soul
August 21st, 2013
What was the point of that? Sheesh.
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Hand-pumped, cask-conditioned. I’d kill for a chance of a pint like that here in France.
‘Short, but full of depth’ – applies both to life and to this comic!
I’ve always thought the theistic life meaningless, bible bashers just seem to me to be the sock puppets of some dogma. If being human is so wretched and the celestial theme park is so nice why not leave today?
pete – suicide is deemed to be cheating, unless you’re opting for martyrdom.
@JohnM – As a fellow French based expat, I empathise. At least though, my daughter gets a secular education here; worth the beer sacrifce?
‘aggis,
>>unless you’re opting for martyrdom.
Probably why it was so popular.
Time before me = time after me. So been there, done that
Housman explains J&M’s attraction to bar stuff:
And malt does more than Milton can
To justify God’s ways to man.
Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink
For fellows whom it hurts to think:
Look into the pewter pot
To see the world as the world’s not.
It’s always the same point- the beloved opinion that life only through religion and/or afterlife gains transcendence. Poor them, who need an authority figure to rely on instead of thinking for themselves.
Of drinking, why bother to start
All that happens in the end is a fart?
Every one has a soul
And an ass hole
Though on some they can’t be told apart.
Nice one, Nasser!
Whenever Jehovah Witnesses come to my door I always engage them in debate. (Child’s play). The reason I do not throw them off my porch is because I have heard that for every rejection in their proselytizing they get a star in their crown when they ascend to heaven. I cannot be responsible for reinforcing such delusion.
This strip has a tendency to make me thirsty for Guinness. Therefore, it has meaning.
I love how the faces in the third and fourth panel are identical, but somehow I think they look celebratory in the third and petulant in the fourth.
floridakitesurfer , have you not noticed the faces are the same in EVERY panel, in every one of his comics ?
After the first panel I was kinda expecting a dialog along the lines of –
BM: “Why does life need to have a meaning?”
Jesus: “Because you have it without asking for it, and you want to avoid death.” [There are millions of answers – I think this is one of the more “intelligent”
ones]
BM: “That covers almost every known form of life. Does a mosquito’s life have meaning, too? And what does having a soul to do with the meaning of life? And
what does immortality add to the discussion? How is death different for people with souls than for those without them? And mainly – on what authority do you
claim all this non-demonstrable nonsense?” [This might take several dozen additional panels…]
I am sure there are punch lines for every extension of this kind of dialog, but I’m too tired now to think of any. Anyone like to take a shot at it…?
Having BM drag in ‘eternity’ of her own volition is just begging the response she got. Eternity = forever is a tautology. Maybe even soul = immortal (neither of
the latter terms are in my ‘definition list’). And comparing life to a mug of ale doesn’t do justice to her intelligence. Can’t you just picture the ‘fifth panel’ with
that oh-so-easy rebuttal – something gloriously absent from other J&M strips?
@Mother Goose
http://assets.amuniversal.com/015c2f6b3aa6071bd2201823d8f6849c
I’ve never understood how the prospect of immortality would add meaning to life. It seems to me that the opposite is true. It’s in the fleeting transience of it all that makes life precious. If it went on forever it would just be… ordinary. No need to savour the moment if moments go on into infinity and beyond.
Immortality? Humpf. This seems in many respects to be a highly dichotomous universe, and I therefore strongly suspect that my “soul” will be about as immortal after I die as it was before I was born. And for the life of me I can make no meaningful connection with my individual prenatal existence or “soul.” Karma, schmarma!
So, If you don’t have a plan/hope for “life” after death, then you can’y possibly be living a worthwhile Life?
Tell Jesus and MO to get a “life” here! Even they have bought into the controlling con, used by rulers to get you to tolerate this life’s viscitudes, because you will die a hero/martyr and be celebrated by all the other dumb f@&%$!
Which reminds me, thats how they get soldiers to die in their wars…
I love Mo’s line in box 2, but have to say that it is two weeks late for the anniversary of its first appearance on these hallowed pages.
And yes, it did take me a while to find it, but I’m bored….
Damn, link fail. Try again.
p3ngwin,
Their faces are always the same, but I don’t always feel like I see their faces change. It is probably stupid that I ever think I see their faces change, but that is why I made the comment. 🙂
If their faces don’t change, what’s the point?
But I thought beer *was* the meaning of life!!!
See what I did there?
FKS, the phenomenon of the non-changing changing expressions has been noted before. It is interesting.
Have you seen this one?
@OB – I saw what you did!
Ok Author,
I looked and I clearly see their faces change from wise to starting to feel stupid. (Even though they didn’t change). Then they blinked. I am not making this up. So their faces really did change. But there was also a non-change change.
@FKS Also here, if you’re interested:
http://www.jesusandmo.net/2008/09/16/nine/
http://www.jesusandmo.net/2011/03/08/gift/
damn
I only saw the September 16 blink.
Are there more???
This is blinking brilliant!
@HaggisForBrains yeah, funny how that is. It’s as if it was designed that way. Christianity makes sense if you look at it not as a religion but as a marketing campaign. They have a product to sell (redemption) so they have to create a need for it (innate corruption of Man) and a mascot to help convince you to buy (Jesus).
