[0116] Jesus Of Nazareth
└ posted on Monday, 30 November 2009, by Novil
- Woo: That’s this Christian cross, isn’t it? Do you believe in God?
- Sandra: Oh, I’m not sure if there is really a “God”. But Jesus was definitely a swell guy!
- Sandra: He cared for the outcasts and sick, made his fellow men forgive others their sins and preached that violence mustn’t be answered with violence.
- Woo: Wow, cool.
- Sandra: If he lived today all those religious nutjobs would call him a socialist hippie and send him death threats.
I think I found the fundamental flaw of Christianity ;-):
Sad, but true, sad but true…
i fully support this comic, its hard being religious when everyone else who reads the same book goes crazy
Woo sure seems a whole lot stupider than he used to be.
Ok, this is oficially the best thing I’ve seen all day. So true, every word. Throughout history, so many people who have called themselves followers if Jesus have been cruel, and not what he would have wanted.
I’m very glad you’re taking on conteversial issues. Many other comics would be too afraid to tread on unstable ground, but the subjects you discuss are what makes Sandra & Woo so awesome.
I meant followers OF Jesus. Sorry.
Why does everyone think Jesus was a socialist? He wasn’t. Jesus said to give and recieve freely. That’s not socialism. Socialism is taking at gunpoint and giving it to someone who didn’t work for it–something Jesus most definitely would not have approved of.
Hey, you ripped that off from a Soup-To-Nutz strip! 😀
The J.A.M. says: Hey, you ripped that off from a Soup-To-Nutz strip! 😀
I have never heard of Soup-To-Nutz before. But I’m sure there’s a handful of other comics that have made a similar joke.
. . . You haven’t learned yet, have you? These controversial comics don’t gel with the majority of the strips and their light-hearted tone. If you were making every strip a podium for your beliefs or just having random snippets to flesh out the characters and make them more diverse it’d be one thing, but the current tone of these strips is just jarring in the grand scheme of things — in fact, they feel very shark-jumping in nature.
Oh, and I am one of those American Christian Conservatives you seem to be taking a snide potshot at, but I’m also a comedian and I am genuinely offended by this. Honestly, could you possibly use a more overused and stale joke? No, wait, you could have said that Creationists believe in faeries and pixie-dust, that would have been the most stale joke you could have used. Or, how about choosing a target for jokes other then Christians? Maybe Buddhists? Hindus? Muslims? Pagans? Taoists? Or are Christians just an easier an easier target to pick on because we don’t fight back, despite one of the most common jokes about us being that anyone who takes the Bible seriously is a raving lunatic who’s just a hair’s breath away from killing every minority on the planet in a murderous rampage. Hey look, there’s a joke right there! Christians don’t fight back, you could get tons of material from that, either that or the fact that there seems to be a disturbingly high number of high profile cases where unarmed Christian missionaries are killed by natives with spears and arrows. Two jokes, right there. But no, all anyone ever wants to joke about is how stupid the Christians are, or how intolerant conservatives are.
I used to really enjoy this comic, but if these kind of topics keep popping up I’m honestly considering dropping my subscription (or bookmark, or whatever your browser calls it), and I’m sure there are others that feel the same.
Cody MacArthur Fett says: […], but if these kind of topics keep popping up I’m honestly considering dropping my subscription
I’d be happy if you would at least stop writing comments.
My question is this: If Sandra honors Jesus as an admirable ethical figure rather than a messiah, woudn’t it make more sense to have an image of him showcasing his ethical behavior?
Speaking of which, I suspect Sandra might be intrigued by this:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefJesu.html
Cody MacArthur Fett:
I don’t think you get it. This strip is not poking fun at Christians, it’s pointing out how SOME OF THEM have betrayed the basic philosophy they are supposed to be following, mainly by disrespecting other religions, and the fact that in the past, they have tried to forcibly kill or convert anyone who thought differently. (As in the Crusades).
It is NOT saying that Christians are stupid. It is saying that SOME people who call themselves devout are actually selfish and intolerant.
