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.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6
but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me
and keep my commandments.”
For people who made/crafted the statue of Jesus, HAVE THEY MET
JESUS? Even if they did, making themselves an idol in the form of
Jesus is not permitted by GOD.
