I was NOT, I truly was NOT on the prowl for Martyr Figurines when I found this image today. I do not know if it is a “generated” image, as a colleague of mine once put it, or if the lamp HAS a figure of the “Touchdown Jesus” inside it, or if an Act of God simply caused the Touchdown Jesus to form from hot wax.

However, it was not hard to find this image, once I had clicked on the news that the Monroe, Ohio “Touchdown Jesus” statue burned to the ground last night, after being hit by lightening. One report read that it had “exploded.”  Also known as the “King of Kings”, the fiberglass and plastic sculpture was 62′ high, fronted the Solid Rock Church within view of I-75, and cost $250,000 to build in 2004.

Here is what the statue looked like before it burned:

None of the news reports I read mentioned the toxic cloud of burning plastic vapors that must have floated over the town. The sculpture was also known as “Big Butter Jesus.” Alas. The vapors would surely have been less pungent. There seems to be little irony in the claim that the fire was an “act of God.” If so, does one rebuild? Here is what it looks like now. Menacing.

Because I started this post off speaking of figurines, I have to include the insulated coffee mug version of the Big Butter Jesus that is available online: