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The 200-ft Jesus of Iron MountainOne Man’s Attempt to Bring Redemption from Environmental Disaster
Ted Arman wants to bring business and religion back to his all but abandoned mine. His success could be an important victory for both faith and the environment.
According to the EPA, the Iron Mountain mine in Redding, California is one of the most toxic locations in the United States. It has been the target of millions of dollars and over 20 years of clean up. According to the mine’s owner, Ted Arman, the site has the potential to become a “Garden of Eden,” complete with a 200-foot statue of Jesus Christ perched upon its summit. Environmental ConcernsThe Iron Mountain mine has been closed since 1983, when it was selected for clean up as an uncontrolled disaster area under the EPA Superfund. Over a hundred years of pit mining, minerals exposed to oxygen and rainwater combined to form a highly toxic sludge. The mine contains the world’s most acidic water. The EPA constructed a water treatment plant in 1994, and has since been working to reduce the impact of mine drainage on local ecosystems. Arman’s PlanArman believes that the sludge being treated by the EPA can be separated into pure water and precious minerals using new “green” mining technology. Alongside this new form of mineral extraction, Arman wants to build the world’s largest statue of Jesus on the 3500-foot peak. The new statue would be 70 feet taller than the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. The plan, recently reviewed in the Redding Record Searchlight, has risen more than a few eyebrows. It seems the combination of old time religion and edgy technology on a dangerously toxic site evokes nervous, bemused skepticism. Would Jesus Clean Up a Mine Site?Arman’s theological insight, while simple, is profound. Beyond the corniness of a gigantic marble Jesus overlooking a new mining operation is an important message to Christianity. Jesus cares about the redemption of the earth. Jesus would clean up a toxic mine site. The Federal Government has made taken interest in the Iron Mountain mine disaster and made a dramatic presence. Why shouldn’t this disaster pique the attention of a compassionate God, and call for the dramatic appearance of a deity? If Arman is successful, his work could prove to be a powerful precedent and tremendous symbol for Christian environmentalism. And if a combination of faith and good technology can turn an environmental disaster into beautiful and productive land, it is one more source of hope for all of humanity in the face of global environmental crisis. Now all that’s left to see is whether Ted Arman can wisely pull it off.
The copyright of the article The 200-ft Jesus of Iron Mountain in Protestantism is owned by Nathaniel Ogden Kidd. Permission to republish The 200-ft Jesus of Iron Mountain in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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