She's back - and just in time for Christmas!

[proud2BlibKansan]

DALLAS -- Believers are flocking to a Dallas home to see what some say is the outline of the Virgin Mary on a tree.

The outline was uncovered Saturday night on a tree in the front yard of the home.

Dozens from around the area have come to see the tree, honoring the image with candles and prayers.

The tree's owner said she's not worried about the traffic.

She said she plans to let people gather in her yard as long as they want.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/5375322/detail.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. I really need to go and find one of these!!!

I'll put it up on eBay ASAP! I could really use the money for Christmas.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I love these stories

People are so damn gullible.

[johnfunk]

38. Looks more like the Queen of the Night from Mozart's "The Magic Flute"

... in the recent production at New York's Metropolitan Opera.

It truly is a musical miracle... praise, um, er, whoever!

[shadowknows69]

3. OMG

It's Howard Stern!!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. LOL

:rofl:

[Warpy]

5. Holy Bird Shit!

that's all I could think of when I looked at that mess.

[poverlay]

6. I thought it was one of the indigo girls... n/t

[soup]

7. Didn't some guy in Texas recently find Jesus in the dirt on

his tailgate?

I think this one bears a striking resemblance to the Ghost of Christmas Past.


http://www.thehipp.org/charact.html

[kliljedahl]

15. You mean this?

Some See Jesus On Truck Tailgate

At Least 150 People Make Pilgrimage

LAREDO, Texas -- An image on a truck tailgate has sparked a new wave of religious pilgrims in Texas.

Portraits of Jesus Christ and a table full of candles surround what some are calling a miraculous image.

Believers say the face of Jesus is visible in the dirt on the tailgate.

Since word of the vision got out, at least 150 people have made a pilgrimage to visit the truck.

Some light candles, some take video or pictures and some just pray.

The truck's owner, Julio Radillo, said he isn't going to drive this truck for a while. And when he does, he'll remove the tailgate as a memento.

Radillo said he thinks the image of Christ appeared as reminder to people to strengthen their faith.

WTF???

[Mutley]

17. That looks more like one of the Beegees.

:D

[Flubadubya]

65. Naw man, that's Che Guevara on the tailgate!

:rofl:

[Mutley]

79. ...

:spray:

[soup]

22. Yep. That's it. Thanks.

A tree in Dallas, tailgate in Laredo, underpass in Chicago, window in Clearwater, grilled cheese sandwich in Miami -

If these are signs, there has to be more that I've missed or forgotten, because otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Or - Could my code cracking be at fault? Maybe it's the second letter in the words that hold the key?

Chosen at random:
A CULTIC TIC DIM SWIG I
CLIMACTIC ID WIG IT US
A SIC TIC CULT DIM WIG I
CALCITIC DIMWIT GUS I
ACIDIC MUSIC WIG TILT
SCIATIC TIC WILD GUM I
CACTI SCUD WIG I LIMIT
MILITIA SCC CUD TWIG I
MAW SILICIC CUD GIT IT
TACIT SILICIC MUD WIG
http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=atidtiluicwicgcsim

Should I have added the related stories in the article you cited? Or, I could pick and chose and surely come up with something that makes more sense than ACIDIC MUSIC WIG TILT.

* November 21, 2005: Believers Flock To Virgin Mary Tree
* October 27, 2005: Couple Says Fish Bone Bears Jesus Image
* June 16, 2005: Man Auctions 'Shower Jesus'
* June 13, 2005: 'Jesus Window' Cracks During Move To Church
* May 27, 2005: Pilgrims See Jesus' Face In Apartment Window
* December 3, 2004: Some See Jesus In Dental X-Ray

What if it's not a word puzzle at all? What if the sightings are geographic coordinates? Is it time to head to Nebraska?

[proud2BlibKansan]

54. You forgot the plate of spaghetti

on the billboard.

Jesus makes national news as the centerpiece of a Pizza Hut billboard in Atlanta. Joyce Simpson spotted the face of Christ in the advertisement immediately after praying for a divine sign. She couldn't decide whether to stay in the church choir or quit and sing professionally. The shadowy image of Jesus' face in strands of spaghetti hanging from a fork meant she should stay with the choir. John Moody, a marketing director for Pizza Hut, said the picture, one of 35 put up in the area, is a standard food photograph that the Wichita headquarters provides franchises. Moody said several people, however, called his office to say they see other notably less religious images in the picture: deceased rock star Jim Morrison, a puppet and Willie Nelson. (Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1991)

Tons more here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/electronic-publications/stay-free/5/jesus.htm

[soup]

71. So much for the Anagram theory.

Love this from your link:

1980
Oklahoma evangelist Oral Roberts spots a 900 foot Jesus straddling a hospital complex he is building next to his university. Roberts, interpreting the divine image as a plea for financial assistance, appeals to his followers and nets millions of dollars in donations. (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 8, 1992)

a 900 foot Jesus appears and Oral Roberts is the only one who notices?

