outside of cincinnati ohio there is a church which displays a huge statue of Jesus. arms outstretched, His arms lifted up as if to signal that ohio state has just pushed the football across the goal line for six points. thus the nickname, "touchdown Jesus". this molding made out of a fiberglass shell colored a light yellow has also brought the nickname "big butter Jesus" from a song by comedian haywood banks.
i investigated a lot about this statue. it cost around $250,000. it's 6 stories tall. it is lit up at night overlooking a baptismal lake connected to an amphitheatre. it is located right of interstate 75.
my most interesting find was that to a person, feelings about bbj were split along party lines. christians love bbj. it gives them warmth and a feeling that they are closer to God by looking at this representation. unbelievers or unsaved folks seemed to all say the same thing. "what a waste of money". they expressed the belief that the money spent on bbj, the lake and the lighting could have gone to help some unfortunate people.
i personally find it hard to believe that God really cares about statues of His son that are really just our idea of what we think Christ should look like. i won't even begin to list the ways this money could have helped people and shown Christ's love.
a few thoughts:
is making a statue like this idolatry?
what message does it send to seekers or those in need?
should we be concerned about christian's feelings?
is our relationship with God dictated by a feeling?
early in june of 2010 bbj was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. all that remains is the skeleton holding the statue. after studying the book of job i will not even ask why, who or where. that's not for me to ponder. two days after bbj burnt to the ground the church had a sign stating "he'll be back". yes He will....and bbj might not be the only thing on fire.
maybe that's just me.....
