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Nov. 24, 2004 At one time Christianity had an iron grip on Western Society and its icons were elegant, reverential and expensive: Portrait of the Virgin Mary, a silver cross, a brass incense burner, a leather bound Bible and a golden chalise. The America of the 21st century is only nominally a Christian nation (Thank God), and the icons that we worship are earthy, carnal and have a whiff of damnation: Madonna, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth and Tupac Shakur. It's not too surprising, that in this age of irony, that a decade-old cheese sandwich bearing what some folks consider a likeness of the Virgin Mary should become a religious icon. GoldenPalce.com, an online casino,won the eBay bidding for the sandwich and immediately began hawking Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese T-shirts. The casino's bid of $28,000 was the highest offer for the sandwich when bidding closed. The seller, Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Diana Duyser, says she made the cheese sandwich 10 years ago and after taking a bite, saw "the Virgin Mary staring back at me." A lot of people are checking out the moldy leftovers in their fridge, and some of them are going to look at a ten-day old meat loaf or a crusty slice of pizza and see the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ staring back at them. "I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother Of God," the Ebay ad proclaimed.. "That is my solemn belief, but you are free to believe that she is whomever you like, I am not scamming anyone." A ten-year old sandwich with the likeness of the Virgin sounds patently ridiculous, but is it any more silly than the Jesus Junk that is peddled by the likes of Jerry Falwell? Tune in to any evangelical program and you will find them hawking everything from prayer cloths and holy oil to Jesus Saves bumper stickers. Nobody but a country bumpkin takes televangelists seriously, most people realize that a prayer cloth has as much efficacy as an old cheese sandwich. American pop culture reigns supreme; it is only in an ironic sense that post-modern Americans believe in Christianity. Their only religious practice for the week will be to place a bid for a holy toast on Ebay or to mutter "Jesus" when someone cuts them off on the freeway. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson know that they are selling an empty religion, but as long as their version of a "holy toast" continues to beguile the ignorant few, they will not disappear from the airwaves. ------------ About the author Robert Paul Reyes: I am a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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