Why do people believe Jesus appears on pancakes, screen doors and trees?

[AnArmyVeteran]

I understand we all have a need to believe in something, but when I hear of Jesus or Mother Mary's picture on a pancake I think it's ridiculous. A few years ago a pancake was on sale on Ebay and it's price went up into the thousands of dollars. And then a few weeks later a guy was selling a frying pan with the same image of Jesus etched in the middle so it would make a Jesus picture on anything you cooked in it.

In my opinion, the people who fall for such nonsense are Christian extremists who see 'religion' in everything. Everything is black and white, even though we live our lives almost entirely in that vast gray area in between.

Would you buy a Jesus pancake or Mary muffin?

[msongs]

1. cuz it gets them attention? nt

[Mike K]

9. It starts with a primordial fear of death. . .

[Bitwit1234]

36. Better yet they think they can cash in on some stupid's belief

that it is true...money money money.

[bigtree]

2. what is with the obsessive need of some folks to question others' religious beliefs?

I don't get it.

[WolverineDG]

13. the need to feel superior to someone else nt

[AnArmyVeteran]

15. Religious beliefs are different that religious lunacy...

Like I said in my opening post, I understand a person's desire to believe in something. But to have all your faith in a picture of 'Jesus' on a pancake is not a belief, it's insane. When ask questions I am trying to understand. If we don't ask questions about other people's beliefs then how can we understand each other?

I don't get praying to a pancake, but I live in world mostly full of reality, not deranged beliefs that a son of god would actually appear on a pancake. What kind of deviant would he be? Wouldn't a god who is 'all knowing' and 'always was and always will be' be able to come up with something more clever than having his son appear on a pancake? Good grief, If I was a Christian and saw people believing in Jesus on a pancake as a sign of god I would think those people were stupid, ignorant and possibly mentally imbalanced.

[DeSwiss]

68. "a picture of 'Jesus' on a pancake is not a belief, it's insane..."

Religion is insane.

- Don't believe me? Read the bible.

[Iggo]

52. The satisfaction of pointing and laughing at crazy people.

[historian]

71. simple really

those who are religious (or claim to be) in particular Christians, believe it is their duty to convert everyone around to their own particular brand of beliefs. That fact that the whole Jesus story is really nothing more than fairy tales and wishful thinking doesn't deter them. That by itself is not a problem if they kept their ideas to themselves but they don't and the result is massive ignorance, prejudice, intolerance, hatred and wars. As a an atheist i constantly question peoples ideas re religion and answer their arguments with logic and rational thinking with one point in mind - if i can persuade one person that the whole religious nonsense is precisely that, nonsense, then perhaps it might spread and the world would be a better place.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Because he likes syrup, breezes, and a good view. nt

[hlthe2b]

4. Who do people (often the same) believe anything that Sarah Palin says

:shrug:

[AnArmyVeteran]

17. Sarah followers & Jesus pancake worshippers are the same people!!!

[kevinbgoode]

5. heck, I'd be happy if he'd just appear three times

on a slot machine. . .

hahaha

[RKP5637]

22. LOL

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Bluzmann57]

6. Would I buy a Jesus pancake?

If it were edible I might. Pancakes and maple syrup are quite good.

[AnArmyVeteran]

20. But would you eat the son of god in any form he choose to appear in?

I don't care if you do add maple syrup on it, I don't think dining on Jesus is right!

I like pancakes too and my Dad's pancakes were so good and light they seem to hover over the plates. The best in the world. But after making tens of thousands of pancakes not one of them had Jesus's face on them. I guess my Dad wasn't a strong enough believer eh?

[Bluzmann57]

25. Of course I wouldn't eat the "son of god"

in any form he appeared in. If he, she, it, appeared in human form I most certainly would not eat it because I'm not a cannibal. But if the form appears in pancakes or veggies or cow meat or whatever, I certainly will eat it if I'm hungry.
And as far as your dad's pancakes are concerened, I'm sure they were excellent and I'm glad you had a chance to enjoy them. I don't know about his faith. But as long as he was (is) a good dad, that's all that matters. And it sounds like he did a good job.

[LooseWilly]

43. John 6:57- Jesus says "... so he who eats me shall live because of me."

Oxford Study Edition The New English Bible, Oxford University Press.

Obviously, from scripture, it is only those who get a pancake, or a grilled cheese sandwich, or what have you, with a Jesus on it... and who then proceed to consume said Jesusy foodstuff... only those who are thusly blessed will go to Heaven ("shall live").

The rest of us are obviously going to hell. It says so in the Bible.


**Edited to add: Happy Easter, I'll see you all in Hell. :)**

[notadmblnd]

49. What do you think communion is all about?

people eating Jesus left and right. Stuffing those tasteless wafers in their mouths and washing it down with wine.

[Iggo]

54. Catholics do it every week!

[Tesha]

38. A pancake that makes you say "Oh God! Oh God!". Now *THAT* is a good pancake!

"I'll have what she's having."

[niceypoo]

55. You could eat it for communion

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

7. sometimes Mary and Jesus have nothing better to do

[wickerwoman]

8. Because they live in a dark, ignorant world

and they take comfort from thinking they're at the center of it?

