Author Topic: The Oatmeal takes on religion  (Read 7833 times)

Perd Hapley

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #25 on: August 18, 2012, 07:38:44 PM »
Given I actually know people, studying graduate school history, who actually argue against the concept of historical truth...

Then there is a guy like Bart Ehrrorman, who combines the study of religion with a denial that any objective truth exists.  =)
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #26 on: August 18, 2012, 09:09:40 PM »
I like science! Its neat!

My fave science quote is "matter can neither be created or destroyed" .... well, that certainly explains the big bang!
in the beginning there was nothing, nothing being very unstable exploded. Then there was something.

I am smartier then all the atheist who never killed people in Red China or the Soviet Union!
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #27 on: August 18, 2012, 09:45:42 PM »
I have to agree with some of y'all: his lil snit throughout the strip was kinda stupid. I DID agree with the ending segment, though
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Perd Hapley

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #28 on: August 18, 2012, 11:11:54 PM »
I have to agree with some of y'all: his lil snit throughout the strip was kinda stupid. I DID agree with the ending segment, though

Then at the very end, it says that if your religion helps you to be happy and help people, that you should keep it to yourself. I'm pretty sure that was one of the stupid parts.  =)  So it starts with the stupid part about how judging people is bad, then there's a lot of judging people, in between, then it ends with a stupid part about how you shouldn't tell people about a belief that makes you a better person. (Although it is apparently acceptable to tell others about beliefs that make you a bad person (not that that would be judgy, or anything).)

Yeah, it's kind of a laugh riot all the way through. I could pick apart all of the half-baked silliness, but that would just make me pull my hair out. And it would be judging, which is bad. Or not.

Maybe the title should be "How to suck at thinking about religion."
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Antibubba

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #29 on: August 20, 2012, 12:05:30 AM »
Many of you have valid complaints about the strip, but

Every time someone has homosexual intercourse, God punishes us by letting Nickelback release another album

may be the funniest thing I've ever read.
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #30 on: August 20, 2012, 12:39:40 AM »
Many of you have valid complaints about the strip, but

Every time someone has homosexual intercourse, God punishes us by letting Nickelback release another album

may be the funniest thing I've ever read.

I actually thought that, too.
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brimic

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #31 on: August 20, 2012, 07:22:16 AM »
Quote
Every time someone has homosexual intercourse, God punishes us by letting Nickelback release another album
Yep, was a funny part.
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RaspberrySurprise

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #32 on: August 20, 2012, 08:08:23 AM »
A while back he pointed out all the folks killed in the name of Christianity and Islam, and contrasted it with the absolute lack of people killed by atheism. He never answered my question as to whether he was aware of the official religious policy of Communism.
So because Communist governments loved them some atheism atheism in general is guilt by association? I'd say such people were killed by communism, not atheism.

The only thing funny is the irony...
The cartoonist loathes the proselytizing by religeous people so much that he spends several hours drawing a cartoon to post on mass media to tell everyone how stupid their religeon is.

Live and let live? Nyet.

Did the comic knock on your door to tell you of its glorious message? Did it stop you on the street? Or did you voluntarily click on the link and read it of your own free will? Therein lies the difference.
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makattak

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #33 on: August 20, 2012, 08:32:49 AM »
So because Communist governments loved them some atheism atheism in general is guilt by association? I'd say such people were killed by communism, not atheism.

Well, on that logic, just how many people were actually killed by "Christianity" and not governments that loved them some "Christianity"?

Quote
Did the comic knock on your door to tell you of its glorious message? Did it stop you on the street? Or did you voluntarily click on the link and read it of your own free will? Therein lies the difference.

