Is ostentatious religious displays. So I found it somewhat poetic that this one was destroyed by lightning. That is what God was talking about when he said, ‘Smite’.
ASIDE: Being an agnostic, I’m not one for religion in general, but I never begrudge a person their faith, as long as they keep it to themselves and their faith community (for the most part, I understand that religion is a big part of a persons life and it is likely to be on display more than, say, their sex life, but some people go overboard with regard to religion, and sometimes sex too.
UPDATE: more
I’ve driving by that statue more than once on my way to Florida from Michigan.
*Ahem*
“Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above,…”
I hope someone at the church got the point.
remember on the insurance claim that will be an act of God………….
I can’t find the story now, but I saw a brief interview with one of the church officials. They asked him if he thought this was a show of God’s displeasure, and the guy replied that they were taking it as a sign that God wanted them to rebuild it, and bigger this time.
Tower of Babel, anyone?
Hmmm, the lightning arresters were obviously under-designed. The statue seems to have been made of some sort of polymer, and the fire appears to have ignited instantly all along the metal frame in the interior of the statue, except for the right arm.
On a related note, “The church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence and Darlene Bishop of Middletown.”
Didn’t they used to hang horse thieves?
I’m reminded of the 50’s ditty, ….”I don’t care if it rains or freezes, long as I have my Plastic Jesus, sittin’ there on the dashboard of my car…” RIP, Paul Newman.
Yup, one of our local landmarks bites the dust. A rich redneck’s version of pink flamingos.
All the people laughing at this thinking God is displeased, not realizing that in a godless universe of blind random chance, it’s bound to happen that lightning eventually strikes tall objects, and it just so happens this one was a flammable piece of religious art.
Ironic too that people think this is a sign of God’s displeasure with this church, or Christianity even. But contrast that to the Muslims, who when a mosque’s minaret falls over see no sign of Allah’s displeasure but another way to blame the West and those damned Israeli earthquake machines.
If anything this is a sign the Buddha is right, and that all things are impermenant. Or maybe Eris had a fit of pyromania.
I don’t know what’s funnier, that they’re going to rebuild it after being struck down by an ‘act of god’ or that a church felt the need to purchase ‘act of god’ insurance in the first place.