Sunday, October 12, 2008

Exit 9 NJTurnpike - South River Jesus



Since 1683, this town has been named South River Landing, Willettstown, Washington, Washington Village, Washington Woods, Little Washington and finally in 1897 everyone agreed on South River. All the name changes will make your head spin and probably accounts for the name not appearing on the Exit 9 sign.





Also head spinning is the dual portrait of Jesus here. At one end of the spectrum is the Jesus at the center of St. Mary of Ostrabrama Roman Catholic Church. Surrounded by majestic angels, he holds up the written word evoking the words of John 1:1.

In sharp contrast, South River also gives rise (or perhaps fall) to Jesus Bomb, the punk band. Vocalist Danny credits Pope John Paul as a musical influence and states: "god is dead, lies in truth are in my head..." His goal is to play CBGB. Truth is CBGB is closed and worshipers still gather at St. Mary of Osbrabrama Roman Catholic Church.






John 1
The Word Became Flesh:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.


St. Mary’s interior photo courtesy of Oleg Shpak from
http://www.niteart.com/

4 comments:

Gigi said...

Oh my...I had to google CBGB because I'd never heard of it! I much prefer the "stained glass Jesus" to the "Jesus Bomb!"

Caleb Henry said...

Have you heard this band? What is the significance of their name? The only thing it brings to mind for me is the T-shirts that say "Who Would Jesus Bomb?"

Nathan said...

Thanks for popping in and saying hi. I like your blog! What a creative concept! Very cool.

Elizabeth said...

Hi there and thanks for visiting my blog yesterday. I'm pleased that my love for my children comes out in my blog---they're my greatest treasures! I've read through a few of your posts. Very interesting. I'll have to come back when I have more time to read.