A nasty tornado ripped through Hattiesburg, Mississippi yesterday morning, but a statue of Jesus on the campus of William Carey University (a Christian college) wasn’t affected. It was apparently a big enough deal that WDAM TV featured the image on its Facebook page:

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say the statue didn’t budge because it’s really damn heavy…

Yet some of the top comments on that post were from people praising God for the miracle:

NOTHING can defeat the power of GOD… The world rests on the Word of God!!! He’s all powerful, Amen! … Why did it stand when there was so much devastation? No one knows. Most of us believe it is a sign. … This is so inspiring. How can people doubt our loving and faithful God. He truly protected the students today. Thank you God.

Here’s why looking to that statue as a sign from God makes no sense at all: The article that post links to — directing readers to WDAM’s own website — describes the destruction and deaths left in the tornado’s wake:

Four people are dead… The death toll is expected to rise, and multiple injuries have been reported in the area, according to the Hattiesburg Police Department. … Extensive damage has been reported on Arledge Street near the Hattiesburg Police Department. Damage is evident for multiple blocks. There are reports of structures destroyed, roofs missing and downed trees and power lines. William Carey also took a major hit from the storm. … Multiple gas lines have been ruptured and are broken in downtown Hattiesburg and Petal. Lines are actively leaking. Mississippi Power and other utility crews are working to restore services. … The Living Word Church on Tatum Road by PCS took significant damage from the storm.

You get the idea. There’s damage everywhere. People are dead. The Christian college’s campus wasn’t spared. Neither was a local church.

But a heavy statue is still standing, so God must be looking out for us!

If only God cared about His own (supposed) creations as much as he did an inanimate statue…



