Touchdown Jesus Struck Down by Act of God (or Maybe Al Gore)
This is perhaps a post that klynn and Leen (and BoxTurtle, too?) will appreciate more than the rest of you. Because they, like me, have undoubtedly almost crashed their car because they were laughing so hard as they drove by Touchdown Jesus, which is a mighty gaudy distraction just east of 75 north of Cincinnati.
Or should I say was?
Because last night an Act of God–in the form of a lightning strike–destroyed Touchdown Jesus. (Thanks to cbf for alerting me of the target of this particular Act of God; for video, go here.)
Though I tend to think it was not so much an Act of God as an Act of (fat) Al Gore–or rather, climate change. After all, climate change is likely the more direct cause of the really crazy weather we’re having this year. And this Act of God occurred just one week after tornadoes took part of the roof off Michigan’s Cabelas (which, for you arugula-eating Coasters, is a temple to hunting culture much cherished in flyover country), which is MI’s biggest tourist site and, like Touchdown Jesus, is also a testament to the hubris of Americans.
I think climate change is trying to tell us something.
(Touchdown Jesus photo by Morhange under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Are we sure it wasn’t a domestic predator drone, engaging in a little target practice?
I will be along on the drones shortly.
That’s you?
See? Everybody laughed at my bomb the BP well post. Now they are coming around……
Wright Patterson Air Force Base is not far away.
Thanks EW. Have been out of the loop a few days, had not heard this news. I grew up Catholic so always feel what I went through with the heavy indoctrination that did not work gives me an earned right to criticize religious spin. I’m sure all of the armageddon folks in these parts take that as a sure sign the end is near
If there ever was a Jesus I”m sure that peace nik dude would be celebrating this act of nature. I don’t remember being taught that he was real big on praying to or honoring statues.
It has been hot as hell in southeastern Ohio. Herbs, flowers, woodland plants that would be blooming in August have been blooming for over a month. Had just said to a friend that by now I would have seen at least 20 copperheads, garter, black, water snakes during mowing, gardening, hiking cleaning out sheds etc. Not a one.
Just heard some report on the BBC that snakes are in decline world wide. Just thought I would throw that one in.
That’s cuz they’ve been recruited as Executives for BP & Wall Street …
One of the comments on the YouTube video link suggested that this explains why Jesus never took a wife: because he was flaming.
Will this be the sign that TBogg needs to return to us?
Not one word of a lie: Al Gore is fat. That said, Sen Brown voted to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
Having given this act of God some consideration, I think God is either sending a message about gays in MI or simply expressing a clear preference for this rendition.
Now THAT’S a tourist attraction!
Oh my. I can hardly breath I am laughing so much.
Probably has something to do with the Big 12/Pac 10 realignment. I think God is assumed to be a Big 12 Fan.
I thought about that, too. But this is a Cinci Jesus (as I’m sure klynn will confirm), not an OSU Jesus.
A Cinci for sure.
So he was signalling a Bungles score and got torched for his arrogance?
Exodus 20:
So much for the god of Plastic (oil).
Here is a song for this occasion by Bobby Bare:
Think this was the inspiration for the statue?
“Drop Kick Me Jesus” is my second most favorite country song, after “She Was a T-bone Talkin’ Woman with a Hot Dog Heart!”
Much as I love Bobby Bare’s songs, I can tell that you (and EW, my favorite journalist) haven’t been to any worship services of charismatic Christians, where one will often see hands raised in the manner shown by the statue. And, despite the Sunday connection, there is no connection with football whatsoever. I think it’s based on some biblical description, but can’t find the reference. The gesture basically represents an appeal to God in heaven, for any heathens or staid Christians who might need an explanation.
Bob in AZ
“Show me the Light
ning!”Here are a few bobschacht:
Psalm 28:2
“Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.”
Psalm 134:2
“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD…”
1Timothy 2:8
“Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”
Yet, the hands still appeal towards a touchdown signal. Hey, it’s O-h-i-o after all.
Thanks for the cites! I knew it was in there, somewhere.
Bob in AZ
No problem…My degree comes in handy here too!
The gesture basically represents an appeal to God in heaven
And God has answered.
Well, it proves to have been an electrifying gesture.
(*g*)
Bob in AZ
Is this the divine equivalent of a fifteen yard penalty?
I think Team Humanity needs more than a 15-yard penalty. A red card would be more appropriate.
Can’t wait to see what PZ Myers will make of this!
As for Cabelas — oh, wow! That’s like the shopping mall for men, especially in those places where Fleet Farms aren’t nearby. Where will they go to get their Carhartts?
Today’s reading, from the book of St. Jerry the Profit:
Well, in fairness, it is kind of an act of god when those plodding 3 yards and a cloud of clod schools in the midwest scores a touchdown.
Now Marcy is gonna be along to carp at me that the former jesus was somewhere in the vicinity of Cincinnati, but they don’t count because a) they can’t score against real teams like those in the SEC; and b) their coach left for Notre Dame, who cannot score either.