I used to go to a dieting website where half of the support groups are "Christian-based" and where almost daily you would see a post from some poor woman who ate a donut and wanted help praying to God for forgiveness.

I can't imagine living with a mindset that the creator of the universe gave a shit that you ate a donut. But it works for some people, I guess. There must be some comfort in thinking your caloric intake has cosmic significance.

Likewise, if you're poorly educated and live in a small town with no prospects of getting out, I guess it would be comforting to think God would single you out for a special message and you would look for that message in the banal props of your daily life.

That or it's yearning back to the days when Mom would make a smiley face on your pancakes with chocolate chips or lay the carrots on your sandwich so it looked like a bunny rabbit.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. Think of all the lucky people who lived prior to the invention of

the doughnut... they had little to fear indeed, little to be sorry for unless of course you consider the crusades and other righteous endeavors.

[AnArmyVeteran]

21. I think you discovered the link: Momma's smiley faces triggered Jesus pancakes...

[EFerrari]

11. My aunt sees the Virgin of Guadalupe in her livingroom drywall

and she's not an extremist. She's just bored.

But, frankly, I think sense is overrated. And while I avoid carbs, I wouldn't mind a visitation, especially midweek when things are slow in case anyone is taking orders.

[uberllama42]

69. Specifically the Virgin of Guadalupe?

I always wonder why those sightings are so specific. So often, it's not just the Virgin Mary, but a specific manifestation of her.

Very silly.

[Catshrink]

12. Maybe they just like making shit up.

Personally, I prefer Mickey on my pancakes:

[Flubadubya]

14. Well, here he is on a "you-know-what"...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kXnVoQ9ZFkQ/SYKdxjPeFFI/AAAAAAAAHTc/44VdhAn6Sl0/s400/jesus+dog+ass.jpg

[AnArmyVeteran]

31. Now, I FINALLY believe!!!

That is the funniest thing I've seen. But by saying that I hope I am not being disrespectful to the son of god.

Thanks for the laugh! Have you thought about selling the dog on Ebay?

[LooseWilly]

46. Again... John 6:57 "... he who eats me shall live ..."

Jesus has a funny sense of humor, I guess... :tinfoilhat:

[Solomon]

51. You guys are killing me!

:rofl:

[historian]

72. looking for a quickie

That seems like a good way to encourage some oral sex! Very sneaky think ill try it one day.

[RagAss]

16. The painful emptiness of their lives.

[AnArmyVeteran]

23. I DO feel so empty and insignificant because Jesus never appeared on amy of my pancakes.

I guess not making a pancake with Jesus on it means I am not in good graces with the son of god. Maybe if I prayed more I could get Jesus to appear.

[KonaKane]

18. You're missing the bigger picture.

It is, on it's face, kinda looney to think that people see the images of their gods in the most rudimentary of daily objects. But you are focused on the wrong thing...not what they see but WHY they see it. Humans respond to needs. Miracles, images visions or whatever you call them are very natural and quite compelling responses to needs that may come from the physical world or a spiritual drive. Why have visions of Mother Mary been seen by multitudes during wars and bloodlettings? The answer is obvious. It was a cry for peace and security. Nothing real strange about that.

If you have a few minutes, I urge you to listen to this I was emailed from a friend some time ago. It is a piece from a modern storyteller (with some cool harp in the background) called "The Miracle Tree" that speaks directly to your OP.

http://www.irminsul.biz/audio/MiracleTree.mp3

[AnArmyVeteran]

Thanks KonaKane, what part of Kona do you live?

[AnArmyVeteran]

24. Thanks KonaKane, what part of Kona do you live?

[KonaKane]

42. We're just up the hill from downtown Kailua Kona

"Mauka" as they say on the islands ("toward the mountains") about a mile from the beach.

[AnArmyVeteran]

58. We had a house a half mile from the water overlooking Kona, but my brother became sick so we moved.

We left the house and all our belongings to help my brother during his last two years fighting lymphoma. My older brother and sister sacrificed nothing. They didn't spend a penny to help him. But both of them are ultra right wing conservatives and of course, 'Christians'. They are typical of conservative Christians I have seen. They do nothing for others. They are selfish. They hate the poor and those who have empathy and compassion. I would hate to be a conservative christian. They are evil.

[KonaKane]

62. I'm really sorry to hear that.

You are a good man for sticking with your sick brother through his last days. Even though I am not a Christian, it is truly disheartening to see so many of "the fold" cleave to such nasty, selfish and anti-human behaviors. To me, they fly right in the face of Christianity on all levels. I do not use them to judge Christians. That would be a poor litmus test, as well as prejudicial. I like to judge people on their own actions and content of their own character, regardless of what they profess to believe (or not).

[Paper Roses]

19. Ebay n/t

[Odin2005]

26. The mental lives of the vast majority of Humanity is stuck in Bronze Age superstition.

Scratch the surface of the average modern Westerner and you expose a mental core that hasn't changed in 5,000 years.

