Jesus Struck By Lightning

[Brother_Bliss]

I live in Ohio. This is local news for me

6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning

MONROE, Ohio – A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by

lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel

skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers

Tuesday.

The "King of Kings" statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar

landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church

along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m. Monday,

Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, about 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 Tuesday.

The nickname is the same used for a famous mural of the resurrected

Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium.

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.

Estimated damage from the fire was set at $700,000 — $300,000 for the

statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater, Fire Capt. Richard Mascarella

said Tuesday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was at the scene Tuesday to prevent

traffic jams and potential accidents from motorists stopping along the

highway to take photographs.

The patrol began issuing citations about 4 p.m. Tuesday to motorists for

stopping on the side of the highway, dispatcher Adam Brown said. The

number of gawkers coupled with construction had slowed I-75 traffic in

the area to a crawl, the state Highway Patrol said.

Some people were scooping up pieces of the statue's foam from the nearby

pond to take home with them, said church co-pastor Darlene Bishop.

"This meant a lot to a lot of people," she said.

Keith Lewis, of nearby Middletown, arrived at the church around 7 a.m.

Tuesday to photograph the remains for his wife. Lewis said he had viewed

the statue as both an oddity and an inspiration.

Cassie Browning, a church member from Dayton, said she was driving home

when she saw smoke and noticed the statue was missing.

Travelers on I-75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by

the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many

people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a

walkway to accommodate them.

Bishop said the statue will be rebuilt.

"It will be back, but this time we are going to try for something

fireproof," she said.

The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by Bishop and her

husband, former horse trader Lawrence Bishop.

Lawrence Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress

them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a

beacon of hope and salvation.

Article Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning_strikes_jesus_statue

(still trying to get AP reprint rights for my blog)

- Bob Angle Jr.

{posted via email}

[Winddove]

Oh how Jehovah must feel.

I think of two things about this article.

The first is how Jesus looked at the crowds and he felt pity for them as the

scripture says, "(Matthew 9:36) 36 On seeing the crowds he felt pity for

them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a

shepherd."

Then I thought of tonight's No# 2 talk and the scripture from Deuteronomy

7:25) 25 "The graven images of their gods you should burn in the fire. You

must not desire the silver and the gold upon them, nor indeed take it for

yourself, for fear you may be ensnared by it; for it is a thing detestable

to Jehovah your God."

It's very clear people are lost and it's likewise clear how detestable this

is to Jehovah to give attention to idols such as this. Not even for

sentimental value...would we keep it any part of it or discuss it. We

destroy it completely...

An article like this however, would be a timely aide in bringing up the

Deuteronomy scripture in the witnessing work. It sure tied in with

tonight's student talk...so for those of you that have this talk on

Thursday... It might be a good example to use. Just a thought...

On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 9:55 PM, Bob Angle Jr wrote:

> I live in Ohio. This is local news for me

>

>

> 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning

>

> MONROE, Ohio – A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by

> lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel

> skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers

> Tuesday.

>

> The "King of Kings" statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar

> landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church

> along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

>

> The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m. Monday,

> Monroe police dispatchers said.

>

> The sculpture, about 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 Tuesday.

>

> The nickname is the same used for a famous mural of the resurrected

> Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium.

>

> 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.

>

> Estimated damage from the fire was set at $700,000 — $300,000 for the

> statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater, Fire Capt. Richard Mascarella

> said Tuesday.

>

> The Ohio State Highway Patrol was at the scene Tuesday to prevent

> traffic jams and potential accidents from motorists stopping along the

> highway to take photographs.

>

> The patrol began issuing citations about 4 p.m. Tuesday to motorists for

> stopping on the side of the highway, dispatcher Adam Brown said. The

> number of gawkers coupled with construction had slowed I-75 traffic in

> the area to a crawl, the state Highway Patrol said.

>

> Some people were scooping up pieces of the statue's foam from the nearby

> pond to take home with them, said church co-pastor Darlene Bishop.

>

> "This meant a lot to a lot of people," she said.

>

> Keith Lewis, of nearby Middletown, arrived at the church around 7 a.m.

> Tuesday to photograph the remains for his wife. Lewis said he had viewed

> the statue as both an oddity and an inspiration.

