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Old 07-05-2006, 03:39 PM   #1
Pangloss62
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Statue of Christianity

Where do these people come from?



I include the below as many can't link to the article if they're not registered.

MEMPHIS, July 4 — On Independence Day, Lady Liberty was born again.
Rollin Riggs for The New York Times

As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and "Jehovah" inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of Kirby Parkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek.

It was not clear if she was crying because of her new home, her new identity as a symbol of religion or, as the pastor said, America's increasing godlessness. But although big cheers went up from the few hundred onlookers at the unveiling, and some people even wore foam Lady Liberty crowns bearing Christian slogans, she was not universally welcomed.

Most of the customers at the Dixie Queen food counter near the church viewed the statue as a cheap attention grab, said Guardia Nelson, 27, who works there.

"It's a big issue," Ms. Nelson said. "Liberty's supposed to have a fire, not a cross."

Elena Martinez, a loan officer visiting Memphis from Houston, said her family was speechless at the sight.

"The Statue of Liberty has a different meaning for the country," Ms. Martinez said. "It doesn't need to be used in a religious sense."

At the pizza place next door, Amanda Houston pronounced the combination of the Statue of Liberty and Christianity "ridiculous," though her co-worker Landon Condit was far less critical: "I can't see anything wrong with it. This is the Bible Belt."

The Statue of Liberation Through Christ, as she is called, stands 72 feet tall from the base of her pedestal to the tip of her cross. She was the idea of Mr. Williams, a very successful pastor whose church, World Overcomers, qualifies as mega: it has a school, a bowling alley, a roller rink, a bookstore and, he said, 12,000 members.

The pastor is not shy. His church has bought full-page advertisements in The Commercial Appeal, the Memphis daily, condemning homosexuality. At the World Overcomers' previous location, neighbors complained that trees were felled unnecessarily; Mr. Williams said it had to be done so that people could see the church from the road.

The statue, inspired by a Memphis church that has three giant crosses, strikes him as "a creative means of just really letting people know that God is the foundation of our nation," he said.

Mr. Williams has written several books and pamphlets analyzing a variety of matters, among them patriotism and the original intent of the founding fathers.

In "The Meaning of the Statue of Liberation Through Christ: Reconnecting Patriotism With Christianity," he explains that the teardrop on his Lady is God's response to what he calls the nation's ills, including legalized abortion, a lack of prayer in schools and the country's "promotion of expressions of New Age, Wicca, secularism and humanism." In another book, he said Hurricane Katrina was retribution for New Orleans's embrace of sin.

Mr. Williams said his statue's essential point was that Christianity should be the guiding ethos of the nation. But because the church he leads is predominantly black, as is he, there is an added dimension to the message.

In "From Slavery to Lady Liberty: Lady Liberty's African Connection: The Key to Black America's Liberation," he pointed out that the real Statue of Liberty wears a broken shackle around one ankle, and revisited evidence that the statue, a gift from France, was originally intended not to welcome immigrants but to celebrate the emancipation of slaves.

"Many blacks are not patriotic, and they are not patriotic because of the history of our nation," Mr. Williams said in an interview at the church, in the richly appointed sitting room he uses to receive visitors. "It's good for our people to know that the nation has something for them as well."

To critics who say there are better ways to spend $260,000, Mr. Williams responds that his church gives millions to the needy and says he views the statue as outreach: "I personally feel that the answer for the poor is Jesus Christ."

To celebrate the Fourth of July, a good crowd gathered on the church grounds for free hamburgers and grape soda, carnival rides, a barbecue cook-off and entertainment. Children ate sno-cones, and a small army of volunteers and members of the staff darted around on bicycles and golf carts, dressed in white polo shirts. But the main event was the unveiling, preceded by speeches, prayers and consecrations.

"I decree the spirit of conviction on this intersection," Mr. Williams boomed from a podium decorated with red, white and blue bunting. "This statue proves that Jesus Christ is Lord over America, he is Lord over Tennessee, he is Lord over Memphis."
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Old 07-05-2006, 03:48 PM   #2
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So...if I put up a statue of a giant erect phallus, does that mean that Johnny Holmes is the Lord of Whatever?

Make no mistake, my friends. The Right Wing Christians want a US theocracy every bit as strict, stringent and oppressive as the one that the Taliban wants in their sandy domains and elsewhere.

Praise the Lord and Lady, and pass the ammunition.
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Old 07-05-2006, 03:58 PM   #3
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Just idiots with no idea how this nation was formed or why. Nothing more at all.
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viewed the statue as a cheap attention grab
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Old 07-05-2006, 05:26 PM   #4
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The problem is there's a shitload of these crackpots and a whole lots of people are swallowing their line....and giving them money.
The saving grace has been most of the crackpots are con men that trip themselves up eventually.

Who are their supporters? People that feel disenfranchised by the country they see on TV?....the town they see around them?.... the rude people at Walmart and the grocery store?

Hopefully the over sized egos of these "religious leaders" will keep them from banding together, but what they are preaching is likely to follow their parishioners to the ballot box.
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Old 07-05-2006, 06:36 PM   #5
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these guys are so easily knocked down with common logic but these articles rarely, if ever, present that side. just an example is the bullshit with new orleans. the only question that needs to be asked is why hasn't god unleashed his vengeance upon vegas yet? biased fluff journalism *spits*
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Old 07-05-2006, 08:56 PM   #6
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Try that logic on his 12,000 (claimed) followers. Good Luck.
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Old 07-05-2006, 10:27 PM   #7
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People will follow *any* stupid goddamn thing. Jeez, even most of Fred Phelps children and other inbred relations don't have the sense to see what a whack job he is. Building statues is nothing compared to protesting funerals.

Sometimes, freedom of speech is almost too damn difficult to bear, you know?
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Old 07-05-2006, 11:15 PM   #8
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To me this is great... you get to see how much of nut-jobs they are.
So much worse than flag burning.
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Old 07-06-2006, 10:58 AM   #9
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a'int there a crime called statuary rape?
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Old 07-06-2006, 11:05 AM   #10
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Indeed

A statuary rape of monumental proportion! They took so many liberties with the original.
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Old 07-06-2006, 12:57 PM   #11
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We need a Statue of Liberty amendment to the Constitution.
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Old 07-06-2006, 01:13 PM   #12
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And what we'll get is an exemption that allows you to burn the flag in the name of Jesus.
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Old 07-06-2006, 01:20 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pangloss62
"This statue proves that Jesus Christ is Lord over America, he is Lord over Tennessee, he is Lord over Memphis."
Number one, how does the statue itself prove anything? That is irksome, but not the main problem here.

Refer to the Bible :::broken record::: and it will tell you there is no kingdom of Heaven upon the Earth. That's right, the Bible says there is no Christian nation. So, uh... we believe the Bible, right? And if not, if you choose to openly contradict the Bible itself in order to push your personal agenda - then stop calling yourself a Christian. It really has become a meaningless word.
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Old 07-06-2006, 01:52 PM   #14
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Flintstones

Quote:
It really has become a meaningless word.
It always was, Flint. Nonetheless, it is the only world it could be, and therefore the best of all possible worlds. Dr. Pangloss was right.
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Old 07-06-2006, 01:56 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pangloss62
It always was, Flint. Nonetheless, it is the only world it could be, and therefore the best of all possible worlds. Dr. Pangloss was right.
He said word, now worLd.
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