I figure if it doesn't harm anyone, then let it be. But this particular 'siting' may have left some gullible person penniless.

on edit: 'siting'? there is a small possibility that I spend too much time on the internets. sheesh - s i G H t i n g.

[skygazer]

32. Looks like Davey Crockett to me

I can clearly see the coonskin cap.

[kliljedahl]

46. I thought it was Jimi

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

80. LOL

[Seabiscuit]

66. No doubt about it: that's a penguin on a floating iceberg.

[BuyingThyme]

8. She grew a beard!

[longship]

9. The country has gone totally mad.

That does it. This is the last straw. We must dealing with an unprecidented level of group insanity here. What is the cure to this?

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. It has a name: Religious Revival

they usually pass after four to five years... so we are reaching the end of it, and you are seeing th turning point in the polls.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. I saw an item on TV that said

people are trying to strip bark off of the tree, so she may be gone soon.

[longship]

33. "She" was never there.

But I wholly approve of bark being stripped off so that "she" can be gone. BTW, doesn't this take worship of icons to a new low? Wait... That was achieved with the jesus on the grilled cheese sandwich. Too bad somebody didn't dip it in a bowl of tomato soup.

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. Doesn't one of those ten commandments cover this?

You know, the one about false idols.

[Mad_Dem_X]

82. Commandments #1 and #2

"No other God before me" and "Don't worship false idols."

I always wondered what Catholics think of #2, since they pray to saints and to Mary, who were all humans.

[Skittles]

11. and we wonder how we end up with "leaders" like bush

:puke:

[NMMNG]

12. She probably put the design there herself for the publicity and money

People are so gullible it scares me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Me too Buffie

I laugh at them but they also scare me.

[NMMNG]

78. Yes....people that ignorant (and willing to spend money on such crap)

are indeed scary. :scared:

[Mugsy]

16. Just looked up and saw Elsie in the clouds. HOLY COW!

Barnyard animals in the sky! Someone get the Farm Report on the phone!

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. LOL

Elsie is trying to steal Mary's thunder.

[dkofos]

18. Break out the chain saw

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. That would be religious desecration!

[dkofos]

34. Only to the religious.

Which I am not.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Me neither

so I guess we're in the clear here.

Bring on the heresy!! :)

[CatBoreal]

19. Good Grief....

I was in Sarasota when the Virgin showed up in a pane of glass.

It was a nightmare!

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. She showed up in a backyard close to where I work

The traffic was unreal! I had to find a new route to work.

[IDemo]

20. Here's my sure-fire money making idea:

Create a frying pan with a relief image of Jesus or Mary. Fry yourself up a quantity of pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches with the miraculous imagery. Sell them on eBay.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. ROFLMAO nt

[Craig3410]

68. I'm *really* thinking of doing so.

Hey, I need money for college next semester. :evilgrin:

[TankLV]

72. That looks lilke Madona - or Elvira from that cable horror TV show.

[elehhhhna]

21. the Virgin Mary would NOT hold her dress open like that.

can't be her.

[soup]

24. LOL

So, vhat do you see in zis?



Why do we see shapes in clouds? Are there really elephants and cauliflower and ice cream castles in the air?

Why do two people who see the same cloud, see different things in it?

How do we know what we see when we see it, and what is real and what is not.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/sci122/Programs/p3/p3.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

55. Looks like a fetus

with a tail. Standing on its head.

[soup]

70. hmm. very interesting

considering it is obviously two keebler elves chopping a log with a band saw.

Guess at least one of us needs therapy. ;) :D

[TrogL]

81. THAT'S OBSCENE!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Yeah she is NO slut

LOL

[lonestarnot]

23. Oh brother... appearance of tree moss and rotted bark to me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Oh ye of little faith

:)

[lonestarnot]

73. Faith greater than a mustard seed, just not in tree moss or bark.

:7

[Seabiscuit]

67. Our Lady of the Tree Moss

[FreedomAngel82]

30. Oh good grief

[lonestarnot]

74. Charlie Brown.

[Tony_Illinois]

31. My Tailgate Looks Familiar, Too

[tabasco]

43. Bwaaaahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! Thanks for the laugh ! n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Now that apparition

is a friggin nightmare!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

35. I thought worshipping idols was forbidden by the Ten Commandments.

Especially FALSE idols. Like this mess on the tree. It looks like those ubiquitous hooded, tortured prisoners, not the Virgin Mary.

The irony, the irony.