>

> Cassie Browning, a church member from Dayton, said she was driving home

> when she saw smoke and noticed the statue was missing.

>

> Travelers on I-75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by

> the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many

> people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a

> walkway to accommodate them.

>

> Bishop said the statue will be rebuilt.

>

> "It will be back, but this time we are going to try for something

> fireproof," she said.

>

> The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by Bishop and her

> husband, former horse trader Lawrence Bishop.

>

> Lawrence Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress

> them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a

> beacon of hope and salvation.

>

>

> Article Source:

> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lightning_strikes_jesus_statue

>

> (still trying to get AP reprint rights for my blog)

>

> - Bob Angle Jr.

> {posted via email}

>

> ----------------------------------------

> Subject: Jesus Struck By Lightning

> Posted by Bob Angle Jr

> Link to topic:

> http://members.jwtalk.net/yhwh/read.php?37,17667,17667#msg-17667

> ----------------------------------------

>

>

>

[Brother_Bliss]

On 6/17/2010 1:11 AM, Pam wrote:

> Our 2 sons and I were talking about this story today.

> We came up with a saying

>

> (ok....wait for it....

> ...don't get offended )

>

> *KRISPY JESUS* !

>

> Better yet: *KRISPY KING* ! [ giggle ]

Ha! That is funny :-)

- Bob Angle Jr.

{posted via email}

[Brother_Bliss]

On 6/15/2010 11:05 PM, Pamie wrote:

> Oh how Jehovah must feel.

He's patting an angel on the back saying "Good aim!" :-)

> I think of two things about this article.

>

> The first is how Jesus looked at the crowds and he felt pity for them as the

> scripture says, "(Matthew 9:36) 36 On seeing the crowds he felt pity for

> them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a

> shepherd."

I saw this on the local news, and there were crowds of people crying

their eyes out, barely able to speak to the camera, carrying on about

how much that statue meant to them and the community. It was really sad.

Sad that their attachment to this statue probably outweighed their

attachment to Jesus himself.

They are truly skinned and thrown about like sheep with no shepherd.

> An article like this however, would be a timely aide in bringing up the

> Deuteronomy scripture in the witnessing work. It sure tied in with

> tonight's student talk...so for those of you that have this talk on

> Thursday... It might be a good example to use. Just a thought...

Good idea. If I have an opportunity to volunteer tonight I'll use it :-)

- Bob Angle Jr.

{posted via email}

[Brother_Bliss]

On 6/17/2010 11:56 AM, David J. Brock wrote:

>

> When did this happen? Monday of this week?

Yes, the article said...

"A lightning strike Monday sparked a fire that burned down the plastic

foam and fiberglass statue that was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of

the way the arms were raised."

There was an opportunity to do a substitute talk for this part and I

raised my hand, but someone else got called on.

- Bob Angle Jr.

{posted via email}

[sister patricia]

ha ha this reminds me of something that happened here early this year well it has nothing to do with lightning but there's a small pond that catholics here go to and fetch water and they drink it coz they believe its 'holy' water my mum said "all the drunks who go and use the pond for the wrong reasons are somewhere having a fine laugh"

[Winddove]

That point about their "Statue possibly meaning more then Jesus himself" in

their lives is the exact point I have been looking for a devout Catholic

family I have witnessed too for quite sometime.

There's several alters in different rooms of their home...and of course the

infamous crosses around their necks and beads in their hands. I would show

them all that I could find about how Jehovah detests such things...mostly

from the Bible and Reasoning book. Although gracious...I had the feeling

they were insulted. In this case, they don't use their Bibles and their

prayers are via a prayer book given to them on the backs of their seats in

Church. Amazed me how they pray...

Anyway...I was trying to be tactful, (because I can be mushy gushy after

all) but then I thought, "Jehovah's word is sharper then a two-edge sword"

and most likely they were feeling the pain from the scriptures. Lots of

it... However, not enough to give up the idolizing these useless

things...showing clearly these images meant more then God himself or his

son. For that matter...Mother Mary gets more tribute...

Your point reminded me of how Jesus was simple and direct so as to reach the

heart. I will try to think of a settle way to use your point...for it's

clear...they appear to love the statues more then our loving Creator and his

son.

Thanks for that thought Bob...and how cute about "Krispy Jesus/King". Out

of the mouth of babes.... Smiles... I particularly liked "good aim" from

the Angel" because before long...that's exactly how it will be.

