Words are important and powerful. They not only describe realities, but create them. So if we use the word “sheep” to describe people, and if the people are gullible enough, then they will take on the characteristics of sheep. Finally some people are standing up to the one who is trying to create a reality that dehumanizes them. What do they get in return? Another word that is attempting to create an alternate reality that keeps them on the same... Read more
I thought it would be fun to launch “Sheep Week”… a play on “Shark Week”… a whole week devoted to cartoons about sheep. Although the analogy of sheep and shepherd has served a purpose in the past, and even though some aspects of the metaphor still work, it has generally lost its appeal. Sheep are stupid followers and that doesn’t work for most people anymore. However, this week I’m going to focus on drawing and showing my sheep cartoons because…... Read more
You know the legend that attempts to explain why there are no snakes in Ireland, that Saint Patrick banished them all from Ireland after they attacked him during a fast. Wouldn’t it be nice to just banish, not only your problems, but the source of your problems? Like Adam and Eve here… another legend with less fortunate results. Wouldn’t it be lovely to not only eliminate evil but the source of it as well? Ah, the perpetual philosophical perplexity! Happy... Read more
Give a listen as I briefly explain why I think critique is important. It makes me wanna be a better man! Read more
I am criticized for critiquing the church too severely. I claim that our critique is not severe enough. The problem, as I see it, is that almost all the critique that is going on concerning religion in general and the church in specific is that the solutions are actually a part of the problem. We are so embedded within the deadlock that it is practically impossible to see a solution. This is the danger of any critique. It is almost... Read more
Doesn’t it make you wonder why the church and Christianity can be so troublesome? Do you wonder if it’s just because that’s the nature of religion? Or is it possible that Christians believe life is to be full of trouble, so if there isn’t any trouble then we have to make some? But then… our symbol is the cross. Not a lotus. Not a star. Not a candle holder. Not a circle of balance. A cross! A symbol of suffering.... Read more
To enter the draw to win a fine art print of Sophia “Angel”, all you have to do is leave a comment here on this blog post. Even a simple “Hi!” would do. Or, tell us what this drawing means to you. Have you sometimes noticed that other people believe in you more than you believe in yourself? That’s what has happened here to Sophia. After all the oppression she’s been through as a girl and a woman, after the... Read more
It’s been over a year since the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot appealed to the virgin Mary in protest against Putin before the congregation in a key Orthodox Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. Their protest lasted 42 seconds before they were arrested. Two of the women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, are still in remote Russian prisons notorious for their harsh conditions. I was reading up on them today and felt the urgency of reminding ourselves of their plight. I... Read more
The new pope, Pope Francis, says that we shouldn’t be naive and that marriage equality is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. No one is surprised. And this isn’t to single out the Catholic Church because many if not most churches are the same. It just points to a fact of life: once theology becomes canonized it is here to stay as long as the institution who birthed it and perpetuates it survives. A friend of mine on... Read more
Yep! That’s all we need is one more defender of Heaven. But you can tell by the look on St. Peter’s face that he isn’t too impressed. Read more
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