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

Mystical Status?

Ball’s suggestion about the shroud’s mythical status is interesting. Mythical implies fictitious but it doesn’t necessarily mean so. As C. S. Lewis, who called Christianity “The True Myth,” reminds us, “Myth does not equal the non-historical; myth equals the non-describable.” Nonetheless, in current usage, we tend to think of mythical as meaning fictional. Keep in mind that Ball is referring to the shroud’s status not the shroud itself. Pick up any two books about the shroud and you will likely find two completely different explanations for it. Television documentaries are no different. Early in 2009, one network, the Discovery Channel, aired two different specials about the shroud in the same week. They completely contradicted each other.