Hilarious!!! Had me thinking of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the immense

image, in human form. "Bam"...down the worldly powers will all go soon

too...

On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 8:15 AM, Bob Angle Jr wrote:

> On 6/15/2010 11:05 PM, Pamie wrote:

>

> > Oh how Jehovah must feel.

>

> He's patting an angel on the back saying "Good aim!" :-)

>

>

> > I think of two things about this article.

> >

> > The first is how Jesus looked at the crowds and he felt pity for them as

> the

> > scripture says, "(Matthew 9:36) 36 On seeing the crowds he felt pity for

> > them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a

> > shepherd."

>

> I saw this on the local news, and there were crowds of people crying

> their eyes out, barely able to speak to the camera, carrying on about

> how much that statue meant to them and the community. It was really sad.

> Sad that their attachment to this statue probably outweighed their

> attachment to Jesus himself.

>

> They are truly skinned and thrown about like sheep with no shepherd.

>

>

> > An article like this however, would be a timely aide in bringing up the

> > Deuteronomy scripture in the witnessing work. It sure tied in with

> > tonight's student talk...so for those of you that have this talk on

> > Thursday... It might be a good example to use. Just a thought...

>

> Good idea. If I have an opportunity to volunteer tonight I'll use it :-)

>

> - Bob Angle Jr.

> {posted via email}

>

> ----------------------------------------

> Subject: Re: Jesus Struck By Lightning

> Posted by Bob Angle Jr

> Link to topic:

> http://members.jwtalk.net/yhwh/read.php?37,17667,17684#msg-17684

> ----------------------------------------

>

>

>

[Brother_Bliss]

On 6/21/2010 10:35 AM, Pamie Forte wrote:

> In this case, they don't use their Bibles and their

> prayers are via a prayer book given to them on the backs of their seats in

> Church. Amazed me how they pray...

I've been to what feels like just about every local denomination growing

up, but never set foot in a Catholic church nor seen a service. But the

other day I was negotiating with a homeowner for their home, and the

fact that we were Jehovah's Witnesses came up. She said she so wants to

be one of us, but her husband is Catholic. She said that when they pray,

everyone closes their eyes, and a young boy brings an open book to the

priest who reads it aloud. She said it's so fake and not from the heart

and it drives her nuts.

Your comment made me think about her comment the other day.

- Bob Angle Jr.

{posted via email}

[Winddove]

*Human mind enslavement I think is the saddest form of imprisonment. To

see humans have their brains and hearts influenced to such an extent that

they are willing to be controlled by such "beings" (priests, husbands/wives,

friends, the news...etc) instead of loving a God that they may want to love

or at least recognize what they are doing is wrong and turnaround from it.

But that "influence" is very powerful...that's for sure. The "crowds"

follow... One Bible example (Noah and family –Lot and his daughters–

Israelite s) after another shows only a few being faithful...while the

masses congregate to their demise. Those crowds mourning over a burned up

Statue is just pitiful...and a warning to us all...that's for sure. Thanks

for sharing Bob... You got me thinking of that... Smiles... Have a great

day to you and yours!

*

On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 8:10 AM, Bob Angle Jr wrote:

> On 6/21/2010 10:35 AM, Pamie Forte wrote:

> > In this case, they don't use their Bibles and their

> > prayers are via a prayer book given to them on the backs of their seats

> in

> > Church. Amazed me how they pray...

>

> I've been to what feels like just about every local denomination growing

> up, but never set foot in a Catholic church nor seen a service. But the

> other day I was negotiating with a homeowner for their home, and the

> fact that we were Jehovah's Witnesses came up. She said she so wants to

> be one of us, but her husband is Catholic. She said that when they pray,

> everyone closes their eyes, and a young boy brings an open book to the

> priest who reads it aloud. She said it's so fake and not from the heart

> and it drives her nuts.

>

> Your comment made me think about her comment the other day.

>

> - Bob Angle Jr.

> {posted via email}

>

> ----------------------------------------

> Subject: Re: Jesus Struck By Lightning

> Posted by Bob Angle Jr

> Link to topic:

> http://members.jwtalk.net/yhwh/read.php?37,17667,17753#msg-17753

> ----------------------------------------

>

>