Pareidolia is one possible cause of these visions. It is about seeing patterns in seemingly random data, including peoples' faces in everyday objects. The human brain is highly skilled at identifying faces, however the problem is we can occasionally perceive a human face even when there isn't one. What we recognise in patterns is very much influenced by our belief system, hence a Christian might see Jesus' image in an inanimate object like a stained cloth.
One of the most famous examples of religious sightings being connected to pareidolia, is The Shroud Of Turin. It's a piece of linen which contains the face of a man who may have been made to suffer in a crucifixion. The image dates back to the Medieval era and is exhibited in Turin Cathedral.
There has always been debate about The Shroud Of Turin's authenticity. For example, many say that the brown stains on the cloth are in fact blood marks which correlate to someone who has been crucified. However, after substantial forensic tests, these stains were found to be 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 influence people to see all sorts of things and not just religious imagery. It can be the reason people claim to see flying saucers or even Elvis Presley. The Loch Ness Monster is another popular vision. Visitors to the site say they've seen the creature but what they actually saw was a shadow hovering on the water.
There have been many explanations for the causes of pareidolia. One of the strongest was offered by the American cosmologist, Carl Sagan. He said that the human propensity for seeing faces is an important tool for survival. In poor weather or whenever our view is impaired in some way, pareidolia helps us to determine whether someone approaching us is a friend or a foe. The problem is that we do make mistakes and sometimes we see faces where there isn't one.
Pareidolia can influence artistic experiences as well sightings of Jesus. An artist can flick paint over a wall in a random way but the onlooker might see a mountain or a landscape in the results. Some artists place hidden images in their work in order to influence the viewer in subtle ways. Some have even claimed that subliminal messages have been inserted into the lyrics of pop songs.
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