There have been many sightings of Jesus in recent years. People say they have seen his face in inanimate objects such as peanut butter, the bark of a tree and on a frying pan. Some people view these images as evidence that Jesus is omnipotent, while others say they are fake.
One explanation could be that the person sees Jesus' face because of pareidolia. Pareidolia is about perceiving patterns from apparently random information, especially faces in inanimate objects. The human brain is excellent at recognising faces but the downside is that we sometimes see a face where there isn't one. Since pattern recognition can be influenced by a person's ideology, it makes sense that a religious believer might perceive Jesus in random objects such as a cup of coffee.
Probably the most well known example of a religious sighting being linked to pareidolia, is The Shroud Of Turin. It's a piece of cloth containing a man's face. The man displays evidence of having suffered due to crucifixion. The cloth has existed since Medieval times and is on display in Turin Cathedral.
There is a lot of uncertainty about whether The Shroud Of Turin is the real thing or not. Many people claim that the brown marks on the cloth are actually traces of blood connected to a crucifixion. After extensive forensic testing however, it turns out that the marks are blotches of red paint.
There have been several other incidents of pareidolia being connected to religious visions. A church in Ireland has a tree stump which apparently displays the image of The Virgin Mary with a child. Lots of people visit the stump each year in order to pray. In Donegal, eyewitnesses claim that crosses formed in the sky above a statue and that it wept as a result.
Pareidolia can cause people to have visions about almost anything and not just religion. It can be linked to people who say they have seen UFOs or Elvis Presley. The Loch Ness Monster is another common delusion, where people say they have spotted the creature when in fact what they really see is a shadow on the water.
Many theories have been offered about the reasons for pareidolia. One of the most compelling was put forward by American cosmologist, Carl Sagan. He suggested that the human ability to make out peoples' faces was an important survival tool. In bad weather or when visibility is poor, it enables us to determine whether someone coming towards us is a friend or an enemy. Of course, sometimes we will make a mistake and think we saw a face that was not actually there.
Pareidolia can affect not only sightings of Jesus but artistic experiences as well. An artist can splatter paint all over a wall randomly and yet the viewer might perceive in it a landscape or a mountain. Some artists put hidden imagery into their work in order to affect the viewer subliminally. Some people say there have even been hidden messages in the lyrics of popular music.
One explanation could be that the person sees Jesus' face because of pareidolia. Pareidolia is about perceiving patterns from apparently random information, especially faces in inanimate objects. The human brain is excellent at recognising faces but the downside is that we sometimes see a face where there isn't one. Since pattern recognition can be influenced by a person's ideology, it makes sense that a religious believer might perceive Jesus in random objects such as a cup of coffee.
Probably the most well known example of a religious sighting being linked to pareidolia, is The Shroud Of Turin. It's a piece of cloth containing a man's face. The man displays evidence of having suffered due to crucifixion. The cloth has existed since Medieval times and is on display in Turin Cathedral.
There is a lot of uncertainty about whether The Shroud Of Turin is the real thing or not. Many people claim that the brown marks on the cloth are actually traces of blood connected to a crucifixion. After extensive forensic testing however, it turns out that the marks are blotches of red paint.
There have been several other incidents of pareidolia being connected to religious visions. A church in Ireland has a tree stump which apparently displays the image of The Virgin Mary with a child. Lots of people visit the stump each year in order to pray. In Donegal, eyewitnesses claim that crosses formed in the sky above a statue and that it wept as a result.
Pareidolia can cause people to have visions about almost anything and not just religion. It can be linked to people who say they have seen UFOs or Elvis Presley. The Loch Ness Monster is another common delusion, where people say they have spotted the creature when in fact what they really see is a shadow on the water.
Many theories have been offered about the reasons for pareidolia. One of the most compelling was put forward by American cosmologist, Carl Sagan. He suggested that the human ability to make out peoples' faces was an important survival tool. In bad weather or when visibility is poor, it enables us to determine whether someone coming towards us is a friend or an enemy. Of course, sometimes we will make a mistake and think we saw a face that was not actually there.
Pareidolia can affect not only sightings of Jesus but artistic experiences as well. An artist can splatter paint all over a wall randomly and yet the viewer might perceive in it a landscape or a mountain. Some artists put hidden imagery into their work in order to affect the viewer subliminally. Some people say there have even been hidden messages in the lyrics of popular music.
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