by The Associated Press
Statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
Enlarge The Dayton Daily News/AP
In this June 26, 2005, file photo, the "King of Kings" statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
Statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
The Dayton Daily News/AP
In this June 26, 2005, file photo, the "King of Kings" statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
text size A A A
June 15, 2010
A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised that stood along an Ohio highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.
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., Monroe police dispatchers said.
Now, only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus.
Enlarge Nick Graham/The Dayton Daily News/AP
Only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus after it was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground.
Now, only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus.
Nick Graham/The Dayton Daily News/AP
Only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus after it was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground.
The sculpture, 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 early Tuesday.
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.
Travelers on Interstate 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.
The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence Bishop and his wife. 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 and they spent about $250,000 to finance it.
by The Associated Press
Statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
Enlarge The Dayton Daily News/AP
In this June 26, 2005, file photo, the "King of Kings" statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
Statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
The Dayton Daily News/AP
In this June 26, 2005, file photo, the "King of Kings" statue of Jesus Christ stands outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.
text size A A A
June 15, 2010
A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised that stood along an Ohio highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.
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., Monroe police dispatchers said.
Now, only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus.
Enlarge Nick Graham/The Dayton Daily News/AP
Only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus after it was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground.
Now, only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus.
Nick Graham/The Dayton Daily News/AP
Only the frame remains of the statue of Jesus after it was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground.
The sculpture, 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 early Tuesday.
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.
Travelers on Interstate 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.
The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence Bishop and his wife. 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 and they spent about $250,000 to finance it.
yeah i saw this, very funny and there is a huge atheist you tube gathering in ohio this weekend.
I thought 'Touch Down Jesus' was at Notre Dame. I think this one was better known as Big Butter Jesus. Heywood Banks wrote a song about it and when it burned, he added a new verse:
Quote:
“One night Big Butter got hit by lightning/It burned to the frame wire in a giant grease fire. Some blamed it on Satan, and boy, that would be frightening/But I thought it was Jesus’ father who was in charge of lightning,”
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