Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Yves Delage

Sorbonne professor of anatomy, Yves Delage, known for he detailed knowledge of human physiology, thought by his colleagues to be an agnostic, presented a paper on the shroud to the prestigious French Academy of Sciences in Paris.  The shroud’s anatomical and other scientific qualities, he argued, convinced him that the shroud had really wrapped the "body of Christ" and that the image was probably a natural phenomenon caused by chemical vapors. Delage said:

Let us add to this, that, in order for the image to have formed itself without being ultimately destroyed, it was necessary that the corpse remain in the shroud at least twenty-four hours, the amount of time needed for the formation of the image, and at the most several days, after which a putrefaction sets in which destroys the image and finally the shroud . . . this is precisely what happened to Christ; dead on Friday and-disappeared-on Sunday. (39)