[undeterred]

36. What century is it?

I am so confused.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

37. The 13th, the last time I checked.

Sorry if you missed that time warp back in '00. It took many people by surprise.

[undeterred]

48. Its amazing to see people operating in the 21st century

with all these different sets of mental furniture.

[nadinbrzezinski]

59. It is magical thiniing and it works

msot people don't understand how their computer works... or how the car functions... or how their tv works... or when they go on a website, how that page comes up. For many all this lack of technical knowlege is transformed into magical thinking

Remember asimov on this, any sufficiently advanced form of technology is indistinguishable from magic... and in many ways due to the failures in our educational system, we have a wide spread societal tendendcy to magical thinking...

[undeterred]

62. I think that some of the new wireless technologies play into this

I am in Information Technology and it still seems amazing to me that we can communicate via cell phones and computers that are completely unattached. But if someone doesn't understand any of it, wired or wireless makes no difference- its all magic.

Irrational thinking and modern technological magic look the same from the outside.

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. Exactly, I undestawnd how this works

more or less... and in fact disabled the IR port on my laptop to close the loop into it... love the abilty to use a wireless system but lord... you know waht I mean with all them nasties.

But my father, he is in his 80s and he is a classic for this... he truly does not know how any of this works... hell my hybrid car confuses the living daylights out of him since it looks even less like the cars he is used to driving.

[Susan43]

77. Come on, be nice

I have no idea how computers work. It does seem like magic to me, and I love being astounded by 'talking' to people all over the world through a process I don't have a clue about.

BUT! that does not mean I see religious figures in sandwiches, on tree bark or tailgates. I only see them in clouds, so you see I'm not one of those idiots flocking to FLA or TX. :rofl:

But seriously, just because one doesn't understand the latest technology doesn't mean they are luddites or believe in magic. They might just be like me...old.

[Obamarama]

41. Why do I have a hunch the owner isn't a Lutheran named Olafsson?

With absolutely no disrespect to Catholics or Hispanics, I am willing to bet this is in the yard of a Catholic Hispanic. I have a very close friend who is a Catholic Hispanic and his mother always wants to make a pilgrimage to these "sightings." Even HE jokes about it. These images are never discovered by Sven Olafsson the Lutheran, Stavros Panapoulous the Greek Orthodox, or Betty Smith the Epsicopalian. It's always Jose or Juanita someone or other the Catholic.

If these heavenly beings really had the omnipotent power to make themselves visible to the mortal world, don't you think they'd appear in the sky so EVERYONE could see them, as opposed to the sides of buildings, trees, and grilled-cheese sandwiches for crying out loud?

[proud2BlibKansan]

57. Remember that scene in Born in East L.A.?

Where the lady thought Jesus was in her phone? LOL

[Obamarama]

42. Wait...that's not the Virgin Mary!! It's Joan of Bark!!!

Okay....watching for lightning bolts....

[Milspec]

49. Thank God

some one else from DU is going to Hell with me! LOL

[mandomom]

44. Our mother of the bark.

[Mz Pip]

45. Looks like Darth Vadar to me

right after he was constructed, rising up off the table.

Maybe George Lucas is really God and this is his way of showing us. :eyes:

Mz Pip
:dem:

[leftofthedial]

47. you HAVE to be 'shitting me

[ComerPerro]

50. Man, there's nothing I hate more than when a bunch of

partisan, radical extremists come from all over the country to Texas so they can gather on the side of a road and focus their agenda.

Or, at least, that's what the fundies were telling me, back in August...

[proud2BlibKansan]

58. Good one Comer!

:rofl:

[Cleita]

51. Well, considering that Mary, as she is venerated today, is

another avatar of the Great Earth Mother of earlier times, it would seem appropriate that her image would show up on a tree. :-)

[iconoclastNYC]

53. Bullshit with Penn and Teller

Did such a good segment on thier show about these supposed miracles.

The funniest thing is the tightwire act the big churches do to not endorse them and not piss off thier crazy follwers who believe in them.

[walldude]

60. What is it with Jesus and Mary spending so much time

in Texas?

[Deja Q]

61. Termites? Dutch elm disease? Why would Miss Mary play with bacteria,

when she can play with Western "culture" humanity instead? A species that makes gonorrhea bacteria seem utterly benign by comparison.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

64. Somebody should come up with a Jesus or Virgin Mary grill

that would emboss those images on grilled cheese sandwiches, French toast and pancakes. Like a George Foreman grill that got religion.

[countingbluecars]

69. Quick, get a patent.

Sounds like a money maker to me.

[IDemo]

76. Ahemm...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5453408&mesg_id=5454613

[Roland99]

75. Wow. How easily the gullible are led.

All because of a mistranslation millions believe Mary was actually a virgin.