'Touchdown' Jesus Statue Destroyed by Lightning

[Aegis]

This is right by my wife's hometown:

MONROE, Ohio -- A six-story statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along Interstate 75 has been struck by lightning in a thunderstorm and the statue burned to the ground.

The "King of Kings" statue has stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along I-75 at Route 63 in Monroe, just south of Dayton.

Monroe firefighters said the lightning strike set the statue on fire around 11:15 p.m. Monday. Firefighters said at their tallest, the flames reached 100 feet.

The sculpture, which was 62 feet tall, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus" by some because of the way his arms were raised.

Church members said the lightning strike and destructive fire stunned them, many thought it was a sign they need to pay attention to.

Kevin Jones said, "I'm thinking it's a sign from Jesus that we need to learn something, as Christians, as a whole, we're not doing something right."

Ashley Morgan said, "It scares me, it really does, I think about what that symbolizes, to me that's a sign and not a good one."

Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu said the fire spread to an amphitheater next to the statue doing heavy damage to the attic area. He says no one was injured.

The Monroe fire department requested mutual aid from Middletown and Clearcreek and Liberty Townships, and they managed to contain the fire in the attic of the amphitheater, but were unable to save the statue.

Officials said the structure's outer shell was made of wood and Styrofoam, covered in fiberglass and resin, making it extremely flammable.

On Tuesday morning, all that remains is a heap of mangled steel.

The statue cost $500,000 when it was put in place back in 2004. It was built in Florida and trucked north in pieces then assembled. It took about 8,000 man hours in development and installation.

Church officials said it weighed 8 tons, about 16,000 pounds. No announcement's been made officially about whether the statue will be replaced.

However, Neu said that church officials, "Plan to replace the statue, make sure they have back what they put up, that's their intent, what they told me tonight."

http://www.whiotv.com/news/23901668/detail.html

Slideshow of before-during-after:

http://www.whiotv.com/slideshow/news/23901985/detail.html

 

[Kyriakos]

Finally Zeus decided to act

 

[Tee Kay]

It's the End Days!

Actually, at first I didn't think the thread title was literal

 

[Aegis]

This statue was pretty (in)famous because it is about 100-200 meters from a major interstate highway, making it very prominent on the landscape. With the rampant unemployment in the area and entire towns becoming more and more deserted due to lack of jobs and foreclosures, I can think of better ways to spend the money being slotted to rebuild it.

 

[Cutlass]

**insert snide comment about idolatry here**

 

[Mr. Dictator]

they think it's a sign? of what? the browns having a losing season? did that need a sign?

 

[Aegis]

they think it's a sign? of what? the browns having a losing season? did that need a sign?

The Browns are NW Ohio. This is right above Cincinnati.

 

[Lillefix]

You Americans really know your kitsch, don't you.

 

[kulade]

Made of Styrofoam? I'm surprised someone hadn't just put a lighter to it before.

I thought that Styrofoam burnt green though; that would have been a pretty miraculous show.

 

[PeteAtoms]

Obviously a sign from Thor, the true lord of the heavens. He does not look kindly upon your pagan worship of a carpenter...

 

[Abaddon]

Burning it looks cool!

 

[Bugfatty300]

Ha ha ha woooooooooooomph.

Maybe they should make a real statue and not a paper mache match stick structure.

 

[ColdClimate]

Why are they planning on rebuilding it if God has already made His feelings on it quite clear...?

 

[PeteAtoms]

Why are they planning on rebuilding it if God has already made His feelings on it quite clear...?

It's clearly a diabolical plot by Satan and Richard Dawkins to intimidate the faithful. Or it could be that God is testing them, remember He works in mysterious way, blah, blah, blah...

But more seriously, I don't think the old saying "lightning never strikes the same place twice" is actually true. So even if they rebuild it, it will still be open to lightning strikes. Maybe add a giant lightning rod next to it in the shape of a cross?

 

[ColdClimate]

Yeah, I mean just look at that picture. It's like he's just looking up at the sky daring that lightning to strike...

 

[_random_]

Anyone else notice that this came right after Obama announced a visit to Ohio? Seriously though, I live in Dayton, so I drive past the statue every time I travel south (where most of my relatives live). Truth be told, it kind of annoyed the Hell out of me, since it looks like Jesus is drowning. Being the man who walked on water and all, you think they'd have realized that and given him some legs. That being said, there is a certain sentimental value attached to Touchdown Jesus, just as a weird thing my family always mocks of whenever we pass, and it's kind of sad to see him go.
EDIT: Why didn't you use the Touchdown Jesus tag?

 

[Bugfatty300]

Looks more like Platoon Jesus to me.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

The real Touchdown Jesus is alive and well, I promise . . .

 

[_random_]

The real Touchdown Jesus is alive and well, I promise . . .

That's the Catholic Touchdown Jesus. This is the Protestant Touchdown Jesus. If you want the Catholic Touchdown Jesus to get struck by lightning, you need to work for it.

 

[bathsheba666]

Give it a few days, it might reappear ?