OT: Looks like the BP execs may have gone on one to many Cato sponsored, Abramoff led, Marshall Island junkets, or something like that.
He seemed to be mired in quicksand before the bolt finished him off. He failed to realize one shouldn’t flail arms or legs mired in a marsh or tidal pool and as a result increase the odds of a final stroke from Zeus.
This world was just not good enough for him, he has moved on to the next…
Jesus was a ref?
Oh my. God has struck down the First Church of Tacky. I see that church frequently, it is VERY visable from I75. It’s real name is the Solid Rock Church and they’ve got a parking lot bigger than most shopping malls.
For those of you who have no idea how HUGE that actually is, the evergreens on the side of it are about shoulder high for a normal human.
Once for halloween, that statue got dressed up like a football ref with a big “TOUCHDOWN BENGALS” sign in front of it. Once for April Fools, the statue received a giant Napoleon hat.
Boxturtle (Nobody was ever caught. People forget that God has sense of humor)
Ah good. I thought you were the other one who just lost a neighbor. Though for me, it was sort of a good thing: a sign when I was driving to Cinci that I had almost arrived.
Guess I’ll have to celebrate the porn store instead now.
What has been overlooked in the cavalcade of laughter and schadenfreude, is the fact that God (or global warmng, take yer pick) not only tossed lightning to smite this egregious example of Jesus-cultist idolatry in the classic bolt-o-lightning way but, as noted by the Dayton paper, what His Unerring Mighty Aim left unscathed:
So, not only does God (or global warming) hate idolatry and idolators, but He (it) also loves Larry Flynt and porn stores.
Who could possibly have imagined that a pair of six story steel towers (buried in flammables) sticking up as the arms of a giant Jesus out of the edge of a pond in the middle of flat, western Ohio could possibly have drawn – of all things – lightning?
After all, it was the last thing
any idiots out in a thunderstormanyone expected to happen….Between the Bible-banger Jesus-cult idolatry, the fundie (anti-science) fervor, and the stupidity (no lightning protection and built out of highly flammable material), this is a redneck threefer.
That the Hustler store next door was left untouched is just too precious.
Oh, yeah. For those of you for whom this might already have some symbolic Revelations-tied symbological meaning, add this to the mix: it was the right hand that was hit and caught fire, first.
It’s a sign Larry. Publish those phone records! Publish!
God wants you to clean out The Fellowship!
God works in mysterious ways.
Wait for the locust infestations in Dave Vitter’s Pampers (TM) stockpile and John Ensign’s hair.
YES!
Jonathan Turley points us toward a much sadder story about a lightening strike today:
Not even a lightning rod?
Man, that is FAITH! (and idol worship!)
*cough* … looks like he just heard the news – Petraeus collapses at Senate Hearings – via huffpo
See mine at 25 upthread.
I suppose those who might have been hoping for him to run for President will now be heard to whine, sotto voce, “and now will your health, General, betray us?”
LOL !!!
Or you could read my diary instead of just tweets from HuffPo.
Nice diary Jim. Thanks.
OT:
Here is another diary worth reading. bmaz have you read it? Interesting BP development.
Especially after some of our timeline discussion on the sales of BP shares yesterday in bmaz’ post.
Jim !
I’m surprised Petraues didn’t puke on the Japanese Ambassador …
He thought the Senators would lighten up their questions when he returned but Levin outmaneuvered him by postponing to Wednesday … come back tomorrow, when you’re strong enough to take the sledging !
See, trying to “game the system” did not work! Great observation Petro.
Just a happy accident!
Wow! Hadn’t heard that one of those tornadoes hit the Cabelas. There’s a friend I must go and tell, as he couldn’t possibly have heard either …
Tune in to Emptywheel’s, your spot for SEastern Michigan local news.
The real damage was to some RVs and the water park. And the REAL damage was to 7 people in Ohio (or 9, I forget how many). But it just shocked me taht something built to give hunters a hard-on lost part of its roof.
I have to say for all you heathens, though, take a look at the omens and portents.
Alito goes up for confirmation, and a part of the Sup Ct edifice falls off.
Mukasey starts a spiel on how great the torture lawyers are, he gets stricken down.
Petraeus goes into this Afghanistan spiel, he gets stricken.
The pseudoChristians plastic Jesus gets destroyed by lightening
And don’t skip the Gulf, Here’s all the oil you can use without any killing, Love Your God.
God’s on a roll…
Love God’s toying with us, like a cat with a half dead mouse, but ya got to love the sense of humor.
Now that we have it down to the lighting striking the right hand was that perhaps the middle finger exactly?
A Kagan upon your house!!
Wife just pointed out it was a plastic statue if front of the “Church of the Solid Rock”
The plastic one belongs in your car.
You never cease toooo amaze.
That statue doesn’t look like Jesus. It looks like Charlton Heston.
Diary on Daily Kos with pictures, links, and an update with a dud link but this info:
and the BBC has it
This is God’s way of sayin’ that “acts of God” have absolutely nothing to do with God.
He’s run rings ’round us logically, yet again.