I wonder how he found the link in the first place...
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brimic

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #34 on: August 20, 2012, 08:43:44 AM »
Quote
Did the comic knock on your door to tell you of its glorious message? Did it stop you on the street? Or did you voluntarily click on the link and read it of your own free will? Therein lies the difference.
No difference. You can ignore someone ringing your doorbell or someone bugging you on the street just the same.
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Ron

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #35 on: August 20, 2012, 08:49:27 AM »
The whole modern entertainment media is filled with outspoken atheists presenting similar snarky commentary in TV shows, movies, interviews etc.

It is probably more out there than the simple gospel of Christ.

Most everyone probably has heard any number of the snarky comments the strip contains in both video and print media. It didn't contain anything I had never heard before.

In my occasional discussions about "religion" with friends and acquaintances most would be hard pressed to succinctly sum up what the gospel of Christ actually is.

    
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 08:52:36 AM by Ron »
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #36 on: August 20, 2012, 09:28:15 AM »
No difference. You can ignore someone ringing your doorbell or someone bugging you on the street just the same.

Yes there is a difference, one requires an action on your part, the other requires and action on someone elses part.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #37 on: August 20, 2012, 10:09:32 AM »
Atheists don't need to go door-to-door to "evangelize." They have the schools for that.
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cordex

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #38 on: August 20, 2012, 10:09:53 AM »
Yes there is a difference, one requires an action on your part, the other requires and action on someone elses part.
I think the point is that this comic is an example of the author not keeping his beliefs "to [his] f***ing self" as he advocates for everyone else.  Whether you can find a theist (or an atheist for that matter) who is pushier than the author of this comic irrelevant.

As irritating as it may be to have people you disagree with attempt to proselytize to you, I find it hard to fault someone who truly believes their way of life can bring happiness, well being, strength, etc. to others and tries to share that.  On the other hand, when people attempt to use the rule of law to enforce or suppress religious convictions beyond what is reasonable*, that is worth getting offended about.

* Reasonable religious convictions to enforce include prohibitions against murder and theft and so forth.  Reasonable religious convictions to suppress might include human sacrifice, ritualized rape and the like.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 05:32:48 PM by cordex »

Balog

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #39 on: August 20, 2012, 04:25:05 PM »
So because Communist governments loved them some atheism atheism in general is guilt by association? I'd say such people were killed by communism, not atheism.

Did the comic knock on your door to tell you of its glorious message? Did it stop you on the street? Or did you voluntarily click on the link and read it of your own free will? Therein lies the difference.

1. Can't have it both ways. Either nominally Christian (or atheist) .govs committing murder is the fault of their theological underpinnings, or they aren't. Can't say "Everything the other side does is attributable to their ideology, but nothing my side does is."

2. Do you really not the the irony in someone loudly evangelizing their position, when their position is that evangelism is wrong? Quite the double standard. "When Christian .govs kill people, the fault lies with the religion. When atheist .govs kill people, it has nothing to do with atheism. When people evangelize for their religion they're horrible and awful. When I evangelize for my (atheistic) religion, it's awesome!"  ;/
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Tallpine

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #40 on: August 20, 2012, 04:45:38 PM »
Well, no one has ever knocked on my door trying to get me to believe in nothing  :P
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MicroBalrog

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #41 on: August 20, 2012, 05:05:42 PM »
1. Can't have it both ways. Either nominally Christian (or atheist) .govs committing murder is the fault of their theological underpinnings, or they aren't. Can't say "Everything the other side does is attributable to their ideology, but nothing my side does is."

2. Do you really not the the irony in someone loudly evangelizing their position, when their position is that evangelism is wrong? Quite the double standard. "When Christian .govs kill people, the fault lies with the religion. When atheist .govs kill people, it has nothing to do with atheism. When people evangelize for their religion they're horrible and awful. When I evangelize for my (atheistic) religion, it's awesome!"  ;/

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #42 on: August 20, 2012, 05:17:45 PM »

Well, no one has ever knocked on my door trying to get me to believe in nothing  :P

Well, there's always this:

Atheists don't need to go door-to-door to "evangelize." They have the schools for that.


