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Thank you kindly for that link!

I don't know if you're interested in the physics of image formation, but you can find an explanation of Beer's Law by clicking here. What it boils down to is that the Density of the image (which is the logarithm of its reflectivity in the case of the Shroud), suitably normalized, is proportional to the logarithm of the relative luminance (i.e., the logarithm of the Exposure) of the incident radiation. The slope of the line relating these two quantities is known as the "gamma" of the exposure. In real film, the "line" is in fact roughly S-shaped, linear in the middle portion, but rolling off at the top in a "shoulder", and at the bottom in a "toe".

The Shroud's image seems to be "toasted" on the surface of the fibers of the cloth, suggesting it was caused by a burst of infrared radiation. The tonal distribution of the image is what one would expect from the physics of this process. But what could have caused the burst of radiation itself? That's the intriguing question, and we physicists love such a mystery. Naturally, we Christians would fill in the blank, so to speak, by saying it was caused by the glory associated with Christ's resurrection from the dead.

With regard to Protestant objections, my observation is that they tend to be distrustful of the Word actually being made Flesh, which is to say the Incarnation. This seems to arise from the Manichean influences the Reformers were subject to. The Catholic faith is nothing if not incarnational, so disagreements are bound to arise on these points.

While it's not Scripture, of course, I'm reminded of the passage in the ancient hymn and Easter sequence, Victimae pascali laudes:

Angelicos testes,
sudarium et vestes.

This suggests that the "moderately early" Church understood there to have been "grave clothes" in addition to a "head cloth".

Thank you! for that marvelous explanation. I love science but would have been a terrible scientist. I rather like keeping some things a mystery. I subscribe to the Astronomy Picture of the Day list and simply marvel at the wonders that fill our heavens. I also teach young children religious education and it is so refreshing to see the world anew through their young eyes. Sometimes we simply need to step back and look up into the sky to grasp the reality of God. When atheists go on the attack with me, I ask them to create something from nothing. Perhaps that is why our Lord said we had to become like little children in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

This suggests that the "moderately early" Church understood there to have been "grave clothes" in addition to a "head cloth".

And it would make perfect sense that the early christians had an understanding of the burial clothes that they safeguarded for so many centuries. Ii has been a while since I visited the Shroud Story web site and in researching some information today, I came across the following:

But the Earliest Words Might Be 1st Century

In a poem, the Hymn of the Pearl, we find Jesus allegorically saying that in a garment, justifiably a burial garment, that he sees two entire images of himself, one facing outward and one facing inward -- in other words ventral and dorsal images.

And what about the other images on the Shroud! And the pollen! It is such a treasure, preserved throughout 2000 years for us to view and on which to meditate, especially in this holy season of Lent.