Cartoons depict Jesus, cause stir at Radford University

[wakeme2008]

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-54305

Cartoons depict Jesus, cause stir at Radford University
University officials will meet with students to discuss balancing free speech and good taste.

By Greg Esposito
381-1675

Cartoons depicting Jesus in a Radford University online student magazine have created controversy just weeks after Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad touched off violent protests throughout the Muslim world.

In his "Christ on Campus" comic strip, sophomore Christian Keesee has satirized the hypocrisy of some churchgoing students, the greed of some televangelists and the commercialization of Christmas, among other things, in 12 cartoons he's published on Radford's Whim Internet Magazine.

He's made his points with images of a cartoon Jesus being stabbed by Santa Claus, playing poker with other religious figures (including Muhammad), punching a heckler who referred to him as a "glorified Easter bunny" and wondering if he has the requisite male body part during a sexual encounter with a woman.

..more at link.... BUT here are a couple ....




His 11 toons are here http://www.radford.edu/~whim/toon/articles/jc6.html

[xchrom]

1. lol -- why not? indeed!

[bullimiami]

2. eh. i looked at them. whatever.

they arent all that good or that provocative.

[murielm99]

4. I agree.

I went to a Christian university, and we came up with more creative and biting cartoons.

Of course, none of them were ever published anywhere. But I have seen better.

[progdonkey]

3. Awesome!

I especially love the one where Jesus punches the heckler and the one about "Christianity at its Finest."

The one strip I didn't really like was the one where Jesus was trying to avoid the gay couple, since unless I'm just missing his point entirely, it comes off as homophobic (especially the stereotypical lisping, though a very telling comment was from that Blake idiot who started the anti-cartoon group: he says he thinks it's homophobic because it makes fun of the lisp "most gays have." And it's only the cartoonist who's being homophobic? ;-) )

I hope the fundies at the school go apeshit and this ends up being another O'Reilly Talking Point, just so it can be shown once more that the Christian Fundamentalists are just members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban who grew up with a different set of stories.

[Delphinus]

8. Unfortunately,

the Christian Fundamentalists are just members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban who grew up with a different set of stories they won't see it! They're too blind to see the similarities between themselves.

[Lucy - Claire]

69. You want Christians to start rioting and burning down

campus buildings. I am a Christian, some of those cartoons are funny. Esp the Poker one and some of them make a point that may not have been intended, that Christians can use to make use think about our actions.
Nothing there is riot inducing or worth that much anger or interest, any Christian Fundermentalist that does kick up and major fuss will be allowing themselves to be baited when they are more affective saying nothing.

[apnu]

74. But fundies do have a history of violence...

Look at all the Planned Parenthood bombings and shootings in the 1990's.

Fundies are to Christianity as Al-Queda (and other terrorist groups) are to Islam -- They are the ugly side of religion.

The riots stemmed from the depiction of Allah which is a big taboo in Islam. If one were to make a very positive cartoon showing Allah, the riots still would have happened I think. Granted, what triggers a fundie to get violent is very different from what triggers a muslim to get violent, but they both get violent in their own way.

Having said all that: I agree with you. Some of them are funny and some aren't, and some I didn't get at all. (and I'm an atheist) He's like all other cartoonists -- hit or miss on a daily basis. Even the Boondocks (which I read constantly) has off days.

[Lucy - Claire]

75. I think people need to distinguish between American Christian Fundies...

and those of other nations. I have one or two Baptist friends in the UK, they are from South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Singapore, as well as Brits and they are embaressed by the American Fundies. They work to promote Fair Trade shopping, Green Issues,Cancelling world debt,run youth groups for the poorest kids in our area, feed the homeless etc They are far from Conservative, yet that label sticks because of what happens is America right now.

I am a liberal Catholic, that has explored protestant churches, some have been "Fundie" yet the most Fundamentlist Pastor I knew is a dye in the wool Old Labour Supporting, former Shop Steward in the Printing industry. Though naturally the church had it's share of Conservatives but that is life and debate between the two sides was always there. None of them support Bush or the Death Penalty, they may not like Abortion but it is not in any danger of being banned and sex education is what it is supposed to be. And with Britain's teen pregnancy rate Sex Ed is regarded as too vital to not teach. And there weren't any loud campaigns against Gay Civil Partnerships.
I understand that Fundies have burned down abortion clinics, murdered doctors, shoot people but many people regard it as insanity, that gives all Christians a bad name.It is embaressing. Just like the majority of law abide, Muslims are embaressed by the protestors in London, that carried meesages of death and distruction on placards.
The American Fundermentalist movement is something that churches across the world have deal with as it reflects on them too.
But I am have had discussions online with American Right-Wing Christians and they have told me I am going to hell, I find them nausiating and so ignorant. These are the people that are amazing when British Baptists often drink alcohl, read Harry Potter, help the poor in Africa through secular aid groups and think Dubya is a bad man.

BTW: My father is an atheist and I get very annoyed with Christians that slated Atheist as some sort of force for evil. My father is a fine man and he does challange my beliefs but he also respects my choices.
The Guardian has some very funny cartoons about God, which I love they are great, nobody has died because of time.

[apnu]

76. Good point

US fundies are a different breed from everybody else. Well said.

[Lucy - Claire]

78. Thank You

I wish others would realise that too.

[Bassic]

71. Actually, I think the one about the two homosexuals

was meant to criticize the general Chruch attitude towards it. I don't think it depicted the cartoonists homophobia.

[Flagg]

5. Begun the cartoon wars have

sick world...

