Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Jesus Picture Stolen from School

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Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media.(static)

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« Predictable STACLU Response to NSA Ruling | Main | Today's Looney du Jour »

Jesus Picture Stolen from School

Category: Church and State
Posted on: August 18, 2006 11:28 AM, by Ed Brayton

The famous Jesus picture that is the subject of a Federal lawsuit in West Virginia has been stolen. Police believe it was stolen by a current or former student at the school, for obvious reasons, and they've got a fingerprint apparently. Whoever did it is an idiot. The theft will only reinforce the "oh my god, they're trying to take Jesus away from us" hysteria from the community and the school board. I honestly don't know how this affects the lawsuit, nor do the lawers involved at this point. Stay tuned, I guess.

Comments

Praise Jesus! Clearly it is a miracle, so that the godless atheists can't take down the Holy Picture.
The fingerprint will be revealed to be that of Pat Robertson, placed there by The Lord to recognize all the special things Pat has done for him.

Posted by: J-Dog | August 18, 2006 11:38 AM

I bet Jesus himself took the damn thing since
1. it looked nothing like him
2 . he is sick of the fundies misrepresenting his work
3. the guy has a great sense of humor

Posted by: VicVanity | August 18, 2006 1:02 PM

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to either steal or deface it. And as much as I'm glad someone had the chutzpah to defend the Constitution, I got to agree with you Ed. The fundies will take this act and run with it.

Posted by: ericnh | August 18, 2006 1:49 PM

The person who stole the painting was not "defending the Constitution", he was simply committing a felony. If caught, he should be put in jail with other felons.

Posted by: Ed Brayton | August 18, 2006 2:00 PM

Anyone care to lay odds against the proposition that a supporter of the painting stole it to "liven up" the controversy?

Posted by: kehrsam | August 18, 2006 2:17 PM

I wouldn't be surprised if some crazy took it to save it from the government. But then again, the most likely scenario is a prank from a kid who doesn't care much about either side but just thought it was amusing. It'll probably turn up on an MIT roof somewhere.

Posted by: plunge | August 18, 2006 2:18 PM

it very well could've been a well-intentioned kid who was just sick of the controversy and media blitz. i might have done the same myself at 14 just wanting to shut everyone up about it. unfortunately it's only going to make matters worse, but i'm sure some of the students there just want this bullshit to disappear.

Posted by: epitaphforacentaur | August 18, 2006 2:42 PM

"I vote that a Fundy took it, and will try to plant it at an ACLU office."

Thank you Mr. Stone...

Maybe I watched too much TV when I was younger?

But seriously, I really think a Fundy took it. They had a vision from God that told them to.

Posted by: J-Dog | August 18, 2006 3:01 PM

Hmmmm (he said, holding his chin and looking sheepish in his best impression of Jon Stewart (which isn't very good))....

Were there any black helicopters in the neighborhood?

Posted by: Jim Ramsey | August 18, 2006 3:28 PM

Come on guys, you know it had to be the spawn of Satan who did it! (That or some evil, depraved atheist).

Posted by: tacitus | August 18, 2006 4:28 PM

Book Review
Richard Miller's sharply-worded polemic, Why Christians Don't Vote for Democrats, presents a different perspective on the nature and value of public schools (and other secular institutions) than what I had imagined was the general view. Without mentioning vouchers per se, it helps explain why the issue has been so polarizing.
Put simply, some Christians -- call them fundamentalist, evangelical, or, as Mr. Miller would have it, simply Christians -- view state-run public schools as a form of taxation without representation. Just as senior citizens sometimes protest paying taxes for schools in which they have no children, Miller objects to funding schools he believes are filling Christian children's heads with anti-Christian ideas and being forced to pay again if he wants to put his kids in a private religious school.
This raises the question: if we allow parents to use their tax dollars to put their kids in non-public schools, wouldn't it be logical to also exempt the aforementioned senior citizens from school taxes? And while we're at it, shouldn't a family with six children in the public schools pay higher taxes than a family with only two? This path is strewn with dangers for a society that values egalitarianism...

Posted by: Rhampton | August 18, 2006 4:40 PM

My view is, everyone pays for public education so that none of us have to deal with the unschooled. Yes, that would be worse than simply dealing with the stupid.

Posted by: stogoe | August 18, 2006 5:09 PM

Ahem. Actually - and ironically - the picture has been secretly impounded by the DHS as ~the~ pristine exemplar of Middle East genotype best suited to its ongoing terrorist-profiling program.

Posted by: Gaia sighs... | August 18, 2006 11:25 PM

Depending on how the schoolboard reacts to the theft, it may give more ammunition to the lawsuit.

I suspect that by this time next week there will be dozens of Jesus pictures in every school in the district.

Posted by: Reed A. Cartwright | August 19, 2006 4:57 PM