If you dont read The Oatmeal, and dont have at least 5 hilarious images pop up into your mind as soon as you read that, stop reading this and go to theoatmeal.com - It is without question one of the best web comics running today - but please come back once you have bookmarked it. Ill wait.....
Ok, so hopefully you checked out one of his most recent comics entitled "How to suck at your religion". If you didnt, link time again - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/religion
The comic does a great tongue-in-cheek job of highlighting my (and probably most agnostics) most common complaints about organized religion and its many devout followers (if you dont know who they are in your life, you dont know any - consider yourself lucky.) Among them are: followers tendencies to look down upon anyone outside their 'flock', the ability for a religion to make sex a touchy and taboo subject, indoctrinating children into a belief system with fables before theyre old enough to understand, and (my personal favorite) their uncanny ability to ignore facts in favor of scripture despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Mathew Inman has a great talent for combining common quirks of every day life with his unique drawing style and wit to make for fantastic cartoons. Of course, one man of the cloth failed to see this reasoning. His retort is posted here - http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-catholic-reply-to-how-to-suck-at-your.html - It would be silly to say this response is 'surprising', so I guess I will leave it with the fact that Im not at all shocked, and even happy to know Im still in reality given his fairly quick response time (the article is quite long, I suppose he has plenty of time to write with all the time he isnt using to pick up chicks, right?)
Now I wont go through this whole-y response, but I will point out a few things, and give reason as to why this guy COMPLETELY missed the point, and only furthered any supposed cause of Inman himself.
1) In response to the first panel of the cartoon, his holiness attempts to point out how Catholicism has never outright damned anyone else for their own religion if it differs from their own. Yeah, so beyond the fact that claiming you know the one true path to god in itself is a condemnation of any alternative path, were all supposed to forget that Catholicism itself (or is it Christianity, whatever....) is split into so many different warring factions that it makes Africa look peaceful, right? Cute.
2) This should have been #1, but the fact that the blog itself is called 'Shameless Popery' without much hint of sarcasm is in itself bolstering Inman's claims.
3) The self-appointed spokesperson for God (apparently) claims that Inman "grossly misrepresents why Christians oppose embryonic stem cell research." In his next few keystrokes, he then compares embryonic stem cell research to the rounding up of 'undesirables' during the holocaust, saying that opposers fall under the same 'anti-science' banner Inman jokingly put him with. I would like to point out to you that this mans logic equates the indiscriminate murder of established lives for no reason beyond their race, ethnicity, or political beliefs with research on stem cells (not all of which come from aborted fetuses, we have found other ways) which could lead to the curing and prevention or reversal of diseases and destruction of body parts. If your 'pro-life' stance includes the faith-based care centers which have come to be common in the bible-belt in which children often die of common and curable ailments (because prayer is the only medicine you need so they think) then I encourage you to cancel the health insurance of yourself and your family, and pray next time you have a headache or toothache that it goes away. Pray REALLY HARD. Im sure the more you concentrate on it, the better it will feel. Oh, and dont stop there. Pray for sustenance, too! If youre truly pro-life, you wouldnt want to kill a cow to feed your family, right? That is one of Gods creatures. Pray that God will fill your stomachs with all the nutrients you need to live. Im sure that will work out for you.
4) "The idea that a religion is bad if it gives you “weird anxieties about your sexuality” is naïve. What I mean is that sexuality is much more powerful and truly awesome than the author lets on. If sex is just no big deal, recreational fun, then adultery’s no problem, right?" - Award for 'Quickest proving of a point one was trying to defeat ever' goes to the writer of this blog. You couldnt have done a better job if you said "Sex makes you fat!"
5) Perhaps the biggest joke of this all is that Mr. Dogma here failed to understand that the outright refusal of the church to not take itself so seriously is exactly the problem that Inman was actually pointing out. All of us have FAR too much to worry about in our every day lives - paying bills, taxes, keeping relationships, jobs, trying to fit into the same pair of pants week to week, etc. - that we really DONT need to be told constantly about our impending doom on the other side of life if we dont adhere to the words of dehydrated farmers from several millenia ago. Not to mention all the BS that has been piled on top of those original words over the centuries that has contradicted itself so many times it makes Watergate seem like a lesson in fortitude and dignity.
The fact that you took the time to write a response to this guy and his web comic which brings smiles to millions of peoples faces (for free, mind you) shows just how disconnected and diluted you and the Catholic church has become to those of us who would rather relax on a Sunday than go be told for 4 hours how we are the product of sin. Did you see any Rabbi's retorting to his comic for the Jews on a bike frame? (That is my personal favorite of the entire comic, I think I need to get that framed and put on a wall for someone.)
"Everyones always picking on us!" - The Catholic Church. Yes, everyone shoots for the big dog, because everyone wants to knock the top dog off his spot. Consider the attacks a compliment, and stop whining about it, because that will actually help pull you down further. This life is hard enough to get by in without a man of questionable character and absurd fashion preaching to us about how evil and disgusting we are, and how we should give up everything we do just to survive for God and his grace. Im with the Jews on this one - If there is a God, and this is his work, then hes a prick. Now, can I read my web comics without going to hell, your majesty?
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