ONLY the really stupid can be sure….Unfortunately they are also too stupid to recognise that they are stupid…faith shackles the mind….I have that on a T-shirt…
One Kashmiri morning in the early spring of 1915, my grandfather Aadam Aziz hit his nose against a frost-hardened tussock of earth while attempting to pray. Three drops of blood plopped out of his left nostril, hardened instantly in the brittle air and lay before his eyes on the prayer-mat, transformed into rubies. Lurching back until he knelt with his head once more upright, he found that the tears which had sprung into his eyes had solidified, too; and at that moment, as he brushed diamonds contemptuously from his lashes, he resolved never again to kiss earth for any god or man. This decision, however, made a hole in him, a vacancy in a vital inner chamber, leaving him vulnerable to women and history. Unaware of this at first, despite his recently completed medical training, he stood up, rolled the prayer-mat into a thick cheroot, and holding it under his right arm surveyed the valley through clear, diamond-free eyes.
– Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children.
Forward he bent, and the earth, prayer-mat covered, curved up towards him. And now it was the tussock’s time. At one and the same time a rebuke from Ilse-Oskar-Ingrid-Heidelberg as well as valley-and-God, it smote him upon the point of his nose. Three drops fell. There were rubies and diamonds. And my grandfather, lurching upright, made a resolve. Stood. Rolled cheroot. Stared across the lake. And was knocked forever into that middle place, unable to worship a God in whose existence he could not wholly disbelieve. Permanent alteration: a hole.
– ibid
Ron — Catholics are supposed to do without meat (i.e., the flesh of land animals) on Friday. Fish has always been allowed. However observance has been pretty slack since Vatican II. I can actually remember when my fairly strict Catholic family stopped observing this rule in the late 60s.
Tom Lehrer in one of his weekly shows made a somewhat respectful ditty over the Second Vatican Council, called The Vatican Rag.
“Step inside this small confessional.
There the guy who’s got religion’ll
tell you if your sin’s original.
If it is, try playin’ it safer,
drink the wine and chew the wafer.
Two four six eight,
time to transsubstantiate!
So get down upon your knees,
fiddle with your rosaries,
bow your head with great respect
and GENUFLECT, GENUFLECT, GENUFLECT!”
Tom used to be a math professor, more than a catholic.
Still kicking, for all I know. Vivid in my memory at least.
Rrr – the last I heard, Tom Lehrer was indeed still sharing our modest patch of space/time. He very generously uploaded EVERYTHING he ever recorded as entertainment copyright-free a couple of years ago; I don’t know if it’s still available. Priceless – I still have my Dad’s copies of his original 10″ records.
Before leaving I would like to start a bar fight with this little gem.
A teacher in Manchester asked her class if they were Manchester United fans. They all answered yes except for one boy, who said he was a Liverpool fan. The teacher asked him how that could be. He said that his mother, sister, and brother were Liverpool fans. The teacher said, “That doesn’t make sense. What if your mother was a serial killer, your sister was a whore, and your brother was in prison, what would that make you?” The boy replied, “A Manchester United fan.”
Well, lads and lassies, blokes, mates, and others, I guess I started something here, and take full responsibility. My attorneys are Fitch & Ramos, Strunk & Dupid.
Re: Aortic aneurysms — My male cohort was screened as we had turned 65 for an abdominal ultrasound in order to find those few vulnerable to that catastrofic end. So, likely not what will get me at least. (Now for all those other spectres …)
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
November 20, 2006
Not being able to eat Bacon Butties or drink good beer is also a downside to Islam!
Surely this should be titled “sunk cost fallacy” ?
ONLY the really stupid can be sure….Unfortunately they are also too stupid to recognise that they are stupid…faith shackles the mind….I have that on a T-shirt…
Have to wonder – panel 4 – would Jesus use ‘Christ’ as an expletive?
@Succubus: Yeah, I’d have thought that he could just go “By Me!”.
If you ever get on instagram you would probably get tons of followers and I would be one of them. Thank you for what you do.
Then there’s that fasting in Islam. It’s Ramadan right now. Imagine going all day without eating. Catholics only have to do without fish on Friday.
Or having someone cut off your Johnson because you accidently used a urinal facing East.
