Whether you found it devastating, joyful, hilarious or downright terrifying, the burning of the Jesus statue off of Interstate 75 in Monroe left no opinion unheard.
I myself feel very indifferent about it, for the most part. I will not lie that the sight of it seemed peculiar to me. I was raised with the 10 commandments engraved in me as a young child and the fourth commandment in the Bible does say “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” Exodus 20:4.
I am far from being qualified to go around preaching God’s word though and telling people how to practice their religion. My viewpoint on religion is open to interpretation, especially on the details and I personally believe that none of us are really going to know until our day comes.
It’s difficult for me to not respect how different people feel and live because of religion. My mother is Jewish, my step father is Muslim, my sister is Mormon and my father a devoted Catholic. And believe it or not, we all have had very calm and intellectual conversations about God and religion without killing each other. Isn’t that a grand idea?
This statue of Jesus though, regardless of how you felt about it or not, put southwest Ohio on the map for the rest of the country. People who have never set foot in this state knew of this landmark and used it as a topic of conversation. This is perhaps what I will miss about it.
Having visited and lived in many different cities and states in the U.S., it can be very frustrating trying to explain where in Ohio you are: until touchdown Jesus appeared.
The statue even has its own personal song that comedian Heywood Banks made, called “Big Butter Jesus.” The church that built this sculpture, Solid Rock Church, did a good job of making sure “Jesus” stayed famous.
At the end of the day though, regardless of how others or I feel about the statue, I hope that the church is getting prayers or good wishes. The burning of anything personal can be devastating and heartbreaking to the people who care about it.
But according to Dayton Daily News, Rev. Darlene Bishop said the church has plans to rebuild the statue. One thing looks certain: Butter Jesus will rise again.