@machigai No, that’s it.
@Alverant. Just so.
There is a powerful argument made that the Gospels and by extension Christianity was indeed ginned up by the Flavian Romans as a marketing (and disinformation) campaign designed to sell the Roman occupation to the rebellious Judeans (whence comes the word “Jew”). The Jews mostly weren’t sucked by it, but Saul/Paul, in a blinding flash of insight, realized he could sell the idea to the whole world, and the rest, as they say, is a tremendous lot of history. Google “Cesar’s Messiah.”
Nice one. What’s the point?
They should teach it in schools.
One of the best.
HaggisForBrains @ August 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm said:
“pete – suicide is deemed to be cheating, unless you’re opting for martyrdom.”
So don’t suicide, wander into heavy traffic. That way, the driver kills you. {That’s the legal theory behind charging people with “assisting suicide”} Or walk off of a very high roof above solid concretey stuff. That way, it’s big daddy who lets you down, he *could* have ordered a miracle, he didn’t, his fault. Or play russian roulette with pills or a nearly full revolver or high-voltage power lines. Those are also your spooky big daddy in the clouds deciding if you survive.
It can’t argue with those, can it?
AlexanderTheGoodEnough, no matter how stupid the religion is [Moonies, Mormons, the other”M’s” and L. Ron’s lot] there are always idiots willing to sell their lives, their bodies and all their family inheritance for a chance at being next to the “Great Leader”. It works in politics [Pot, Mao, Stalin] and “celebrity”, too. There is a fundamental flaw in the human psyche that allows them to stop thinking and to swallow any demented guff so long as it’s shiny and lets them touch the “powerful”.
It’s like the flaw that permits hypnosis only worse.
The only way to truly resist is to insist in mocking *all* of them at every opportunity, defying *all* of them whenever it is reasonably safe to do so and never, ever accepting anything any of them say without heaps of good, solid evidence. If a priest says it’s Tuesday, check your phone, your calendar, the TV electronic program guide and at least two unbiased observers.
Then mention the International Date Line and the Antipodes. Even when they are accidentaly right, they are often still wrong.
But humans have a great deal of trust in other humans.
“Follow me, lads”, and thousands march into the wall of steel screaming out from the enemy machine-guns.
Or into traffic.
Or into a church.
Unfortunately, it only works with instant decisions and emotion. You can’t “follow me, lads” a battalion into Science. Reasoned thinking is an individual choice and can’t be herded.
You can rouse the village to storm the lair of Frankie with torches and gardening implements but you’ll never work them up to march into the laboratory and help him clean his test-tubes.
It’s a flaw in the design.
Fix that and religion will vanish overnight.
Lost John. please keep contributing your thoughts. I very much enjoy reading them. (not sarcasm)
DH, there’s quite a few new names dropping in of late – which is always a good thing as it stops the conversation between us crusty old-timers becoming stale – and LostJohn certainly does add some interesting thoughts.
I don’t think there’s a need to cater for the terminally over-sensitive by adding the (not sarcasm) rider though, not here in the Cock and Bull where the commentariat seem to have a bit of perspective about them. Besides, a little ambiguity helps to flush out the ones who clearly won’t get along here before they get too comfortable. From experience I can tell you that it’s better to oust troublemakers before they get drinks in their hands and bums on stools.
A marketing strategy is a marketing strategy, but Christianity, along with any of the wishful thinking cults, makes as much sense as the cube root of pig.
Darwin Harmless @ August 24, 2013 at 4:02 am was heard to say: “Lost John. please keep contributing your thoughts. I very much enjoy reading them. (not sarcasm)”
Oh, dear. I have a fan, an acolyte, nay, perhaps even a … dare I say it… disciple. This is bad, for any number of reasons.
Next, there will be more of them, then they will start a “fan club”. There will be a spin-off organisation formed from those with more devotion to the being than his words, though they will use the words as their shields and their swords.
Word will spread, rumours will start, there will be signs and portents and rumours of signs. Magics will be done in his true name.
A hall will be built as a meeting lodge for the faithful, those who see the LostJohn Chronicles as the finest work of Man. There will be those in the Inner Circles who see the LostJohn as not quite a mere mortal man.
Tales of alien origin will abound, tales of wonders and tales of wisdom beyond that of the false gods.
There will come True Believers.
The LostJohn will be deified, whether he likes it or not.
The Last Religion will be spoken and all men will follow The Word. The Seed of Earth, the Children of Man will take The One True Word to the stars.
The Human Galaxies will know The Truth.
The cosmos will forever be altered.
And all because I let the tiniest, smallest glimmer of the supernova glory of my genius show.
I really should be more careful.
