"Touchdown Jesus"

I only recently became aware of this...monument outside of the Solid Rock Church north of Cincinnati, OH, on I-75.  Called the "King of Kings Monument," it was made out of Styrofoam over a steel frame.  It looked an awful lot like Jesus making the "touchdown" sign.

The monument spawned a song by Heywood Banks called "Big Butter Jesus," which is worth a listen:









The statue has caused its share of accidents, I'd imagine, over the years it's been beside the road.  Yesterday at around 11:30 at night, Jesus's right hand was struck by lightening and the whole statue burned to the ground.



Which is a little funny, given the prohibition against worshipping idols and all that.  The article in the Dayton Daily News interviewed a bunch of people:

“It sent goosebumps through my whole body because I am a believer,” said Levi Walsh, 29. “Of all the things that could have been struck, I just think that that would be protected. ... It’s something that’s not supposed to happen, Jesus burning,” he said. “I had to see it with my own eyes.”

“I can’t believe Jesus was struck,” said his brother, who noted the giant Hustler Hollywood sign for the adult store across the street was untouched. “It’s the last thing I expected to happen.”

Um, yeah.  Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?  You can read the rest of the article here: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/jesus-statue-fire-damages-estimated-at-700-000jesus-statue-fire-damages-estimated-at-700-000-762245.html

The punchline is that they're planning to rebuild the statue, which should cost about $250,000.  Are there no other godly works that the money could be put towards?  Starving children in Africa?  Oil clean-up?  Something other than a huge styrofoam Jesus?  I'm just sayin'...