Church altar smites devout Catholic

[Christa]

Austrian crushed after popping in to thank God

If this is not enough proof that there is no god, then I don't know.


A devout Catholic who popped into church to thank God for a his rescue from a lift was crushed to death by a 860lb stone altar, the Telegraph reports.

Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger explained that Gunther Link, 45, was "a very religious man and had been scared when he was trapped in the lift and had prayed for release".

He continued: "A short while later he was pulled out of the elevator and he went straight to the church to thank God."

Link was reported missing by his cousin, and found the next day by parishioners going to Mass at the Weinhaus Church in Vienna.

Hahslinger concluded: "He seems to have embraced a stone pillar on which the stone altar was perched and it fell on him, killing him instantly. We have found his fingerprints on the pillar. We are now investigating the case further."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/10/devout_catholic/

[Ian David]

1. JesusFAIL. n/t

[hobbit709]

2. Yahweh 0-Gravity 1

[LuvNewcastle]

3. The Weinhaus Church -- sounds like "Winehouse."

Was Amy hiding behind that pillar?

[Silent3]

4. We shouldn't be laughing at this.

Please, do as I say, not as I do.

I'm going to have to avoid irony for the rest of the day. I've reached the maximum safe daily dosage already.

[intheflow]

5. Dude, when it's your time to go, it's your time to go. n/t

[CoffeeCat]

6. Wow, just what exactly...

...did that man do while he was trapped in that elevator?

[struggle4progress]

7. Nothing quite beats a guy being crushed to death, when you need a jolly laugh, eh?

Of course, the source is The Telegraph, so the headline says "stone altar" but the text says "ancient 860 lb monument"

Maybe The Telegraph got the story from Ananova: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3477474.html?menu=news.quirkies

Meanwhile, the Austrian Times says he was outside, not inside, and cites a 400 lb grave stone, not an 800 lb altar:
Man crushed to death by 200-kilo gravestone
By William Green
Police are investigating after a 40-year-old was killed when a 200-kilo gravestone fell on top of him ...
http://www.austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2009-09-09/16236/Man_crushed_to_death_by_200-kilo_gravestone

There's a picture with the Ananova story; I might not take it too seriously, since I don't have a high opinion of Ananova as a source

[Deep13]

24. I'm not laughing, but the irony is inescapable.

Anyway, I don't believe thoughts or feelings can be "sinful" however one defines that.

[struggle4progress]

8. You don't have a link in German, by any chance? No? Why am I not surprised?

[moggie]

10. Here's one in Heute

http://www.heute.at/news/oesterreich/wien/Wiener-40-von-Steinmarterl-erschlagen-;art931,109667

He was killed by a "Steinmarterl":



And his age appears to have changed. Really, why does anyone trust the press?

Google translates:

In his family home at the Naaffgasse in Wahring the elevator was stuck, Guenther L. (40) was caught. Der gläubige Katholik betete für seine Rettung – und wurde erhört: Die Feuerwehr rückte an, befreite den Wiener aus seiner misslichen Lage. The devout Catholic, prayed for his salvation - and was heard: The fire department moved, freed from the Vienna of his predicament. In tiefer Demut ging er noch am selben Tag zur Weinhaus-Kirche an der Gentzgasse 142, um zu beten. With deep humility, he went on the same day at the Wine House Church Gentzgasse 142, to pray.

L. Gunther gratefully embraced one of the heavy, massive Steinmarterl behind the church. Dann geschah das Unglück: Der mehrere Hundert Kilo schwere Bildstock kippte um, begrub den Währinger unter sich. Then the accident: The several hundred-pound shrine was turned upside down, buried his Währinger among themselves. „Der Mann erlitt Brüche und innere Blutungen. "The man suffered fractures and internal bleeding. Er wurde regelrecht zerquetscht“, schildert ein Beamter den furchtbaren Unfall. He was literally crushed, "says an official of the terrible accident. Ein Passant entdeckte das Opfer und schlug Alarm. A passerby discovered the victim and raised the alarm. Doch es war bereits zu spät: Günther L. konnte nicht mehr gerettet werden. But it was already too late: Günther L. could not be saved.

Not only the ways of the Lord, but also the statements by the police, however, are sometimes inscrutable: For them, this tragic accident in the file that is running under "suicide" ...

