tone-toni – Few of any group wish to unite unless in the face of an outside common enemy. I feel it’s my duty as a proud atheist to spread division and chaos within (or between when given the opportunity) religions whenever possible. It’s one of the reasons I buy all of the Jesus and Mo books.
Well done Author. I spurted tea all over my laptop. Thank you 😀
Speaking of which, does anyone celebrate National Punctuation Day (Sept. 24).
I mention this because if there’s anything I have faith in, it’s good punctuation. (I believe in commas, I do, I do.)
Mo only needs to delete a few words from his statement:
“..To separate the believer from the rest of humanity…..”
so it will read: “..To separate the believer from humanity…..”
Ah, there, now that’s better…
It gives one hope that, with a common enemy and common cause, they might stop killing each other, except…uh oh. They might then unite to kill us. Nope. Not an improvement.
funny how people focus on the least part of the problem – religious beleivers on athiests, rather than other beleivers
and folks paranoid about the minority of gay men who are pedophiles, when straight men – probably the same percentage of the group – are far greater in number and so generate both male and mostly female victims.
I guess it’s easier to pretend you’re solving a problem by identifying the smallest aspect of the problem – and then doing nothing
I find it interesting that the believers tend to put so much emphasis upon what kind of ‘ists’ we are. Either God exists or he does not, if it could be proved either way it would become a fact. Whether I am a theist or an atheist is pretty much irrelevant to the actual reality regarding the existence or non-existance of God.
For the most part these questions are pretty much irrelevant to the way that we live our lives, however that seems to be the aspect that theists are most concerned about. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, theists believe that the inevitable result of atheism is that society will descend into a state of depravity. This argument is rather well supported by the idea that it does not matter if your religion is misguided and false, as long as you have a religion of some kind you are one of the good guys.
So religion separates humans from the animal kingdom? I would have thought that religion (along with fascism) – with its fear of the different, inate aggression, and awe for displays of hierarchy – is a throwback to the most reptilian part of our brain.
@Daz: actually, there should be no full stop after ‘thank you’. Phrases that don’t contain a verb are not sentences, so do not take a full stop unless immediately followed by another phrase or sentence. 😉
‘Thank’ is the verb. It’s the pronoun denoting who’s doing the thanking that’s missing. In full it would be ‘I thank you,’ but that sounds stilted, ’cause we never say it in full.
@Daz: hmmmm – not sure I agree with that. Although ‘thank you’ probably did evolve from ‘I thank you’, I’d submit that it is now broadly recognised as a fragment of speech rather than a self-supporting subject-verb-object sentence requiring a full stop. Would we argue that ‘hello’ is a sentence (I hail you) or, in more recent usage, ‘laters’ (I will see you later)? I’d say not.
Anyway, to each pedant his own pedantry, I suppose. 🙂
I don’t think that humans are alone in religion. I know several cats in various households that stick their heads right up close to lights in lamps and stare for a long time.
I am sure they are worshiping their sun god symbolically represented by the light bulb.
It’s the human animal’s fear of differentness. Xenophobia. Atheists are incomprehensible to theists AND different. That’s egocentrically terrifying. Put humans in a group of more than two & they will begin to stratify that group. Popular memes of society (western) claim respect & honor for individuality yet the animal behavior is that groups want to be as homogenized as possible to eliminate any chance of experiencing differentness. I’d rather they be sincere about it (like many eastern social groups which put precedence on the group over individuals) than lie about how much they love diversity only to commit segregation, defamation, violence & all else against any minority in their midst any way. It’s a two-faced behavior I hate (not that two-faced is the unique domain of western societies; it’s pretty strong everywhere, for similar reasons).
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
October 22, 2007
This is a real heart warming story. Different people brought together by their hatred of Atheists.
http://www.laughinginpurgatory.com/2010/09/30-days-of-blasphemy-day-21-blasphemous.html
One day, all ye superstitious will reach satori and be agnostics and happy at last.
Atheists unite the world…uh… except for us. I love it. Brilliantly put, Author.
Hmmm. Could this be the beginnings of the Global Standard Deity?
(Non-Jasper Fforde readers, just move right along. Nothing to see here.)
“Theists of the world, unite!” – Ha! that’ll be the day.
tone-toni – Few of any group wish to unite unless in the face of an outside common enemy. I feel it’s my duty as a proud atheist to spread division and chaos within (or between when given the opportunity) religions whenever possible. It’s one of the reasons I buy all of the Jesus and Mo books.