I respect your opinion, but I feel that you are taking offense at something that isn’t there. If the authors of this strip didn’t put in controversial material, it would become just another shallow gag-a-day strip, instead of the elaborate storytelling strip it is.
And for the record, I describe myself as agnostic. I do not actively believe in any one religion, but i don’t actively deny that there might be a higher power.
Well it seems that people are taking offense when offense isn’t there… I know it’s story time !!!
Ok, well here’s my story then. My cousin is very religious, yet at the same time very liberal. In his own words, “The Bible is a set of guide lines for how people are supposed to live. It’s not for everyone. There are so many religions in the world, who’s to say any one is correct and another is not? I take the teachings of Jesus to heart, because I know that Jesus wouldn’t stone homosexuals or drown Jews for not converting to my beliefs. Jesus helped the sick, the poor, and the weak to give them hope. I’m sure that if Jesus ever returned to earth, he’d be very disappointed in many of his followers for misinterpreting his teachings.”
My cousin is awesome. He spends most of his time working at a homeless shelter, and as a registered minister he holds services for death row inmates at the maximum security prison a few towns over. All the while my Extreme Republican Grandparents who burn harry potter books call him a worthless hippie.
So as you can see, someone who trys his best to take an example from Jesus and live like the Savior is rejected by not only his family, but by a family that shares his beliefs and often spout the phrase, “If Jesus was alive I’m sure he’d be just as sickened as I am!”
So in the end I think the message was lost unto most of my Christian brothers and sisters. My advice is to lighten up. I’ve been going to church my entire life and am a very involved follower. I laughed. I thought it was hilarious.
Insert Positive Comment Here ^^; I wasn’t horribly offended by this comic or anything, and want to try to balance out the negativism. Keep up the good work 😀
Fundamental Law Of The Offensive Internet: Everything on the internet is an offense against you or anything you might represent.
Addendum: …including this comment, of course.
Corollary: If you aren’t sure if it is offensive, take offense anyway just to be sure.
Nice comic, by the way. Don’t submit yourself to the fools who think they need to fix the internet by correcting everyone who does wrong in their eyes, keep up the good work!
I agree entirely with Sandra. I’m not a “Christian”, because I don ‘t believe in “Christ”. I do, however, believe that Jesus of Nazareth existed and was an incredible man, a good teacher, and generally a worthy role-model. I don’t worship my other role-models though, simply try to follow their ideals.
Hey wait a second. How would a raccoon who spent most of his life being a wild animal know anything about Christianity, god, or even the icons that relate to it? I can make a few stretches to explain that but I suppose I’m suppose to go along with it for the sake of entertainment.
I’d make a big ol’ paragraph like everyone else but I already told my life story in relationship with Christianity on another web comic and I don’t feel like repeating myself.
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
-Mohandas Gandhi
I understand Pacdude. Anyone who tried to be nice to the poor is considered stupid by so many people. The conservatives feel that the poor are lazy, while many of them are actually working as hard as they can. Nobody donates or gives charity anymore because they are too afraid of scams. But what’s the loss of five dollars to you, even if it is to a scam? You are being a good person.
Like Bobisonlybob, I have role models. I believe in people who have the courage and heart to be kind to even their enemies, people like the Doctor from Doctor Who, Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, people like Pacdude’s cousin, and even idolized figures like Jesus.
Whoever Jesus was, even if he wasn’t the “son of god”, he was still a great teacher.
Great comic that makes an excellent point.
More to the point, the current alliance between the economic right and religious social conservatives is a temporary and fragile one caused by the post-Civil Rights shift in American politics. Historically, deeply religious politicians in the US (William Jennings Bryan is a good example) have married socially conservative views to progressive and even… (gasp) socialist economic views.
The narrower your politics, the more likely they’ll be obsolete tomorrow.
You think she’d be religious, considering [0071].
I read this every day and this one I agree with wholeheartedly..and for those downing it because of its religous nature, honestly, there are 3 things you need to remember.
