I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I have my plastic Jesus...
Well maybe you should! Storms and plastic Jesuses (Jesi... ???) don't seem to be getting on so well.
Why did God smite the Solid Rock Church of Monroe, Ohio? Many have been speculating on the lightening strike that set fire to the 62 foot statue known to many as Touchdown Jesus. (Note the position of the giant arms.) Some are confused that a symbol of devotion could have been so directly targeted by a lightening strike and are struggling to make meaning of the event. Jim Woodford of Springboro writes:
Over the years, much has also been said about signs from above. Consider then that in the Sermon on the Mount, the Bible states that Jesus says, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father, who is in heaven.”
Perhaps there is a sign in this lightning strike, what many would call an act of God.
The electronic sign outside the church proclaims, “He will be back.” There is much room for religious double entendre in this message, but one also has to wonder if the “He” is Touchdown Jesus or will He be back with another lightning strike?
Oh, Jim... You're really over-thinking this. It's so much simpler than that. See, this is what I mean when I say that a great many Christians who like to spout scripture don't even comprehend, let alone keep, the commandments. God was pretty clear!
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
Graven images, people! God doesn't care for them. But the second commandment is probably the most ignored of all the commandments; even more than the adultery and the coveting. Right now, thousands are flocking to see a statue of Jesus in Argentina that weeps blood. Weep for their lost souls.
Think about it. This was a double whammy. Ahem? The fourth commandment?
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
But instead, what do all those good Christians do on Sundays? Football. And what graven image did God choose to make headlines with? The one they call Touchdown Jesus.
Some, including church pastor Lawrence Bishop aren't reading any real significance into it.
"I don't see anything spiritual about this," he said. "The frame was made of steel, and lightning hits steel. It could have been a horse or a donkey; if it was made with steel, it was going to get struck by lightning. But what that statue expressed can't be destroyed."
He's about had it with people blaming God for tragedies.
Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
I don't know. It looks like a pretty direct hit to me.
A pond surrounding the statue that used to be full of fish is now filled with remnants of the structure, made of fiber glass and foam. All the fish are either dead or dying, Mascarella said.
It's hard to miss the symbolism. I will make you fishers of men... Not!
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