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

Herschel Even a Better Choice

Herschel, however, is my favorite choice. Room sized cameras obscura were scattered about England in his lifetime, although they were a far cry from being able to produce life-sized images, as was the case in Leonardo’s days. They were a favorite amusement in public parks and at the beach. Hanging a crucifixion victim out in the sun for several days might have been a problem in merry old England of the time. But then, too, many strange things were done in those days in the name of science. As for opportunity, Herschel was a world traveler—he met up with his friend Charles Darwin in South Africa. Sir John Herschel, knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, a Fellow of the Royal Society, someone whom Charles Darwin called “one of our greatest philosophers,” would have certainly been welcome in Savoy’s royal palace. As for motive, we might be able to weave one, just as we might for Leonardo or Alhazen. Herschel was an English Christian in the middle of the 19^th century—his grandfather was Jewish. It might well be supposed that in this time of turbulent Catholic revival in England—the Tractarians, the Newmanites and the Puseyites—that Herschel like many of his peers were prejudiced against the Roman Catholic Church.