Baptist church says it is removing a statue of Jesus because it looks 'Catholic'

An artist who created a seven-foot statue of Jesus for the Red Bank Baptist Church in Lexington, South Carolina, received a curious letter in the mail from the church's pastor, who warned him that the work of art would soon be removed because it looked too "Catholic."

In addition to carving the statue of Christ, Delbert Baker Jr. also created several reliefs surrounding it, showing scenes from the life of Jesus. Pastor Jeff Wright sent Baker a letter that said the statue and reliefs were coming down because "we have discovered that there are people that view the art as Catholic in nature," The Guardian reports. The letter also stated that Baker had until Thursday to remove the outdoor statue and reliefs himself, otherwise everything would be destroyed.

Baker responded by explaining that the statue of Jesus is "represented as though he is stepping outside of the building, not just confined to the idleness of inner walls. Under each arm, the reliefs depict scriptural and historical events that we as Christians believe represent the life of Christ." He said it made no sense for the statue to be removed, and because he had been "obedient to my Lord in creating it," he had to "respectfully decline to take part in its removal."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up