No Possible Symbolic Messages To Take From THIS One, Nope Nope Nope

[filkertom]

Touchdown Jesus has been laid low.

(h/t Elaine Richards)

Comments

[ororo]

A comment I saw about this on Facebook said, "Zeus, 1, Jesus 0"

[lizziecrowe.livejournal.com]

Oh I can hear the freepers now. 'God is punishing us for our negro president's ways!' 'Repent, or YOU will get struck by lightning, too!' *snark*

[littlesammy.livejournal.com]

*wipes away tears of laughter*

So. Good.

[stormgren.livejournal.com]

Awww, no more Butter Jesus.

The fact that this was lightning initiated had me laughing for quite some time.

[ericcoleman]

Wonder if he'll be rebuilt in three days? (I stole that joke from a friend)

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

KA-CHING!

[arensb.livejournal.com]

Evidently Zeus hates kitsch.

[janedit.livejournal.com]

We drove by him all the time. We used to call him "Kris K Jesus" because of the statue's resemblance to a certain songwriter/singer. (Probably our disrespect caused the lightning strike.) Never thought of him as "Touchdown Jesus," but then I'm not a football fan. Anyway, isn't there another so-called "Touchdown Jesus" that can be seen from the stands at some college stadium--Notre Dame, maybe?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Notre (http://www.clemson.edu/sure/2007/motsing/Touchdown_Jesus_1.jpg) Dame (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/TDJesus.jpg/800px-TDJesus.jpg) indeed. And they seem to be happy (http://www.nesn.com/2010/06/notre-dame-fans-rejoice-after-ohios-touchdown-jesus-burns-to-the-ground.html) about the one in Ohio.

[janedit.livejournal.com]

Love that "Torchdown Jesus" bit!

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Personal Jesus, indeedy.

As a certain engineer once said, "Ye cannae change the laws of physics..." You stick something up there with a steel frame and a fiberglass casing, in Tornado Alley, and don't provide a grounding system? I don't care whose g-d it's a statue of, it's gonna burn, baby, burn...

(I betcha the Statue of Liberty gets struck regularly... OTOH, those big pointy things on her crown, and the fact that her skin is all copper? Probably makes a right fine grounding system all on her own. Dangit, too many other people have the "Liberty dipping Justice" icon, or I'd so be using it about now... that icon just has too many delicious implications. But I digress... :)

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

You are right about the Statue of Liberty.

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

We called it "Eat Your Soul" Jesus, because of the way it looked to be lunging out of the lake towards you. It always creeped me out a bit, especially at night. And I am somewhat amused at the method of destruction.

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

We have a Touchdown Jesus in La Canada, and when my husband told me about this, he had to specify that it wasn't "our" Touchdown Jesus (Our Savior Of The Immortal It's Good).

[alverant.livejournal.com]

For some reason the statue reminded me of Jimi Hendrix.

But let's get things straight. When a natural disaster happens to "us", it means nothing. But if it happens to "them" (New Orleans, Haiti, South Pacific, California, etc) it's a sign from GOD!

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's just a sign from *our* g-d(s)... which They are sure as hell (ahem) not going to publicize...

[capt-video.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated by the number of "thou shalt not worship graven idols" comment on the news site...

[lizziecrowe.livejournal.com]

That IS interesting, isn't it...

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

I dunno about symbolic messages, but obviously they failed to get the message about adequate lighting rods on 62ft tall steel framed structures on open plains...

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking. If this is a message from God, it's more about safety than about graven images.

[skemono.livejournal.com]

But lightning rods are blasphemous!

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Tee hee!

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

I saw that this morning, and was briefly hopeful that they might not rebuild the silly thing.
Gotta tell you, the only thing that ever came to my mind when I drove past that thing was how ostentatious it was. Not exactly reconcilable with "christian" values.

And then I went and listened to the bug butter jesus song again, and giggled along.

[awfulhorrid.livejournal.com]

I'm 'blipping' it in dedication right now (http://blip.fm/Awfulhorrid)!

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Good idea!

[rivkaesque.livejournal.com]

I did not know such a song existed. Please, please, please, tell me where I can hear it.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

I6's everywhere if you google "big butter jesus song". Here's one version:
http://fisherwy.blogspot.com/2008/01/big-butter-jesus-photo-song.html
And the Dayton Daily News gives us a new verse from the comedian who wrote the song:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/comedian-heywood-banks-reacts-to-demise-of-jesus-statue-763582.html

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

...Oh. Big butter. When you typed "bug butter" up there, I was confused.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

I typo like any other human being. :)

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, but most typos don't result in questions like, "When would anybody on Barrayar have made a statue of Jesus out of anything?"

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Bug butter could be interesting, I suppose, but "UGH!" would be my personal response.

No versions of jesus likely to be anywhere near there.

[ladysoapmaker.livejournal.com]

I drive by that thing every time I go to work. We affectingly call it Quicksand Jesus. The first time my mom saw it she nearly ran off the road. then she said "it's another case of my Jesus is bigger then your Jesus."

I personally think it's a message from god to the pastor of the church. ever since her brother died and she's been trying to keep control of his estate the church has had problems. first the flood that took out their sign out from for 6 months. and now this. I think he's saying," Yo, they're your family, you can't leave them destitute."

Though I love the irony. Its new name Terminator Jesus. All you see it these blackened sticks of the skeletal remains sticking up in the air.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Terminator Jesus *giggle*

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

I get the following message from this;

"Lightning always chooses the shortest path to the surface."

That is all.

[druidsfire.livejournal.com]

I had my moments of mockery about it, as I'm not religious and always quoted Carlin when it came to symbols like that ('I tend to leave the symbols to the symbol-minded').

What galls me the most, which is what generally galls me about megachurch mentality, is that they spent a /quarter of a million/ dollars on building it the first time, and will probably spend as much or more rebuilding it.

I think of just how many poor and needy people in this area could use even a small portion of those funds for basic necessities such as food and clothing for themselves and their families and yet the church leaders are immediately all about their symbol.

Fuck the statue, help the people around you that you allegedly care about, SRC.

MHO.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I got my Touchdown Jesus
Rising up as I go past in my car
Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my Touchdown Jesus I'll go far

I'll see you and raise you...

[ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com]

Touchdown Jesus, Touchdown Jesus
Rising from the water, standing tall,
Standing there, so ostentatious
He is really in our faces
With my Touchdown Jesus I'll go far

Re: I'll see you and raise you...

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

It takes a Ravenclaw to best another 'Claw :) My compliments.

Re: I'll see you and raise you...

[ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com]

"My name is Ravenclaw Eric, and I am a filker."

"HI ERIC!"

--from a meeting of Filkers Anonymous

[arakasi1.livejournal.com]

I heard a rumour that someone found a giant hammer nearby....

[arakasi1.livejournal.com]

I've been up and down I-75 a lot over the last five years for business (though I usually fly into Dayton & drive north). I swear that stretch of road has more porn stores visible from the highway than any other place I've ever been - there are at least 8 in a 120 mile stretch.

To the best of my knowledge, none of them were struck by lightning

[madrona.livejournal.com]

insert joke about graven images here.

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

*Joke about graven images*