OK, have you been following the Virgin Mary story out in Chicago? Well, it seems when the Holy Mother isn’t busy appearing on toasted cheese sandwiches, she forms a vision from the salt deposits of runoff water underneath a Chicago underpass. So of course, the seriously nutty faithful have been visitng the “shrine”, creating a nuisance and a possible public safety / traffic risk, and placing candles, portraits, flowers, offerings, and other bric-a-brac around the apparition.

Well, now somebody has come along and spray-painted “BIG LIE” across the apparition. According to CNN, “Authorities charged Victor Gonzalez, 37, of Chicago, Illinois, with criminal damage to state property, a misdemeanor.” Our Writ-favorite atheist, Brent, breaks it down at Unscrewing the Inscrutable

How is the words “big lie” painted across a salt runoff stain under an underpass considered “criminal damage to state property”, but the gigantimongous collection of (Dangerous! Fire hazard!) candles and other religious paraphenelia isn’t?

Which reminds me of my paradox of the Christian Roadside Litter.

I’ve been railing against the phenomenon of “Christian Roadside Litter” for years. Why is it that if I take two sticks, some twine, and some paper and throw them out my window along the highway, I would be arrested for littering, but if I fashion the sticks and twine into a cross and the paper consists of a memorial to a drunk-driving victim, I will never be hassled and my “Christian Roadside Litter” will remain undisturbed for years?

And why is it always crosses on the highway roadsides? You never see Stars of David, Crescents & Stars, Buddha or Vishnu statuettes, yin-yang symbols, etc. It would lead one to think that perhaps Christians are just lousy drivers…

…aha! Maybe that explains the little IXOYE-fish design so popular on the back of Christian’s cars! It’s a warning: Back Off! Christian Driver at the wheel!