1. If you really had faith, you couldn’t be offended by someone making fun of it, because you wouldn’t care. Your way is paved, and they don’t want help finding theres…obviously though, your still paving your way, thus your faith is still weak, thus any alternate viewpoint is offensive
2. Where they called him a socialist hippie in the strip, they weren’t saying he was, but socialist is a general insult thrown around branding anyone who wants to help other people, which if you actually read, is what they basically did, though old ways were much harsher.
3. What others are referring to in the fact that christians don’t act like christ intended, is because their reading a book that man has had his hand in for so long its no longer the books original form…take a copy of your favorite book (I’ll use Jurassic Park for reference) and have it translated to another language…now, using another translator, translate it to another language from the second one…repeat this about 30 times before returning to your language…bet you get a very different story.
All in all, Keep making good comics, weak of faith be damned, I’ll still be here, laughing and refreshing to get the new one.
So… instead of divisive political content, you’re touching on RELIGION now?
I have said this once and I will say it again.
No matter what religion you are, what political slant you are, what race you are, there is one thing that we all have in common.
The Idiots get the airtime…
Its the raving lunatics that get reported on, and are in the mainstream eye, and do NOT correctly represent what they say they believe in.
Hi everyone
Novil,Powree ^_^
I has returnth from the dreaded W.O.R.K. to be able to actually explore the vast wilderness known as the internet.To better assess Blitzkrieg’s question or anyone else has been wondering,I don’t think the comic has ever solely commentated on one particular topic,being it religious,political,or environmental.The point of the strips are not to just to entertain,or how some of you may think,get a reaction,but to make you think.Plus this strip has always put me in the mind of “dare to be different” type mindset because of the fact that you do not see many comic strips touch on subjects like this all the time and actually get it right,which makes it very unique and special in its own way.
If a lightning rod is needed for this strip, I herby declare that all biblical figures who were resurrected or had unexplained ends(that is, Jesus, Elijah,Enoch, possibly Moses depending on whether his coffin was in fact a TARDIS ,and anyone else I’m forgetting) are Time Lords.
Love this strip, and it touches on one of the (many) reasons I’m not with the church, anymore. Keep up the good work, be fearless, and bring on the funny. Oh, and for you, Cody MacArthur Fett, I *do* happen to believe that Creationists believe in “faeries and pixie-dust”, and intolerant whining and puling isn’t going to help change my beliefs. Intelligent, honest debate might, but that is one thing lacking on the net.
Talking about: “What would Jesus do?!”
Is it just me or are you getting faster AND better with your comics?
Also I completely support your opinion.
when I’m asked wich religion I am I say that I’m evangelic,
but only because it’s closer to my opinion how people should live than any other religion.
And I’m talking about the actual content and not what some people do with it.
I simple try do be nice and help where I can but I don’t think I need to go to the curch every week just because someone said that.
And as you can think, some people say I’m not a real christian.
Well, I’m “enough” christian for my taste.
What would Jesus do?
PS: Sorry for my awful english ^^”’
have a nice day 😉
The same guy who healed the sick, thought that whipping people out of their job site was ok if he didn’t like what they did (I’m talking about the scourging of the moneychangers in the Temple). Jesus advocated cannibalism, specifically eating Jesus. If he wasn’t the 2nd person of the Trinity Jesus would be a scary nutbag and nothing to admire.
Any attempt to pick and choose Jesus is going to end up whitewashing a bunch of what he was for the convenience of our modern sensibilities, leaving a very incomplete picture of Jesus that is more a mirror showing your own prejudices.
Regarding the whole socialist bit, in Europe, there were plenty of christian socialist parties in the early part of the 20th century. They generally sided with Hitler in WW II and were either entirely suppressed or reformed minus the socialism as the Christian Democrats after WW II.
Christian socialism still exists in lots of places but socialism’s long embrace of atheism via the communist international left most christians cold. 100 million dead in one short century? That’s a body count that most christians don’t want to be associated with.
My wife (who is emphatically *not* a Christian or even a believer in that God) refers to Jesus as “the Carpenter Rabbi”, and laments that today’s “Christians” wouldn’t recognise him if he showed up and bit them on the bum.
