Yet Polkinghorne's model points to Heim's assertion that the ultimate cannot be found within our world, even as it reaches into our world. Science and theology need each other in order to make human life meaningful and rewarding. Recognizing their autonomy, theology and science can complement their respective quests for truth. The Shroud of Turin, a linen cloth with but a faint image, continues to capture the interest of many people of diverse beliefs. Although the measured age of the cloth is relatively recent, other scientific findings indicate an earlier provenance.
Any firm conclusions regarding the cloth's history remain premature.
No satisfactory explanation has been found as yet for how the image on the cloth was produced structurally or stylistically. Iconographic evidence suggests that the image was the source of facial peculiarities found in early works of religious art. The body image bears a striking yet preternatural correlation with Scriptural accounts of wounds. Curiously, the image on the cloth functions as a photographic negative, exhibiting a high degree of resolution, as if the original were produced in pixels. Despite serious efforts to discover some artistic origin and medium, scientific evidence points in the direction that it was not produced by hands.