Me and 40 foot Jesus

I felt that I may have given Forty Foot Jesus the short shrift yesterday. He's really fascinating enough to deserve an entry of His own.

Here's picture the picture I took again:


There's also a couple of great pictures at Roadside America along with some more info.

I think that the first think you have to ask yourself is "why?!". Well...

"One of the reasons Solid Rock exists is to let people know that God loves them. What greater symbol than the King of Kings for people who drive by and see it there's hope? Whatever circumstances they're in, they'll see that there's hope for them," said Ron Carter of Solid Rock Church in a quote given to local TV station WCPO.

Personally, the only real hope I feel when I pass it is for Canada. (Not that we don't have our own odd Jesus phenomenon)

I also browsed a few other sites and learned a bunch more about the Big Guy.

40 Foot Jesus was sculpted in Florida by a gentleman who normally does work for (surprise!) casinos in Las Vegas... Nothing says class quite like Las Vegas, eh? Also, wouldn't the sort of Christians who'd build a forty foot Jesus kinda frown on the sort of things that Vegas is known for? Mind you, I guess there just aren't that many options when you're shopping for someone to build your four story Messiah.

After he was completed he was loaded in 13 foot chunks onto trucks and shipped up I-75 to his home in Monroe, Ohio.

Jesus is 42 feet tall, has a 40 foot wing span and weighs in at over 13,000 pounds. He's been painted to look like He's made from marble, though He's actually made from fiberglass, styrofoam and plastic. I really wonder how He'll stand up to the elements.

There's no word on the cost, but they accept online tithe paying by credit card. And in order to be involved with any kind of church activity you must be able to prove you've consistently been paying for 3 months. Clearly this works. They built a really big Jesus.

As it turns out Jesus is not universally loved in Monroe. A recent online survey of residents of Monroe overwhelmingly called Jesus "an Eyesore, bad for Monroe"... Of course it's an online survey and one with very few respondents, so it's not exactly scientific... The local Highway Patrol is also not thrilled with their new resident, fearing that rubberneckers will plow into each other. Apparently Jesus causes traffic accidents.

Mary should be paying Him a visit this weekend. If we're lucky she'll share the pictures.

I can't wait.