Oh, no ... Big Butter!!!!

How could I not blog about the untimely demise of the 63' tall statue that comedian Heywood Banks dubbed "Big Butter Jesus" (the song "Big Butter Jesus" is linked at the bottom of this post)?

I remember the odd feeling I got when driving along I-75, north of Cincinnati, and seeing Big Butter Jesus for the first time. I am at once pleased and repulsed. I'm pleased that church would attempt such a grand gesture. It takes a visionary group of people to attempt to do something like this.

I'm repulsed, though, because it just doesn't work. The statue plays into every silly cliche' ever uttered against cultural Christianity. Also, despite the grandness of the idea, it just looks silly.

Interestingly, Jesus has always been a lightening rod for controversy [insert rim shot]. Christians are torn over whether or not the statue is a good idea. Non-Christians (I suspect) just find it ridiculous.
Well, as many of you already know, the statue caught fire last week.

How apocalyptic does this thing look after being hit by the bolt and catching fire? Let the jokes begin. Who is responsible? God or some sinister power opposing God? This is the problem with heavenly signs. They can be interpreted in soooo many different ways.
Regardless where blame is assigned, all that's left is the skeleton. The church has pledged to rebuild it. I think I would leave well enough alone. I throw no stones at Solid Rock Church. They will do what they will do. I suspect they've tied their identity with the statue and that without it, they will feel adrift (I don't KNOW this. I suspect it. I don't know a single person who goes to this church).

That's the problem, though. If Solid Rock can't be the church without the statue, things need to change. Any church that ties its identity to a statue, a building, a song, a style of song, a preacher, or ANYTHING other than God as God is revealed in Jesus of Nazareth needs to rethink its vision.

At Grandview we don't have a big statue, but I'm sure we have a few idols....


Here's the song by Heywood Banks. The song isn't exactly reverent, but the comedian who sings it is lampooning the statue, not Jesus.