Status: Unlikely (though the people who think it does won't care what I say)
Along I-75 in Ohio there stands a 62-foot-tall fiberglass and styrofoam statue of Jesus, his hands raised into the air. It's very visible from the highway. Nicknames for it include Super Savior, Touchdown Jesus, Drowning Jesus (because it's located in front of a reflecting pool), and
Jeeebus. It was completed last summer, and according to rumor there have been no accidents along the stretch of highway in front of it, although previously many accidents occurred there. Apparently Giant Jesus made the highway safe. Can this be true? According to an article in the
Cleveland Plain Dealer, it is true that section of I-75 used to be quite deadly:
Officials at the Ohio Department of Transportation say about 87,000 vehicles pass the statue each day, and they agree that it was a deadly section of highway. In 2000 and 2001, the agency’s records show, 14 people were killed.
And since the arrival of Jesus, the deaths have stopped. So interpret that however you want. But the Department of Transportation isn't attributing the declining accident rate to divine intervention:
To halt the deaths, the state spent $1.1 million to install a cable that runs down the median. The cable barrier is designed to stop vehicles before they can cross into oncoming traffic. "Ten fatalities were crossover accidents," said Jay Hamilton, the highway agency traffic engineer who designed the barrier. "It was a highly deadly stretch of Ohio highway. Not anymore."... "I honestly think that Jesus can perform miracles, but I don’t think the statue was the miracle out here," he said. "It was the barrier."
Comments
"How long has the statue been up?"
That's a bit personal, don't you think?
Although, just the opposite is true for other roadside "shows". A lot of accidents happen when people slow down b/c of another roadway accident. (It's not the slowing itself, but the rubbernecker slows b/c they want to see, traffic behind them is not aware there is a problem -b/c the actual accident is cleared from the roadway- and the sudden stop causes a rearend situation.)
Being from the area, that section of highway really isn't given much credence as a trecherous driving area, the road is flat and straight.
In Monroe, the next exit south of the statue is a Hustler Hollywood store which opened in 2002/2003, about the same time the traffic deaths diminished. Perhaps Larry Flint is the reason for fewer traffic deaths.
All hail Larry Flynt!
Pornmeister be thy Name,
thy kingdom cum,
thy slut be done,
on earth as it is on TV.
Give us this day our daily orgy
And forgive us our STD's,
as we forgive those
who infect against us.
And lead us not into salvation,
but deliver us from Pat Robertson.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hey, Quicksand Jesus -- grab this stick, before it's too late! Don't struggle, you'll only make it worse!
The reduction in accidents in that particular corridor of I-75 could possibly also be attributed to the fact they've beefed up traffic enforcement in that stretch of road. There's just about always a state patrolman with a laser unit sitting one side or the other of Quicksand Jesus.
That couldn't have anything to do with traffic slowing and fewer accidents, now could it?
Zach Hill
London Oh
There have been several accidents that were caused because people pulled over and wanted to check out the Touchdown Jesus.
-all about touchdown jesus
2nd Commandment; Verses 4-6: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10c7.htm
Score...
Solid Rock Church: 0
it's ridiculous. forcing jesus upon travellers. if i were driving by and i had a different religious affiliation, i think i'd be offended. then again, i am a christian and i am offended.
but in solid rock's defense, it sure is great when i am driving home for breaks from school and i pass that terrific landmark. i know i'm close to home.
It was struck by lightning and burned down.
Nothin left but the metal frame. It's creepy because I used to pass by that statue a lot and to see its absence, replaced by a chared frame. The frame itself still resembles the statue's hands up in the sky in a freakish way. But this really shocked me.