When the Homily is about Immunology

The forgotten part of the story and strange statues along the I-5 corridor

A large sign seen along I-5 read:

Christ died to save sinners

Hmmm...yes a quote directly out of scripture, but part of the danger of proof-texting (especially little fragments of verses) is that this seems to imply the whole sum of Christian sotierology. In other words: THIS little diddy is what "joe non-christian" driver on I-5 needs to hear to understand salvation. Wouldn't it be more fully expressed by:

Christ rose from the dead to save sinners?

Yes, Saint Paul said that the wages of sin is death...but is this literally what he meant? Isn't sin and death ontologically linked? Isn't Saint Paul really saying that Sin=Death? And so that defeating death is the same as defeating sin? Like the general non-christian populace hasn't already heard and rejected substitutionary atonement as being unpalatable? Who of us hasn't heard someone ask: "Why can't God just forgive?" And then we stumble through the answer: "Well you see God is perfectly holy and..." blah blah blah. I know, I know...I'm still beating that dead horse.

Now...somebody help me here. Somewhere along I-5 north of Vancouver Washington there are these huge pillars with golden statues on the east side of the freeway. They are very strange looking - one kinda looked like an older man with a young boy, not totally certain - but they definately appeared to have religious significance. Anyone know? They are impossible to miss.