One Kashmiri morning in the early spring of 1915, my grandfather Aadam Aziz hit his nose against a frost-hardened tussock of earth while attempting to pray. Three drops of blood plopped out of his left nostril, hardened instantly in the brittle air and lay before his eyes on the prayer-mat, transformed into rubies. Lurching back until he knelt with his head once more upright, he found that the tears which had sprung into his eyes had solidified, too; and at that moment, as he brushed diamonds contemptuously from his lashes, he resolved never again to kiss earth for any god or man. This decision, however, made a hole in him, a vacancy in a vital inner chamber, leaving him vulnerable to women and history. Unaware of this at first, despite his recently completed medical training, he stood up, rolled the prayer-mat into a thick cheroot, and holding it under his right arm surveyed the valley through clear, diamond-free eyes.
– Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children.
Forward he bent, and the earth, prayer-mat covered, curved up towards him. And now it was the tussock’s time. At one and the same time a rebuke from Ilse-Oskar-Ingrid-Heidelberg as well as valley-and-God, it smote him upon the point of his nose. Three drops fell. There were rubies and diamonds. And my grandfather, lurching upright, made a resolve. Stood. Rolled cheroot. Stared across the lake. And was knocked forever into that middle place, unable to worship a God in whose existence he could not wholly disbelieve. Permanent alteration: a hole.
– ibid
A truly MIGHTY cartoon this week. Thank you Author.
Ron — Catholics are supposed to do without meat (i.e., the flesh of land animals) on Friday. Fish has always been allowed. However observance has been pretty slack since Vatican II. I can actually remember when my fairly strict Catholic family stopped observing this rule in the late 60s.
Tom Lehrer in one of his weekly shows made a somewhat respectful ditty over the Second Vatican Council, called The Vatican Rag.
“Step inside this small confessional.
There the guy who’s got religion’ll
tell you if your sin’s original.
If it is, try playin’ it safer,
drink the wine and chew the wafer.
Two four six eight,
time to transsubstantiate!
So get down upon your knees,
fiddle with your rosaries,
bow your head with great respect
and GENUFLECT, GENUFLECT, GENUFLECT!”
Tom used to be a math professor, more than a catholic.
Still kicking, for all I know. Vivid in my memory at least.
Succubus – THAT’s THE JOKE
Rrr – the last I heard, Tom Lehrer was indeed still sharing our modest patch of space/time. He very generously uploaded EVERYTHING he ever recorded as entertainment copyright-free a couple of years ago; I don’t know if it’s still available. Priceless – I still have my Dad’s copies of his original 10″ records.
Indeed. He lives on.
Tom Lehrer’s Mathematically and Scientifically Inclined Singing and Songwriting, Animated https://www.openculture.com/2013/04/tom_lehrer_math_animated.html
Before leaving I would like to start a bar fight with this little gem.
A teacher in Manchester asked her class if they were Manchester United fans. They all answered yes except for one boy, who said he was a Liverpool fan. The teacher asked him how that could be. He said that his mother, sister, and brother were Liverpool fans. The teacher said, “That doesn’t make sense. What if your mother was a serial killer, your sister was a whore, and your brother was in prison, what would that make you?” The boy replied, “A Manchester United fan.”
The islamics a bit touchy….nay violent, if you take the piss out of their made up religion….
Oy…postdog…YSB!
postdoggerel,
I was wondering where his father was, then realised, its Manchester, init? His Da’ sloped off years ago—likely with a Shropshire lass 😉
Whats the ultimate definition of confusion…Fathers day in Liverpool…
Well, lads and lassies, blokes, mates, and others, I guess I started something here, and take full responsibility. My attorneys are Fitch & Ramos, Strunk & Dupid.
Well you started it by Twisting my melon man….Call the Cops!
postdoggerel – thank you for the quote from Midnight’s Children. A great book by a great writer.
SoG hasn’t posted for a while….worryingly…
Also for the link to Tom Lehrer. I have always enjoyed his music.
M27Holts: SoG still alive. Thanks for your concern.
SoG…good to see you extant. Just had 2 of my mates both 61 drop dead with Aortic Aneurisms….the coincidence is startling…yet thats just what it is…
Re: Aortic aneurysms — My male cohort was screened as we had turned 65 for an abdominal ultrasound in order to find those few vulnerable to that catastrofic end. So, likely not what will get me at least. (Now for all those other spectres …)