@LostJohn – excellent stuff, there! I winced (just a little) by your usage of the word ‘flaw,’ and again when you combined it with ‘design.’ (I’ve already exposed myself as a stickler for word usage – even if mainly for debating your ‘morons’). ‘Design’ = ~~shudder~~! However, I assure you that I got the meaning you intended, as did everyone else. and totally concur. Just for the record – as if it was I using your arguments with someone else – we evolved with this quirk in our psyche. It may currently be in the process of devolving (like our appendices) or it may be there for some other, yet undiscovered, reason. I am hoping for the former, and that some day the equivalent of “follow me, lads” will immediately draw the throngs to thinking for themselves (now isn’t that a conflict in terms?). 🙂
@AoS – Marketing usually appeals to the lowest common denominator of the potential buyers. The less you think about what the marketer spouts, the readier you are to buy. No wonder Christianity has had so much success!
Acolyte of Sagan @August 24, 2013 at 10:22 am was seen to type: “I don’t think there’s a need to cater for the terminally over-sensitive by adding the (not sarcasm) rider though”
Good point, AoS. I would have taken DH’s comment as a straight statement with no ironical subtext had he not added the rider. The rider did confirm what i would have assumed anyway but, as you say, it wasn’t strictly needed.
Of course, had DH been being sarcastic about his appreciation, I would have missed a chance for a good witty riposte, but them’s the breaks.
As for your “cube root of pig”, I *adore* that, especially on a butty, with brown sauce. There’s a family butcher near here that cooks it beautifully… and I’m getting hungry again.
AoS:
“cube root of pig” – is that a truffle?
Oh hotrats, you’re a fun guy!
But: thickly-cut, lightly smoked (not smoke ‘flavoured’) streaky bacon, scallops, black pudding, a poached egg – runny yolk of course – with a shaving of black truffle.
Divinity on a plate.
Lost John, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to worship the being that is LostJohn but happy to join the fan club – especially if membership comes with some of whatever you’re smoking (presumably truffles).
LostJohn, I think you have extrapolated what I intended to be mild encouragement beyond the breaking point. But if the future you foresee were to happen, I would be exceedingly gruntled to know how it got started. Cheers mate.
DH & Mary2: thanks.
You do know I’m not serious about the Church of the LostJohn, don’t you?
Honestly, I’m not.
Truly.
Trust me on this.
Please…
[Copies of “The LostJohn Chronicles” are on sale in the lobby along with t-shirts, flags, pennants, hats, badges, designer jackets, small 3D-printed lucky LostJohn idol dolls and CD’s of his shorter speeches…other speciality branded products are available from the websites…]
The Cock and Bull is definitely the place to be on a dull wet Sunday. Thanks all, wonderful company.
It’s the best local in the world, botanist. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s the only place on the ‘net where I genuinely feel I’m among friends.
And some bloody clever friends at that.
LostJohn, you’re going to fit in well here, although I’d avoid the ‘trust me’ suggestions if I were you; only the honestly dishonest FreeFox can get away with that 😉
Acolyte, speaking of FreeFox, I rather miss him. I have the feeling we might have bored him with our refusal to buy in to his multiverse of gods, elves and faeries. I do hope he’s just lurking and not in trouble again.
AoS:
‘Fun guy’ – it took several hours, but I finally had to groan in recognition. Well played.
Oh my. There are fungus amongus. 🙂
DH, I don’t think we’ve bored FreeFox, he’ll most likely be busy. Admittedly, on the back of some of the more personal conversations we’ve had here I do tend towards concern when he’s off radar, but I don’t think it’s time to worry yet.
Hotrats, thank you.
An elderly Jew goes to visit relatives in Ireland. Stepping out of the airport door, he is run over by a shuttle bus. A priest rushes over to administer Last Rites. He begins, “Do you believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?”. The old man opens one eye and whispers, “I’m dying – and you ask me riddles?”.
LostJohn made some interesting points about the “follow me, lads” flaw in the design of the human psyche. Undeluded pointed out that we evolved with this quirk in our psyche.
Undeluded is right, of course. But imagine, if you will, phoning the designer’s customer service hot line to complain about this flaw. Can’t you just hear the customer service rep. saying, “That’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”
Now your cartoon is even more blasphemous than before http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-23865215
Wish I’d thought of Jesus and Mo!
I’m an atheist but I have no idea what people above were talking about. Immortality would make life meaningless, seriously?
With mortality, the best case scenario of life is become enormously successful (like Steve Jobs) for a little bit but then dying anyway, no matter what you do. How this is meaningful, I don’t know.
Immortality would make life meaningful, since all your efforts on self-development would not be in vain. You can spend eternity improving yourself and life around you and enjoying fruits of your labor.
two cent’s worth, regarding your response of 30/8/2013, perhaps this may entertain – if not your good self, maybe later readers in some distant era.
For the record, I do not “believe” that we landed on the Moon. I did, however, witness evidence to the effect that a dozen men did, usually in bunches of two per trip. No women. Strangely, no dogs, chimps, monkeys or any animal other than humans.
I have a resolution to the afterlife conundrum.
Who cares?
If we just pretend there is no after life, even if there is and we know there is and our leaders and books tell us there is, and even if there is some sort of judgemental super-creator god watching us and deciding where we go in it, then we can live good, worthy, lovely, magical, giving, altruistic lives where we help each other, contribute to our society and share the wealth of the worlds.
Live life as though there are no watchers and let the gods sort it out when we’re finished.
Dance as though no one is watching.