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

Doubts About Paint

But the myth that McCrone determined that the shroud’s images are painted persists. Other scientists, including one of McCrone’s colleagues, and many who have personally examined the shroud as well as fibers with microscopes, x-ray and advanced spectrographic devices doubt that McCrone really saw paint particles. There may indeed be trace amounts of paint particles as contaminants. Some may have arrived as airborne particles from frescoed church ceilings that settled on the cloth. Some may have been introduced from other works of art coming in contact with the shroud. Barrie Schwortz, widely recognized as the world’s leading and most objective authority on the shroud, a Jew who like Rogers doesn’t have a horse in the race, explained it to me on the telephone one afternoon. There aren’t enough particles to form any kind of image. “If you could gather all the paint particles into a single pile,” he said, “you would still need a microscope just to see the pile.”