Personally, i am willing to stipulate, if there is a God (i’m agnostic) that the afore-mentioned Carpenter Rabbi was who he is claimed to be.
However, when His religion was hijacked by the Pauline Heresy, changing from a vaguely Dionysian faith to an aggressively Apollonian one, it all went off the trolley.
Woody Guthrie said it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDS00Pnhkqk
As a devout church going Christian who reads the bible every day, I have to say you are absolutely right.
So many Christians (and many of those who claim to be Christian) miss the point. And it is extremely sad.
Dya know? There was once an estimate that if every churchgoing christian in every church in the world gave 10% of their income to that particular church (a tithe) that there’d be enough capital there to essentially eliminate poverty?
Isn’t that crazy that there are enough Christians out there to provide for all the needy of the world, and COMFORTABLY?
Granted I’m just repeating what I heard and I’m not really sure of the accuracy of that claim. But if every Christian did that (and every church made good proper moral use of that money) then the world WOULD be a better place for all to live.
Human nature is sickening sometimes.
XD
I love your comic.
Hmm “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the gates of Heaven.” Or something like that. And no, I highly doubt that the “needle” was the gate to Jerusalem. Some people actually said that. Eesh, there goes capitalism… (and no I don’t know where this was, but I’m pretty sure it was said!).
And believe me this kind of hypocrisy is not exactly specific to Jesus. Similar arguments could be made about how Muhammad would be unhappy with the behaviour of certain “fundamentalist” groups. Or even non religious groups as well. What would Mao think of China now (and I don’t particularly put much stock in HIS opinion)? Or the founding fathers of the United States? The founders of the Roman Republic would have a collective heart attack. And so would the ancient Athenians with their “democracy.” Though I admit that some changes have been positive (see Mao and definitely “democracy”).
As for myself, I am agnostic (can’t accuse me of being a hypocrite on that front!), I simply cannot believe that God(s) exist. But I cannot be convinced that He/She/It/Them (whatever, take your pick) do not exist. To each side I declare: “Prove it!”
I agree that regardless if Jesus was the son of God or not, he was a remarkable human being with an amazing message that at least bears listening to. Empathy is good! And who said us agnostics (and the atheists too) cannot be moral! Humpf!
Human nature is sickening sometimes indeed. Good day/night (take your pick) everyone.
Well, it is a common problem, not only with religions, but also with other ideals like socialism, democracy and even communism.
It is the difference between the original ideal and what those with power make out of it, as Canuovea already pointed out. It’s what happens when those who stand for the ideal but do not truly believe in it get the power over the followers of the ideal. The ideals become twisted and bend to misuse against the people to achieve more power and control.
As for religion, I would even go one step further and state that all of today’s churches break the second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
Isn’t the Christian Cross an idol? Isn’t a romanic church building an idol? Aren’t all the saints’ statues in cathedrals where people come together to pray to the saints an idol, or even worse, “a god beside God”? Shouldn’t God rather be in your hearts than inside a tall building you visit every sunday?
Well, anyways, what’s to say about those people who feel offended by this strip?
Sandra says “those religious nutjobs”. And you feel offended? Well, if the shoe fits…
Personally, I like these provoking strips far better than flat slapstick.
And I like that alignment chart. Keep up the good work, I love to read this comic.
What is wrong with having a comic on subjects that, even if we dont like it, take up a decent chunk of our lives?
Great comic btw!
The sad part is this is a damning statement about some Christians today. If we as Crhistians were all doing our job, socialism would be irrelevant.
Christ taught that we are all made in the image of God, and that we should love each other as God Himself loves us. Therefore we are to take care of those less fortunate within out community as an act of love and charity.
Socialism tries for the same effect, but strips love from the equation. The socialist government has to right to take one’s possessions (by force if necessary) and redistribute them to anyone they see fit. When fraud comes into play, this leads to a lot of resentment.
To those who have cried foul from the crusades. Good knowledge of ancient history. Let he whose sect is guiltless cast the first stone. What did atheists in charge do to persons of faith (any, this includes Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc.) in China and Russia for the better part of the 20th century?