If he was praying at a grave, I'd guess it was of a family member - possibly someone who knew that same elevator.

[struggle4progress]

11. Steinmarterl means something like "Roadside Stone," I think: maybe not an actual grave

but some type of commemorative marker

[struggle4progress]

17. It's fascinating that the story reports the alleged behavior of the alleged victim at the time

of the alleged accident, but also indicates no one was there is witness it!

One of the stories claims the man's fingerprints were found on the broken pillar -- but the photo shows rough stone, which wouldn't take an identifiable impression

[struggle4progress]

20. Church website says there's an old road behind the church, along which Rochus Haas

placed a number of sculptures related to the rosary, finishing in 1892. The parish website refers to schedule changes "Due to the tragic incident last weekend on Rosenkranzweg"

[bvar22]

9. Just the baby jesus...

...calling one of his children home.

I'm not religious, but this isn't proof of no god.
You will die someday too.
In this case, it says death was instant.
I hope you are so lucky.

[Evoman]

12. Poor guy.

What a shitty piece of luck.

Lady luck is a harsh mistress.

[rrneck]

13. I read(?) somewhere once that the difference

between tragic and Tragedy is that if a tree falls on a man, that's tragic. If it falls on him because of who he is it's Tragedy.

[sakabatou]

14. I nominate this for a Darwin Award

[roguevalley]

15. poor man. not a good sign if you can find mockery appropriate here.

[sakabatou]

19. I'm not finding mockery

It's something else: Irony.

[laconicsax]

21. That's not grounds for a Darwin award.

Darwin awards are given to people who kill themselves or render themselves sterile as a direct result of their own stupidity. Ironic deaths don't count.

[sakabatou]

22. Oh. Didn't know that.

Scratch the award then.

[Evoman]

16. I don't think he did anything really stupid. It was just an accident.

[DeSwiss]

18. Massive stein marterl, or massive stone shrine....

...have been around for sometime. They are the so-called "Standing Stones" as described in the OT of the bible. The cults of Yahweh (AKA: "God-Jesus"), Baal, Shamash, Anath, Mot and El. All the peoples of the Levant worshiped one or more of these gods and their respective standing stones. They are (more plainly put), a religious phallic symbol. The true and original symbol of The Patriarchy.

And so this is very likely not the first time such a "mishap" has occurred to one of Yahweh's faithful.

For a people devoted to Yehouah in a land from 1200 BC for 1300 years, only one of 502 local place names in Israel and Judah had Yehouah in it. Yet Canaanite gods and goddesses, such as Baal, Shamash, Anath and Mot, anathema to the Jews of the bible, are common. About one in nine is in El, the chief Canaanite god, whose name had come to mean God. The Exodus Israelites could have called places anything they liked. Why chose Canaanite names of gods that Yehouah rails against constantly. Why not change all the names they hated? Some say it would have been taking the name of Yehouah in vain. So, it should never have been done in personal names either. In fact, everywhere had been named before the exclusive devotion to Yehouah was introduced when the Persians did it. All the places in the hill country had already been named by the local people, Canaanites, long before.

According to the bible, a popular Canaanite inspired apostasy from the cult of Yehouah was the worship of “masseboth” or standing stones. Eight of the Israelite cult places surveyed by Zevit featured standing stones, but hundreds have been found in the Negev and Sinai. They appear singly, but also in twos, threes, fives, sevens, nines, twelves, and even more. When there are two, one is often tall and the other shorter and squatter, and, sometimes, in the groups of threes, the third is a small stone, so they seem to stand for a holy family. It would likely be the influence of the Egyptian holy family of Osiris, Isis (Hathor) and the infant Horus. They may be inscribed with the word “masseboth” (msb or msbt) from the Semitic root “msb” meaning “to be erect”.

Other Ref(s):
A History of God - Karen Armstrong
Bible Myths & Parallels in Other Religions - Thomas W. Doane

- Stein marterls are a continuation of an ancient primitive tradition. And just as the religions they symbolize, they are still dangerous....

K&R

[Deep13]

23. It may just mean that Catholicism is not the right religion.

Jupiter never got over being dumped by the Romans in favor of that wuss from Palestine.