Swiebodzin, Poland Hopes New Jesus Statue Will Draw Tourists (PHOTOS)

There's a new largest statue in the world, and it comes in the form of Jesus Christ in the small Polish town of Swiebodzin, according to Reuters.

Roughly 15,000 people, tourists and pilgrims alike, flocked to the town on Sunday for the statue's unveiling.

The statue, the idea of a local Roman Catholic priest, stands at 33 meters (108 feet)--3 meters taller than Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer.

Tourists have already begun arriving from Germany (the town is 55 miles from the border).

Take a look at the statue below and let us know what you think!

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Workers prepare to lift a 32-ton head and shoulders to top a giant concrete and metal statue of Jesus in Swiebodzin. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Workers prepare to lift a 32-ton head and shoulders to top a giant concrete and metal statue of Jesus in Swiebodzin.

(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Fine Insane!

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Comments

[ashabot]

10:51 PM on 11/24/2010

I think it's just plain st00ped.

[BlueMahler]

09:09 PM on 11/23/2010

While the statue borders on kitsch, the harsh criticisms and "controversy" surrounding it are reflective of prevailing priorities.

In response to comments like " The money that was spent on this could have gone to the poor." I would ask, so the money that we spend or sports arenas and entertainment could go to the poor as well?

Why do we home in on a work of art, inspired by an artistically expressed faith, with such criticisms?

While this work cannot compare to Michelangelo, it is the result of spirituality creatively expressed, whether that appeals or not.

To responses such as "It is idolatry." I would ask, that, by those standards, isn't going to a movie in an Imax theater, before a 50 foot image, idolatry as well? Coloring books, celebrity posters, magazines, tv, and the ten commandments, placed on a wall,are all idols.

The statue is hardly any more or less kitsch than the barrage of images we have before us daily.

Why then the "controversy?" We place more value in putting money into a sporting arena.

As for, the depiction of Jesus, who may not look like "Your" Jesus, I would ask, who cares?

If you are a white then image Jesus as white, if you are a woman then image a woman, if you are an African, then image an African, If you are a three-legged grasshopper then image Jesus as a three-legged grasshopper.

Anti-art and anti-spirituality are norm.

[MajorKong]

06:38 AM on 11/23/2010

50% more Jesus than the other leading brand.

[JoeGolden]

03:36 AM on 11/23/2010

thank God he is still a w hite guy...........................................

[GerryS]

01:04 AM on 11/23/2010

no,

bible spice can see it from her house----------------

[katylied]

11:49 PM on 11/22/2010

Ha! Stephen Colbert, "We're gonna need a bigger Jesus." ;)

[Peace Walker]

05:55 PM on 11/22/2010

If you build it, they will come... no matter what it is.

[Mikeystyle]

05:26 PM on 11/22/2010

That wouldn't last in Texas....

The Texas Board of Education announced Monday that it will order new Bibles for Texas schools that remove all references to Jesus on the grounds that his teachings are “too liberal” for the classroom. The changes will likely impact Bibles sold throughout the U.S. because Texas buys more Bibles than any other state.

The board approved the changes in a 10 to 5 party-line vote with unanimous support from Republicans. Dr. Don McLeroy, a dentist and leader of the board’s conservative faction, said the changes were approved without any input from theologians, in keeping with the board’s practice of editing schoolbooks on its own and ignoring experts.

“I know there’s folks who will say we in Texas have no business teaching religion in the classroom, well frankly a bunch of ignorant zealots like us have no business meddling with textbooks either but that’s didn’t stop us from doing so,” McLeroy said. “Here in the republic of Texas we don’t give a lick what the rest of the country thinks, unless of course we need federal money or help with stuff like hurricanes.”

While the move to strike Jesus from the Bible took some board members by surprise, McLeroy said it was important to restore a sense of conservative balance to what he called “an awfully preachy book.”

(continued…)

http://www.thechicagodope.com/2010/07/12/jesus-removed-from-texas-bibles/

[jessivehadit]

04:44 PM on 11/22/2010

Jesus.

[Moderate Independent]

04:36 PM on 11/22/2010

The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio appears to be more durable and its perch on a hillside makes it look more magnificent. I just hope these statues do not become the target of moslem extremists, like the beautiful, ancient Bhudda statues that were destroyed in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

[NoWMDs]

03:44 PM on 11/22/2010

They probably can see Russia from up there.

[kmichal2000]

03:27 PM on 11/22/2010

Everyone knows that the country with the biggest Jesus wins.

Mathew 4 20: "Size matters"

[Knowbetter]

03:05 PM on 11/22/2010

[Insert joke here.]

[Indigo1941]

02:43 PM on 11/22/2010

That's fine. Poland wasn't on my must-visit list anyhow.

[DesertRatzoRizzo]

02:36 PM on 11/22/2010

Jesus is not my lord. I would never go to see this (and I'm Polish).