Comments on: We Were Just Kidding!

By: AndyD

AndyD — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:37:19 +0000

Oh come on people, that's pretty funny. I don't even care if it's parody or a genuine attempt to "guilt" us into believing, it's funny. As an atheist who draws cartoons occasionally, I would have done it myself if I'd thought of it.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:15:53 +0000

Because of the juxtaposition of the two signs it’s clearly a jab at atheists, saying in essence that it’s easy to be a non-believer when everything is going well but we’ll be looking for the sky-ghost if things start looking bleak. I don’t find the cartoon funny, but I am not bothered by it either.

By: Coi

Coi — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:29:20 +0000

I believe that a parody can be a form of flattering OR a criticism, it depends very much on the authors intent and the way he or she puts it into his art/parody.

This one in particular doesn’t seem to either defend or attack atheism. I think it criticizes the anti-ad campaign that the bus-ads have evoked. Anyway, it’s funny.

- no bother clicking on my link, my weblog is still mostly written in portuguese. working on an english version.

By: Polly

Polly — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:04:45 +0000

I didn’t take it the way Hemant does at first glance. Now, I can kinda see that, but I still think it’s jab in the ribs.

After we split she sent me a letter in which she told me her hopes that I would experience profound misfortune – and she meant that as a GOOD thing

Xians love to imagine the misfortune of non-believers destroying their “pride” and driving them into the loving arms of their abusive heavenly father. My mother breathed out the holy threats on god’s behalf, too. She said, “I just hope it doesn’t come to something really bad happening to you in order to get you to come back to your senses.”
Utter bullshit. It’s their own schadenfreude at work and there’s nothing “loving” about it.

By: Reginald Selkirk

Reginald Selkirk — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:13:37 +0000

rather, it’s saying it’s tough to enjoy your life given the crappy world economy. Is that fair to say?

That’s not my interpretation. It is saying that a) God is destroying the economy to punish us for being outspoken atheists, and b) we should recognize this godly action and c) cave in to the godly extortion.

It’s about as funny and about as smart as those hellfire preachers blaming Katrina on the gays and other sinners in New Orleans.

By: dwasifar

dwasifar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:18:24 +0000

I’m the “too disgusted to comment” guy, and my point was as Miko said – a variation of “no atheists in foxholes.” The cartoon is obviously from the point of view that there are no real atheists, only people who pretend there’s no god until the chips are down.

I used to date a christian woman who eventually destroyed the relationship with her relentless attempts to convert me. After we split she sent me a letter in which she told me her hopes that I would experience profound misfortune – and she meant that as a GOOD thing, an expression of love, because she believed only bottoming out would bring me to Jesus. That twisted reasoning is the same as the logic behind the bus ad comic – everybody’s suffering, how wonderful! Because it will bring people to religion.

By: Felicia Gilljam

Felicia Gilljam — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:54:40 +0000

Re Christophe – I think you underestimate the author of the joke. I think a more charitable interpretation is that atheists will supposedly get so depressed about the crisis that they turn to god in the hopes that that’ll help.

By: Luther Weeks

Luther Weeks — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:51:59 +0000

Now if Obama were scrapping the Faith Based Initiatives, it would be a great vision for next year.

By: Felicia Gilljam

Felicia Gilljam — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:39:14 +0000

I think people who take offense at jokes and caricatures need to lighten up. After all, if we’re offended at christians making fun of us, we’d be hypocritical if we then snort at the christians who are offended when we make fun of them!

That said people obviously have every right to feel disgusted. I just think it’s silly and unnecessary.

By: Christophe Thill

Christophe Thill — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:04:25 +0000

It’s neither really funny, nor really disgusting. It’s just silly. It shows (if it’s real and not a parody) that believers are as clueless about the economy as medieval farmers and fishermen were about the weather. How exactly do they think god fits into the equation of the current crisis? I see no link in the chain of events, where a supernatural intervention might have taken place.