The human brain has a natural tendency to try and see patterns. It could be clouds that look like animals or vegetables that look like bodily parts. It's inevitable that you will get the odd thing that looks like a face. But how do they know it looks like Jesus or Mary? I didn't think there were any contempory pictures of them and I bet they didn't look as European as many pictures show. Some of those objects look more like Father Christmas or Marylin Monroe to me.
I guess some people are just desperate for some confirmation of their 'faith', i.e. blind trust in old stories. Maybe they feel under threat from science explaining everything. I would hope we have grown out of the age of people being condemned for discovering things that challenged the holy books. The recent Egypt series on BBC 1 showed the church getting anxious about the possibility of heiroglyphics saying things they didn't like.
I'm not totally against religion as a guide to living a good life or as a comfort in difficult times, but I don't feel the need myself.
Maybe I could do a Thought for the day on Radio 4!
