Statue of Crap
Memphis-area megachurch has erected a Statue of Liberty lookalike — holding a cross instead of a torch — to remind Americans of their “spiritual liberation” and to show that Christianity should guide the nation.
The fiberglass-and-steel “Statue of Liberation Through Christ” was dedicated during a July 4 carnival and barbeque at World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church. Standing 72 feet high, Liberty also carries a copy of the Ten Commandments, has a broken, gold chain at her feet, and bears a single tear on her cheek.
Alton Williams, pastor of the Memphis church, said he commissioned the statue — which required $260,000 and nearly five years to build — to declare to passersby that Jesus is the only way to salvation.
“I decree the spirit of conviction on this intersection,” Williams said during the unveiling ceremony. “This statue proves that Jesus Christ is Lord over America. He is Lord over Tennessee. He is Lord over Memphis.”
Williams, a prominent Memphis leader, has a reputation for public displays of faith. According to the Commercial Appeal, his church has bought full-page advertisements in the Memphis newspaper condemning homosexuality.
In The Meaning of the Statue of Liberation Through Christ: Reconnecting Patriotism With Christianity, Williams wrote that the teardrop on the statue represents God’s response to the nation’s ills — abortion, a lack of prayer in schools and New Age philosophy. A church flyer about the statue said it would help restore the value of prayer, reflect God’s love and revitalize the Hickory Hill community near Memphis.
Some area residents have complained to local newspapers that they think the 12,000-pound structure is “ridiculous.”
Here’s how weird I am. The first I heard of this Statue of Liberty I thought of Franz Kafka’s sword-wielding Statue of Liberty in his book, Amerika. It’s a good book, probably the only thing Kafka wrote that could be considered… um… not entirely depressing.