11/13/2003: Virgin Mary in a tree stump

For a while there IotD was cataloguing the various "sightings" of the Virgin Mary, but there hadn't been any recently... until this. Here we have a tree stump in an empty lot in a poor neighborhood in Passaic, New Jersey. Now it's strewn with candles and notes and crap for all the people who went there to worship a dead tree.

(I.e., morons.)

Re: 11/13/2003: Virgin Mary in a tree stump

i don't see it? am i blind or pragmatic?

As a Pagan, I feel compelled to point out that we often see the Goddess in the subtle ways of nature, and if Catholicism isn't goddess worship, then nothing is. Therefore, this should come as no surprise whatsoever.

Okay, it would probably come as a surprise to the Catholics to discover that they were goddess worshippers, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

My favorite Virgin Mary sighting was the fogged up double paned glass window version awhile back.

When I was little I used to see these odd things floating in the air if I first focused on something far away then relaxed my eyes on an non existing point. I used to think that they maybe ghosts or spirits.

Then I grew up, went to catholic school, lost all hope and doubt about the nonexistance of god and realized how stupid I had been when I was younger.

Who was it that was talking about idols, and not worshipping them? Wasn't that God?

Elspode and Torrere: absolutely right. It's yet another demonstration of taking something that supposed to be about fellowship and love, and completely perverting it. Sometimes in bizarre ways.

It has always blown my mind that 'the faithful' always seem to get caught up in the minutate, and completely miss the whole point of their own deities/prophets/idols/whatever.

What part of "Thou shalt not kill" do the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland not get, for example? If you are going to kill each other over religion, shouldn't you at least adhere to your own religions' rules?

I think Druids usually worship living trees, but I imagine they have some reverence for dead ones as well.

Sure, they're the dear departed.

Well, if it inspires and stirs folks and isn't hurting anybody, more power to them. Some people just need something to believe in...why not a tree stump that looks like the Blessed Virgin?

A Slightly Different View of Images of Mary

For a good religious time check out:

http://www.truthofgod.com/site/enter.asp

This is the site of a fire and brimstone preacher in
Philadelphia (he has a television ministry and travels
around to various convocations on mostly the east
coast).

There are archived copies of many of his programs ...
DO NOT MISS program number 609, in which he discusses
idolatry, and beats the plaster out of a statue of the
virgin mary ... (run forward to about 42 minutes in if
you don't want to sit through the whole program. The
REAL action hits, quite literally, at about 50
minutes)

http://www.truthofgod.com/site/pages...elecasts_2.asp

EDIT: I thought it was a pretty good likeness of the Lady in the stump, there.

People see the Virgin Mary in a lot of things, apparently...


http://home.snafu.de/tilman/clearwat...mary12-11A.jpg

http://www.xprojectmagazine.com/gallery/vmary_lg.html

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~wm...mages/mary.jpg

http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/virgin-bank.JPG

http://www.monksofadoration.org/Scottsdale.jpg

http://www.theness.com/images/tree.gif

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attra...CACOL1mary.jpg

My Aramaic's a little rusty, but I did a translation. I think it's pretty close.

"Thou shalt not kill, unless the people whom you are killing are brown, or have otherwise done something to offend or trouble you."

goethean "Let me know what you consider sacred so I can piss all over it."

The US constitution; the pure innocence of a newborn baby; the beauty of music; creativity and originality; the progress of humankind; freedom; and four cheese Cheese Nips.

Have at it.

Apparently, Deuteronomy 7 (specifically 7:2) is taken to mean that God supports killing in war.


7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

7:6 For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the face of the earth.

Yeah, but that's OLD Testament Jehovah. We now have Jehovah v2.0, the kinder, gentler, more forgiving God, who only allows killing if you don't believe in Jesus, and then only He gets to knock off your immortal soul.

That seems reasonable.

Well you better find a better one because that one doesn't work.:p Welcome to the Cellar, Syrinx.

i don't understand the MaryInABathtub thing that lots of Catholics have going on. My aunt has a M.I.A.B. in her backyard. Freddie ran around in circles around it, patting mary on the head or something each time.

ah well...a pat on the head is cheaper than buying candles to light.

Idols, idols, idols everywhere, and not one can hear.
only morons ( make that less-ons ) will waste their
breath on pieces of wood, plastic or possibly even turds.