Seems that some overzealous churchgoers in Texas have decided that Interstate 35 (I-35) is holy. This is because in the Bible, Isaiah Chapter 35 Verse 8, it says, “A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.” They are praying at the highway for 35 days in order to…well…who knows.

First off, ‘highway’ is a pretty liberal translation, but it’s in the King James bible, so we’ll go with it. I thought this was downright stupid since it’s obviously just a coincidence, but then I started seeing some eerie similarities with other Biblical/Highway connections.

(Note: these are all correct quotations from the Bible, from the correct locations)

For our beloved Interstate 5 (I-5) we go to Isaiah, Chapter 5, Verse 6: “I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there.” Sounds about right to me. Ever driven from Seattle to Portland?

For Route 61, that goes from New Orleans up through Memphis all the way to Wyoming, we got Romans Chapter 6 Verse 1, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Hello? Memphis? Graceland?

For California’s State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) we go to Song of Solomon Chapter 1 Verse 2, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine.” Um, kissing, wine…Cali-frickin-fornia?

Obviously this is divinely inspired. Or else it just goes to show you that you can find coincidental connections anywhere, if you look for them.

And just incidently…the most logical choice for inspiration for I-35, would really have been Isaish Chapter 3 Verse 5, wouldn’t it? That’s the closest match…they probably tried it on for size but weren’t too thrilled:

“People will oppress each other—
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.
The young will rise up against the old,
the base against the honorable.”

Bummer, huh?

Original silly article on CNN.com