Well done Author. I spurted tea all over my laptop. Thank you 😀
Speaking of which, does anyone celebrate National Punctuation Day (Sept. 24).
I mention this because if there’s anything I have faith in, it’s good punctuation. (I believe in commas, I do, I do.)
Yes, this togetherness is called “Interfaith Dialog”
Mo only needs to delete a few words from his statement:
“..To separate the believer from the rest of humanity…..”
so it will read: “..To separate the believer from humanity…..”
Ah, there, now that’s better…
It gives one hope that, with a common enemy and common cause, they might stop killing each other, except…uh oh. They might then unite to kill us. Nope. Not an improvement.
@greyvity: then you’ll be wanting a comma in, “Well done, Author” and a question mark at the end of your fourth sentence… 😉
Good strip, Author!
@greyvity: And a full-stop after ‘thank you’.
Ahem.
funny how people focus on the least part of the problem – religious beleivers on athiests, rather than other beleivers
and folks paranoid about the minority of gay men who are pedophiles, when straight men – probably the same percentage of the group – are far greater in number and so generate both male and mostly female victims.
I guess it’s easier to pretend you’re solving a problem by identifying the smallest aspect of the problem – and then doing nothing
I find it interesting that the believers tend to put so much emphasis upon what kind of ‘ists’ we are. Either God exists or he does not, if it could be proved either way it would become a fact. Whether I am a theist or an atheist is pretty much irrelevant to the actual reality regarding the existence or non-existance of God.
For the most part these questions are pretty much irrelevant to the way that we live our lives, however that seems to be the aspect that theists are most concerned about. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, theists believe that the inevitable result of atheism is that society will descend into a state of depravity. This argument is rather well supported by the idea that it does not matter if your religion is misguided and false, as long as you have a religion of some kind you are one of the good guys.
Yes, Stoneyground, even if one is a devil worshipper or child sacrificer? I’d rather be ‘a-theist’.
So religion separates humans from the animal kingdom? I would have thought that religion (along with fascism) – with its fear of the different, inate aggression, and awe for displays of hierarchy – is a throwback to the most reptilian part of our brain.
Yup…ya had to figure anyone who professed a fondness for proper grammar was going to get scrutinized. You set yourself up, greyvity.
@Daz: actually, there should be no full stop after ‘thank you’. Phrases that don’t contain a verb are not sentences, so do not take a full stop unless immediately followed by another phrase or sentence. 😉
Wow, I’m in a pedantic mood this week. 🙂
@MyCatIsGod
‘Thank’ is the verb. It’s the pronoun denoting who’s doing the thanking that’s missing. In full it would be ‘I thank you,’ but that sounds stilted, ’cause we never say it in full.
Pedantry is fun! 🙂
@Daz: hmmmm – not sure I agree with that. Although ‘thank you’ probably did evolve from ‘I thank you’, I’d submit that it is now broadly recognised as a fragment of speech rather than a self-supporting subject-verb-object sentence requiring a full stop. Would we argue that ‘hello’ is a sentence (I hail you) or, in more recent usage, ‘laters’ (I will see you later)? I’d say not.
Anyway, to each pedant his own pedantry, I suppose. 🙂
@MrGronk
I don’t think that humans are alone in religion. I know several cats in various households that stick their heads right up close to lights in lamps and stare for a long time.
I am sure they are worshiping their sun god symbolically represented by the light bulb.
@Stonyground, VERY well put. Religious justifications often seem to be in the form of “This Is the House That Jack Built” (English nursery rhyme).
This is the [law] that [forbids] the [act]
That [erodes] the [tradition] that [spreads] the [doctrine]
That [betters] the [world] that [god] built.
@random_ntrygg, that’s a classic.
It’s the human animal’s fear of differentness. Xenophobia. Atheists are incomprehensible to theists AND different. That’s egocentrically terrifying. Put humans in a group of more than two & they will begin to stratify that group. Popular memes of society (western) claim respect & honor for individuality yet the animal behavior is that groups want to be as homogenized as possible to eliminate any chance of experiencing differentness. I’d rather they be sincere about it (like many eastern social groups which put precedence on the group over individuals) than lie about how much they love diversity only to commit segregation, defamation, violence & all else against any minority in their midst any way. It’s a two-faced behavior I hate (not that two-faced is the unique domain of western societies; it’s pretty strong everywhere, for similar reasons).