literally.  The Bible uses various methods to explain things, yet keep them simple enough for human comprehension.  Human comprehension, when the Bible was first written, had not advanced nearly as far as it has today, and thus the Bible has simplified explanations.  At any rate, it is stated in the Bible that God has existed for as long as there has been an existance to exist in.  We believe that God had no begining.  How he came into being, I can't explain any better than I can explain how all existance came into existance.  God's reson for purpose or being?  At least one reason for his being is to watch us and/or help us.  We pray to God in times of need, and often, we believe, he answers.  He also, I suppose, delivers justice (truly evil people going to Hell, as an example).  It's difficult for me to answer these questions- Christianity isn't like the Norse myths.  I can't just say that God was licked out of Nifleheim's ice by a cow, or say that his purpose is to be a god of war and help warriors, like someone who believed in the Norse gods could.  We believe that God has always existed and that he is here to help those who ask.  I'm afraid I can't really be more specific than that.

I thank you for taking the time to read this.

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