Oh, and keep in mind that there's always a media culture prepared to anti-evangelize for religions whenever they believe they can get away with it.

You will find them inclined to ratchet up the rhetoric in ratio to the likelihood that the religion in question might rock some boat or other.  Buddhists seldom rock boats, and they seldom catch flak [at least in a mostly civilized society].  Catholics are harder to attack, but they have their vulnerabilities.  Anything that can be branded a "cult" (and that still includes LDS) is fair game.

Ironically, if a religion (or cult) is actually dangerous -- you know, violent responses to criticism -- the Press is much more circumspect.  Similarly, once a religion figures out that "doing nothing" is how you go extinct, they find ways to hit back, only instead of bombs they might choose to grab an assault lawyer instead.

Public ridicule is aggression.  If you plan to survive as a church, you never let that go unanswered.  In some cases it's enough to simply prosper beyond the ability of the aggressor to squelch.  In other cases you bring on the attorneys.


Religion, as misused and co-opted as it may have been, is still the traditional -- and most reliable -- vehicle of morality and ethical foundations.


Religious intolerance is corrosive stuff.

Eats away the very fabric of a culture.
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #43 on: August 20, 2012, 05:19:42 PM »
Atheists don't need to go door-to-door to "evangelize." They have the schools for that.
and movies, TV shows, well paid comics, pundits & the ACLU
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #44 on: August 20, 2012, 08:30:02 PM »
Many of you have valid complaints about the strip, but

Every time someone has homosexual intercourse, God punishes us by letting Nickelback release another album

may be the funniest thing I've ever read.

Yes, he does get props for that. Death to Nickelback.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #45 on: August 20, 2012, 08:53:37 PM »
I'm happy to say that I was blissfully unaware of the Nickelback scourge until I heard an explanation of it a few days ago. Until then, they were just a band name that people used as a punchline every so often, but I didn't know why.

I have also never heard a Bieber song.

See? There is a God.  :angel:
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #46 on: August 20, 2012, 11:04:24 PM »
1. Can't have it both ways. Either nominally Christian (or atheist) .govs committing murder is the fault of their theological underpinnings, or they aren't. Can't say "Everything the other side does is attributable to their ideology, but nothing my side does is."

2. Do you really not the the irony in someone loudly evangelizing their position, when their position is that evangelism is wrong? Quite the double standard. "When Christian .govs kill people, the fault lies with the religion. When atheist .govs kill people, it has nothing to do with atheism. When people evangelize for their religion they're horrible and awful. When I evangelize for my (atheistic) religion, it's awesome!"  ;/

There is a difference between evangelizing your position on your own website which you own and which others must choose to visit to see said evangelizing and walking up to peoples doors or on the street.

I believe people killed by Communist governments were killed by Communism, not atheism, because that was their ideological underpinnings. In Communism the state was god.

I havn't defended anything the Oatmeal said, only attacked specific posters positions.
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brimic

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #47 on: August 20, 2012, 11:24:42 PM »
Quote
There is a difference between evangelizing your position on your own website which you own and which others must choose to visit to see said evangelizing and walking up to peoples doors or on the street.
It sucks living in a country where you don't have the right to not be offended, doesn't it?
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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #48 on: August 20, 2012, 11:26:55 PM »
I despise the radical atheists as much as I do the rabid evangelicals.  =(

It's no problem to me if folks want to celebrate warm fuzzy holidays.  =)

But I've been in those churches that tell you that once you've heard their teaching, that you're going to hell if you ever leave them.  >:D
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cordex

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Re: The Oatmeal takes on religion
« Reply #49 on: August 21, 2012, 12:44:17 AM »
There is a difference between evangelizing your position on your own website which you own and which others must choose to visit to see said evangelizing and walking up to peoples doors or on the street.
So the author of this comic is more like Jack Chick, and the folks who spread the comic around (MillCreek excluded, of course) are like the people who shove Chick tracts at passers by?