People have been jerks to each other for almost any reason since Cain murdered Abel. All they need is an excuse. Warping ideology to suit their ends is a sorry habit.
Definitely a thought-provoking comic! =^^=
Really? This was the best you could come up with? I totally agree with Cody. I dare you to make a strip making fun of Mohamed. You just won’t. Because good christians don’t go on vengeance for insulting their believes. Some people here said this strip is making fun of people who bretayed what jesus really taught us, however all I can see is you making fun of EVERY christian. You said “religious nutjobs”, this can be easily interpreted as everyone who has a religion.
One thing I learned with South Park: or you make fun of EVERYTHING or don’t make fun with ANYTHING (episode Cartoon Wars). You are like a bully who just likes to annoy those who can’t hurt you.
Someone: If you interpret “religious nutjobs” as meaning every Christian, then you’re not only misinterpreting the point of the comic, but you’re essentially placing yourself in the nutjob category.
Y’all need to chill.
Seriously.
Hell, that’s what they did back during his lifetime, more or less…
This is one of those “sad but true” comics. Which only makes me sadder.
To those who are throwing a hissy fit because you think Novil was making fun of you: calm the hell down. Religious nutjobs refers to people who take their religion far too seriously and refuse to even listen to other people’s opinions, while simultaneously forcing their own down other’s throats. If you think this applies to you, I suggest you take a minute for some personal reflection.
And for the record, no, I’m not a Christian, or a Catholic, or Buddhist, or Hinduist, or anything. I do believe that a God exists, however.
To begin with I’m not a religious nutjob. second I never forced my believes into other people’s throat. Third, I have friends who doesn’t believe in God and they’re MUCH more nicer and kind than some religious people (and I conseider some almost as brothers to me).
I respect other’s faith (or the lack of it) and I also ask for the same thing from them. There’s a thing called free will. If the person who writes this comic wants to make fun of those who believe in God, so be it. It’s his or her problem. I think I was a fool for asking for some respect from someone who just won’t.
IF the intention of the author is just to “make fun” of those who misunderstand Jesus’ true intentions than he or she should edit the comic to make it clearer. Because I read it many times and all I can see is that Sandra is talking about everyone who believes in Jesus.
Actually, I figure he’d get most of his death threats for being against homosexuality.
And he’d only get death threats from conservatives if he insisted on TAKING their money to support the poor (socialism), as opposed to just asking them to give of themselves (donations!), like he did. And then he was killed for saying he was God, because that was clearly blasphemy and the jews were pissed off so many, many people believed him just because he could bring people back from the dead, multiply food, heal the sick or crippled, etc.
But otherwise, you’re sort of…. no. No, you’re not right at all. How about that.
Sandra —
Things don’t change. The religious establishments of Jesus’ time sent Him death threats, too…
Why am I not surprised a comic like this would light up the shoutbox like a flamethrower in a fireworks storage building?
As a Christian conservative, I ought to be offended, but Powree makes a good point. A great many Christians forget that the community of believers have the responsibilty to provide for those in genuine need. If we would do that, others (like the ever-efficient beaurocratic government) wouldn’t feel the need to step in.
We would also do well to remember to that we are not the judge of others, God is. While pointing out that sin is a serious matter isn’t a bad thing, we must show grace to others as Christ did. Did he throw a stone at the prostitute brought before him? Did he take an angry condemnative tone to the tax collector who stole from his own people? It was the Pharisees (religious conservative leaders) with whom he took a sharp tone. It was the ones who felt they were better than others..
A quick note to SWicked:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Mark 10:17-22
This is so true. Im not chirstian but if he did come back people would nail him to a cross again.
I don’t understand how anyone can take offense. All this strip is saying is:
“Jesus was nice to people. Today, anyone who is nice to people is called a hippie”
Sheesh, if that isn’t EXACTLY my biggest issues with religion. hypocrisy. And that’s not just Christianity.
well done.
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This post was mentioned on Digg by prompel: I couldn’t have put it better myself. Well, I’d probably go one step further.
Jesus is the biggest threat to all the established christian religions and churches. And Satan is their biggest supporter.
How…