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

Trusting Science

Intuitively, we trust what we think we know about science. For instance, we know that carbon 14 testing is regularly used for testing all manner of artifacts and so it must be right. We intuitively trust Nature, the very prestigious science journal, the British Museum, and three radiocarbon dating laboratories associated with academic institutions. We don’t think about it. We trust that they know what they are talking about when they “prove” that the shroud is medieval.

We also intuitively trust what we think we know about history. The first historically reliable documented record of the shroud dates from 1355. We can trace the cloth’s history, year by year, owner by owner, and place by place from that date forward. Any historical record before that date is a bit loose (which, by the way, was not uncommon for that time in history). Luther and Erasmus complained about fake relics. We think; it must be medieval.