6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning

AP – FILE -- A Nov. 17, 2004 file photo shows traffic on I-75 just north of the Monroe, Ohio, going by a …

24 mins ago

MONROE, Ohio – A six-story-tall statue Jesus (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.

The "King of Kings" statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m., Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said. The fire department would release a monetary damage estimate (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) Tuesday, he said.

River

>>Huffington Post had a really short video clip (11 seconds) of the fire:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/1 ... 12360.html

Riverwind (imported) wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:18 am 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning

AP – FILE -- A Nov. 17, 2004 file photo shows traffic on I-75 just north of the Monroe, Ohio, going by a

24 mins ago

MONROE, Ohio –

Riverwind (imported) wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:18 am A six-story-tall statue Jesus (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.

The "King of Kings" statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m., Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said. The fire department would release a monetary damage estimate (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning ... sus_statue#) Tuesday, he said.

River

Just WHO do they think that they are, putting a monetary value on burning JESUS to the ground?

Christ! Do they have no sense whatsoever?

AMEN!

You would think the Church of the Solid Rock would have built their Jesus statue out of solid rock, but nope not really.

From an aesthetic point of view it is a bit disturbing how the statue is only the upper torso coming straight out of the ground with no base to rest on. A statue without out a base is bad enough but if it is only going to be a torso it really needs a base. This may be a blessing in disguise. Now the artist has a chance to go back and do it right.

THE FIRE OF CHRIST! (http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100615/capt. ... zusDupxA--)

I dont think God cares one bit about some statue burning to the ground.But he dose care about you and me and if we decide to burn for eternity and may God have mercy on all of us.

sag111 (imported) wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2010 10:52 pm I dont think God cares one bit about some statue burning to the ground.But he dose care about you and me and if we decide to burn for eternity and may God have mercy on all of us.

WE're glad you're back sag

Sag my friend, glad to see you

River

In Ohio I am not sure who is ahead. Do we have more statues of Jesus along with sightings of his and his mother's image or Elvis sightings? Jesus and Mary are often seen in the grain of wood, a town's water tank, or a freshly made slice of french toast.

If a church's statue of Jesus is destroyed by lightening should they reexamine their message. Maybe you know who is not happy with the Sunday sermons.

sag111 (imported) wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2010 10:52 pm I dont think God cares one bit about some statue burning to the ground.But he dose care about you and me and if we decide to burn for eternity and may God have mercy on all of us.

sag, glad to hear from you. I am sure that the statue of Jesus will be re-built.

Personally, I think that it was a beautiful piece of artwork, much better than the large crosses that most fundamental churches like to place next to well-traveled highways.

Take a look...

A-1 (imported) wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:43 pm (http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100615/capt.

7316b82d8d284269bb3b9caafcd12311-9b9234ef4f7c43babab8174b2b3ae8a0-0.jpg?x=400&y=260&q=85&sig=DhBaFa2C_c_06dmNUpcT5w--)

...nice, huh?