I'm looking for an image I once saw on a religious web site:
a giant pillar of fire.  As I remember, it was at a prayer meeting in Washington
and the people in the picture were singing "I wanna hold your hand" by the Beatles.

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Request for Question Clarification by xemion-ga on 19 Jun 2002 00:14 PDT

Could you give a few more details about the picture?  Date of the
meeting?  Who was meeting for prayer?  What exactly did the picture
look like?

There are thousands of pillar of fire pictures on the internet and
we're going to need some more detail in order to find the one you're
looking for.  Thanks!

xemion-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by ozguru-ga on 08 Aug 2002 21:26 PDT

Dear pen,

Would you mind commenting as to whether this sign.org: Prayer Rally in
Washington is the image that you are seeking?

http://www.sign.org/mimages.phtml

If it is I will repost it as an answer, otherwise I will keep
searching.

Regards,

the following could be the picture you're talking about

http://thebiblerevival.com/clipart/EXOD%208%20-%20The%20pillar%20of%20fire.jpg

but I agree with xemion, we would be better able to locate your
picture if you gave us more details. Do you remember if there were any
people dipicted? Is the picture most likely of the escape from the
Egyptians? or maybe the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah?

Dear Pen, 

I also failed to find the image. However: - 

(1) Could it be some Christian Rock related image? 

(2) The image you describe )pillar of fire over DC) is similar to the
one depicted in "Independece Day" (Pillar of Fire over the White
House) - however, I failed to find such an image in a *christian*
site. There's asimilar image also in "Mars Attacks!" and in the case
of this film I remember remotely that they sing 60s songs but not "I
wanna hold your hand".

(3) Last but not least, I found a book that combines several motives -
pillars of fire (the name of the book -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684848090/ltc-political); DC
demo; Christianity and the 60s incl. the Beatles. There's no image
like that but it might be of interest.

After reading politicalguru's comment and then re-reading your
question, I want to apologize for my previous comment. I misread the
text of the question, I will see if I can find your picture.

The picture is a color photograph, I estimate it to be during the
'80s.  There's about30 people on a pavilion, and near them is a pillar
of fire 25 feet in diameter.

That's how I remember it, anyway.

My goal here is to convert an atheist friend; this is the kind of
picture that you can't write off.

This would not be from the burning man project would it?

http://www.erowid.org/general/burningman/99_fleshlab/images/archive/flame_spout2.jpg

Your goal is to convert an atheist friend? 

Why don't you want him to be your friend?

Unfortunately, images on websites are exactly the kind of thing one
can EASILY "write off" because they are so simple to fake, doctor,
make up, combine with other photos, images, etc.  Practically anyone
with a computer can do it with very little effort.  My 9 year old
granddaughter can do wonderful things with a computer and photos...but
they aren't real.

Every graphics program will have tutorials available somewhere on how
to manipulate images.  Here's one for Microsoft Photo Editor:
< http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/teens/howto_fakephotos.html >  

By the way, Steffi Graf won a case against Microsoft Germany over fake
nude photos - <http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/05/28/graf-msft-germany.htm
> - and the Internet is chock full of faked nude photos of celebrities
in addition to her.

Here are fake ghost and UFO images - 
< http://ghoststalker.topcities.com/fake2.html >  
< http://members.rogers.com/roddydouglas/ghost.html >
< http://www.webmesh.co.uk/overlord/photos.html >

I'm sure you were moved by the image you saw, but you were already
prepared to be moved when you saw it because your faith prepared you. 
Your friend doesn't have that faith, so won't be moved.  S/he may very
well be simply wondering just how gullible you really are.  But s/he
will still be your friend.