This is not an icon, it is not a devotional or spiritual exercise, as misguided as that would be. It is a $1.5 million waste of money!!I saw this on Yahoo news a while back and have been meaning to write a post on it ever since. A statue of Jesus is all well and good, but a 167-foot tall statue is pushing things a bit too far.
A reporter in Warsaw commented that, "The project has split society in Poland, with supporters saying the statue will attract pilgrims to the city, and opponents insisting that the collosal monument has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ."
Local authorities only seem to be concerned with the amount of tourism this statue will attract. Really??? Is this what Christianity has come to? But, some will say, it could be used as an evangelistic tool. While I believe that is dubious at best, it remains a possibility, but potential evangelism will probably occur in spite of the statue, not because of it. It simply screams, "Look at what I did!!" on behalf of the community that created it. They made sure it was the biggest in the world, and the $1.5 million and 5 years that it took to build it could have been used for actual Christ-centered ministry!!
I'll get off my soapbox now.
Here's a link to an article that I've just read about this.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like this was originally intended to be a money-maker. It sounds like the priest who created it genuinely wanted it to be a welcoming symbol of faith to travelers, something that drew forth devotion Of course, it quickly seems to have become the cash-cow as soon as the potential for pilgrimage was realized.
While I'm willing to give the priestly artist the benefit of the doubt when it comes to motivation, I believe the key questions you raised need to be answered. To summarize, "What were you thinking???" Really, do we need to have a giant Jesus looming over us? Is that the image of Jesus we want to promote to the exclusion of all others? Is this really a stewardly use of resources?
My biggest issue here is a theology that I will call (for lack of a better term) "monumental religion." If we find ourselves in evangelical/pentecostal circles, we soon hear of the importance of public displays of faith that are costly, either emotionally or financially. For example, I can't remember where I was, but I've seen giant crosses erected to loom over the land to remind everyone of what Jesus did. One way to look at such things is that they are "standing stones" erected to remind us of a particular history.
In the mainline, we see a similar theology articulated by Marva Dawn. This is exactly why I couldn't stand A Royal Waste of Time when we had to read it in seminary. Basically, her argument was that we weren't supposed to go to worship to get anything out of it. Many people would consider doing something and getting nothing back to be a waste of time. But, according to Dawn, that is precisely the point of worship: we are taking that which is of value to us and wasting it on a public display of adoration that brings honor and glory to God. (Of course, the implication is that everyone should be going to church and filling its coffers. So, despite it's seeming pious intent, I suspect that a concern for a declining bottom line may be part of her agenda as well.)
I understand the psychology involved in these two versions of monumental religion. What I like about this statue is the degree to which it reveals the silliness and counter-productivity of it all. Really, if the Polish people who support this project want to testify to Jesus, isn't there a better way? I'm sure the town has its issues. Maybe they could take 5 years and $1.5M to develop a peacemaking program that gives new birth to a movement of reconciliation in a broken world.
I agree that the priest's intent was to create an object of devotion and worship, but to be honest, his project seems quite typical of the Roman Catholic Church which, throughout history, has thrown money away like crazy to build a "monumental religion" as you so aptly call it.
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