Jesus Christ On Toast..Toaster Creates Jesus Image on Bread

'Jesus Toaster' Pops Up a New Kind of Wonder Bread

Six years after a Florida woman auctioned off a grilled cheese sandwich bearing the image of the Virgin Mary, a Vermont man has introduced a toaster that sears the image of Christ on each and every slice it toasts.

Call it a miracle! Or just call it the Jesus Toaster.

Retailing for $39.95, the revelatory toaster uses patented radiated heat technology to toast the face of Christ on any variety of daily bread, from plain white to whole grain.

Shroud of Turin, meet Slice of Wonder.

Thanks to the new Jesus Toaster, you can have the body of Christ with your daily bread.

Developed (some might say immaculately conceived) by Galen Dively III, 45, of Walden, Vt., the Jesus Toaster went on sale Wednesday at Dively's website, jesustoasters.com -- which is running a righteous introductory offer of a dozen toasters for $300.

Dively has deep faith in Jesus Toasters. He's ordered an initial run of 3,000 units from a factory in China and believes the toasters will be a big hit with church and school groups. His company, Burnt Impressions, also has plans to create Virgin Mary and Star of David toasters.

"We're like the Henry Ford of Virgin Mary toast," he said hopefully, in an interview with AOL News. "We're bringing it to the masses."

Over the last few months, he's demonstrated the toaster for store managers and purchasing agents and won over numerous converts. So far, the only skeptic has been his wife, who set a cap on the initial purchase order (Dively wanted 5,000 toasters) and lately has been giving him "weird looks."

The Jesus Toaster isn't the only toaster to burn images on slices of bread. Sports fans, for example, can get ProToast toasters, from Pangea Brands, which offer up the logos of NFL, MLB and NBA teams.

While Dively looked into manufacturing team logo toasters, he found the licensing fees prohibitive -- which is why he turned to Jesus.

"There are no licensing fees with Jesus," Dively explained. "He loves everybody!"

As Dively spreads the word about his toaster, his work, he believes is serving a higher purpose.

"I consider it cheap PR for the Lord," he said.

Six years ago, GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, made headlines when it won an eBay auction and paid $28,000 for a half-eaten, 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich that bore a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary. The sandwich was a miracle, some said. Now, though, anyone can make one.

Richard Rowe, CEO of GoldenPalace.com, is taking the development in stride.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Rowe said in an e-mail to AOL News. "The concept of the Jesus Toaster is a huge compliment to the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich acquisition that generated huge appeal and international exposure."

Dively, who said the stenciling of Jesus took three months to perfect, is similarly pleased with his invention.

"I'm glad some hillbilly in Vermont thought about it before anyone else," he said proudly.