Jesus, or just muscles? Why do we see holy faces in unusual places
6:11 PM EDT, September 5, 2024
In the well-defined abdominal muscles of a marathon runner, many people saw the face of Jesus. Why does this particular image often "appear" in unusual locations?
On September 5th, social media was abuzz with a photo that, for many, holds more than meets the eye at first glance. Vogue Williams, an Irish model and media personality, posted the photo on Instagram. In the picture from Hot Jordan, Williams and her husband, Spencer Matthews, are celebrating his latest achievement. Matthews is shirtless in the photo, and many commenters see Jesus's face on his abdomen.
They see Jesus in the marathon runner's abdominal muscles
Spencer Matthews is a former British reality show "Made in Chelsea" star and an avid marathon runner. The photo from Jordan was taken after he completed one of 19 marathons in 19 days. So it’s no wonder his muscles are so prominently defined that one might see images in the light and shadows. But why do we see Jesus there? It’s all due to pareidolia.
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which people see familiar shapes in random details. It is a "side effect" of our brains' specialized ability to process what we see quickly and interpret it just as quickly. That’s why we might jump back at the sight of a twisted branch on a forest path. The brain "tells" us this shape could be a snake, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Why do we so often see the face of Jesus?
Why is it that what we "see" is the face of Jesus so often? First, our brains are calibrated to recognize faces. Scientists have identified a specific area in the parietal cortex responsible for this crucial task for our species. Damage to this area causes a loss of the ability to recognize even those closest to us. As for Jesus, he is easy to see because his image is one of the most widespread and widely known in the European cultural circle.
There are also purely secular pareidolia instances, such as a face emerging from a rock formation in a photo of the surface of Mars or a Romanian hill strikingly resembling the Sphinx. We also use pareidolia when looking for shapes in clouds passing across the sky. Pareidolia is a natural function of the brain. Still, studies have shown that its frequency can increase with age, especially in the development of neurodegenerative brain diseases such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease.
