Face of Jesus Christ appears in three-cheese pizza
By Cayla Dengate
March 30, 2011 3:30PM
The face of Jesus in a three-cheese pizza made at Posh Pizza in New Farm, Brisbane. Source: Supplied
ALL hail Lord Cheesus - the holy apparition that appeared in a pizza.
In a purported "miracle'', the face of Jesus Christ has appeared on a three-cheese pizza made at Posh Pizza in New Farm, Brisbane.
And the image can be yours to enjoy.
The shop, in the city's Fortitude Valley, has put the slice on eBay, and as of this morning bidding was up to $65.
All proceeds raised will go to a charity to be decided once the pizza is auctioned.
Posh Pizza's Maree Phelan said her pizza oven was seemingly blessed with the presence of Jesus Christ, who chose a three cheese pizza as his medium.
Phelan isn't convinced it's the son of God, but she's certain it got there on its own.
"I can definitely say this isn't a fake,'' she said.
"The three-cheese pizza always comes out with very different colours.''
It's already proven a good luck charm.
"After discovering it, the owner of the store parked in a loading zone and didn't get a parking ticket,'' they wrote on eBay.
There is debate as to whether the face resembles Jesus Christ or other well-known bearded men, with Kings of Leon lead singer Caleb Followill a favoured candidate, with actor Viggo Mortensen and a long-haired Christian Bale popular choices.
''It's open to interpretation as many of these crazy, out there things are,'' Phelan said.
Australian Catholic University associate professor and director of the Institute for Catholic Identity and Mission, Patrick McArdle, said the pizza was "almost definitely not a miracle'' and would be hard to prove.
''There are a lot of misunderstandings in the making of saints and miracles,'' he said.
He said generally only "medical miracles'', such as healings, were accepted by the Catholic Church because those incidents could be tested using scientific means.
"We often rely on medical miracles because there is scientific proof it can't be explained by conventional science, that's where the validity comes from,'' he said.
"You have to understand we can't apply that kind of rigour to a piece of cheese,'' he said.
McArdle said it was harmless fun.
"We Catholics can have a laugh at this, but if that image leads you to a deeper level of faith, or just a sense that Jesus is part of your life, then it can't be a bad thing,'' he said. "Faith is best shared around a meal at the dinner table.''
Australian Skeptics vice-president Richard Saunders put the apparition down to random chance.
''When you think about the hundreds of thousands of pizzas that are made every single day, statistically one of them is bound to vaguely resemble a face,'' he said.
The vacuum-packed pizza is on sale at eBay until 5.40pm.
- *
accessed April 11, 2011