[Ernesto]

29. works for me nt

[RKP5637]

30. It this ever a true statement!!! Bush brought home to me the reality of how

backward the US is... technology moved forward and the rest stayed back...

[RKP5637]

27. Good products for eBay! Me, I would rather eat a pancake than look at it!

:) :) :)

[AnArmyVeteran]

34. I found the site for the Jesus frying pan, so you can create your own miracles...

http://www.jesuspan.com/

[RKP5637]

39. A miracle with every meal! I could open a Diner and call it "Miracle Meal Diner." LOL

This stuff just amazes me, and the people buying it have to be a little short of a full deck of cards IMO.

[provis99]

28. because subconsciously, they don't believe that religion crap.

They want to believe that religion is true, but they really don't, and so try to find Jesus in everything to convince themselves that religion is true.

[applegrove]

32. I saw Jesus in a little doodle I did while I was talking on the phone. I believe that a man called

Jesus walked the earth and was a great egg but I don't believe he was the son of god. Still, I saw a bearded man on a squiggle and you automatically call it Jesus, even if you don't believe cause everybody else sees Jesus in things.

[Onceuponalife]

33. You just answered your own question...

It's all about the Benjamins.

[Vickers]

35. I saw George Harrison on a fajita one time. n/t

[notadmblnd]

37. I've always wondered why they wear crosses around their necks

Like it's the first thing that Christ would want to see if he were to come back.:crazy:

[RKP5637]

45. Darn, that was perceptive and clever, and true!!! I'm going to use that line

too a few times if OK. I know some would be pissed, but it really made me laugh...

[notadmblnd]

47. Sure, I use it on Christians all the time. I even asked my mother. She was speachless.

[RKP5637]

48. Thanks! It's just an incredible line. n/t

[Lance_Boyle]

53. It's a quote from the late, great Bill Hicks - credit where it's due. n/t

[notadmblnd]

56. Well thank you for that. But I'm sure he wasn't the only person to think of it

Do you know if the words were copy wright-ed?

[stranger81]

40. because they are batshit fucking crazy.

Pardon my French.

[malaise]

57. +1,000 n/t

[gleaner]

41. You forgot the Jesus Grilled cheese sandwich ...

It also was sold on ebay.;) I don't think all of the people who read these images on to ordinary things are necessarily extremists. I do agree that they have a need to believe in something and maybe big empty places inside of themselves that they have to fill by "seeing" Jesus in places or things that they are around on an everyday basis. I would call it a kind of extreme loneliness for something better that they think religion promises them. I don't understand it, but I feel kind of sorry for them. For one thing, what happens when the pancake or sandwich gets so old it starts to mold? How many people who see Jesus in edible things could stick it down the garbage disposal or put it in the solid waste can. It would be a quandary for them.

[AnArmyVeteran]

59. If they can worship a grilled cheese sandwich they are stupid & gullible...

putting them at the front of the line of idiotic conservative christians.

[ZombieHorde]

66. Grilled cheese sandwiches are tangible and can feed the hungry.

They are more worthy of worship than any traditional god.

[SidDithers]

44. Get 'em while they're hot....

Sid

[Toasterlad]

50. "I Know I Musn't Eat Thee....."

"Mmmmmmmm.....sacrelicious."

[H2O Man]

60. Optical Delusions

are fairly common among desperate populations.

[northernlights]

61. I wouldn't buy one, but I'd sure sell one

how can I make them? How can I make them seem "real?" Seriously. I need the money.

[pokerfan]

64. You just need the right toaster

What you do with your http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/04/cnc_toast_facto/">CNC Toast Printer is your own business.

[omega minimo]

63. Frying pan guy sounds more like a Capitalist Extremist.

[Skeeve]

65. Now I'm hungry for pancakes n/t

[Beartracks]

67. What if you see Lenin on your shower curtain??

The technical term is "pareidolia". More about that phenomenon, and the Lenin face, here:
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/lenin.html

------------------

[historian]

73. The devil put him there!

While we are comfortably tucked into our little beds the devil produces his work with brush and paint. The little devil (forgive the play on words) never ceases!

[iris27]

70. Because evolution has primed us to be exceptionally good at pattern recognition, to the point

where we often see patterns in completely random phenomena.

Why do people believe it's a miracle/visitation? :shrug: Probably for the same reason that Grandma's remission from cancer is deemed "a miracle", while Grandpa's death from heart disease is because "God needed another angel". People are comforted by believing that something bigger than them is out there and having a real, supernatural impact on the world.

[jmm]

74. For the same reason some believe Michael Jackson appeared in a tree stump.

http://cbs13.com/local/michael.jackson.tree.2.1072797.

.....

Many people in the crowd who gathered to look at the stump Sunday afternoon saw the resemblance, but why would Michael Jackson appear instead of a religious figure -- or even any of the other celebrities who recently passed away?

"Because Michael Jackson was an icon to us," said one neighbor. "To Stockton, Michael Jackson meant more to us than Jesus, to some people. I think they're both about even."

.....

Many of these claims really are just made for publicity or money but the true believers would rather believe that something extraordinary happened to them than they just saw a random pattern.