[designforce]

6. Good Satire

Enjoyed them. But wonder what the point of the post is. These are not the same as what has caused outrage with many Muslims. And besides, the points made about money whoring televangalists is true, two faced preachers..true, hypocrites in robes...true, competition among religious sects...true....And besides, freedom of speech is one of the freedoms "They hate us for" isn't it?

So, is religion the cause of all the ills that plague humankind?

I for one think so.

Waiting for the new age of enlightment from behind enemy lines in the deep south....

[Selatius]

7. Let's hope the Army of God doesn't blow up people who believe in...

the right to free speech. Lord knows they've blown up enough clinics and killed enough people who work at those places.

[genie_weenie]

9. MUST defend to the death

the satire! Must resist urge to burn down campus...

The card game cartoon is awesome!

[bperci108]

21. Anyone notice...

...that Lucifer bears more than a passing resemblance to Stewie Griffin of TV's "Family Guy"?

You don't think........?


:rofl:

[joefree1]

10. You Abrahamic cartoonist are too much

You Christian, Jews, and Muslims dissing each other really crack us pagans up. Thanks for the yucks.

Please don't riot or set off bombs.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaganWarrior/

[Gregorian]

11. Not nearly offensive enough. Come on!

I hang out on a website where we intentionally tried to see if we could insite contempt. We couldn't.
Now just for fun, I've grabbed the first Buddy Christ I could find. And in case that's not offensive enough, I drew a magenta cock on him. Is that enough to incite unrest? Is it? Come on! There's a limit somewhere. Or is there? These cartoons ought to be enough for someone to burn an embassy somewhere.


With magenta cock...

[fshrink]

27. There you go!

[Lucy - Claire]

70. That is no more offensive than a picture of a cock on the

Subway walls, drawn by a sixteen year old boy on an Asbo. Graffiti is hughly annoying and can be painted over
but nothing were outrage or more than a shrug of the shoulders, when you see it.

[napsi]

12. These are pretty

funny. Somehow, I don't think the christian fundies are going to start blowing up buildings and killing people over them though. It will be fun to see them get pissed off though.......

[Laelth]

13. Time for a mopaul classic.

How's this for irreverent?



-Laelth

[Zhade]

49. ...

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Massachusetts]

14. Depictions are incorrect.

Jesus was really a woman.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[democracyindanger]

23. Get real.

Using your standards, PEDOPHILIA and FRAUD are the INHERENT NATURE of Christians.

[TankLV]

28. ?????

I can only stand by RESULTS.

And I don't see any fundie CHRISTIAN groups RIOTING, CALLING FOR KILLING, ETC. like the MUSLIMS seem to do lately - a LOT!

But I only have FACTS and ACTUAL recent HISTORY to go on.

[Solon]

30. Hey, look at Africa for that...

Besides which, he's only calling you on your bigotry, generalizations are wrong, period.

[Zhade]

50. Indeed. What's with the bigotry on DU?

I mean, I knew it existed (as do others), but from someone like the poster above, who I really liked?

Sad.

[TankLV]

61. It's just an observation based on reality, Sorry.

Has NOTHING to do with bigotry.

NOTHING.

You all need to look somewhere else.

Stop trying to defend the indefensible.

[Zhade]

66. That's just your opinion, and a flawed one at that.

Sorry. Not all Muslims fit your racist stereotype.

I've lost a lot of respect for you. Not that you should care, but it's true.

[democracyindanger]

31. Fundie CHRISTIANS

advocated the illegal invasion of Iraq. The general formerly in charge of the invasion bragged about how his GOD was "bigger" than "theirs". The Chimp in the White House, another "GOOD CHRISTIAN" has a messianic complex, and encouraged the BOMBING and KILLING of innocents.

So stick that in your XIANS are SO MORAL pipe and smoke it. CHRISTIANS can be just as bloodthirsty and vile as anybody else; it just so happens that at this point in time, the means at their disposal gives them the use of armies instead of mobs.

Get over your religion. Don't think your shit doesn't stink, 'cause it does.

[TankLV]

62. I never said or claimed any such thing.

The fundie christians are bad, too.

But the fundie muslims are far worse.

Like comparing who's worse, Hitler, Pol Pot, or Mousilini.

I never claim or said any of these asswipes are worthy of merit.

[democracyindanger]

64. Well, it's easy

to deny statements that have been deleted, huh?

[Zhade]

67. You didn't say FUNDIE ISLAM.

You said Islam, period.

You're moving the goalposts.

[fshrink]

43. Try to make a rough estimate

of, historically, how many humans died because of, in the name of, to defend, to expand, etc... christianism. These are your "results". This is worse than plague. And the same goes for islam and the rest. I don't even mention the waste of time.

[megatherium]

24. Christians don't do that crap anymore because they got some manners

beaten into them two or three centuries ago (we call it the Renaissance and Enlightenment). Islam unfortunately doesn't seem to have learned any manners yet; in some countries where it holds sway, dreadful laws such as "blasphemy" laws are enforced on penalty of death. (Of course, I'm not referring to the large numbers of decent Muslims, including friends of mine, that the radicals probably regard as secularized apostates).

[0rganism]

34. Islam is about 600 years younger than Christianity, IIRC

Maybe we should look back to what Christians and Christian states were doing in the 14th and 15th centuries for a direct comparison with the Islam and Islamic states of today?

[megatherium]

47. An apt comparison indeed.

Christian countries punished heresy and apostasy by death, and went through paroxysms of xenophobia, burning thousands of innocent women on suspicion of witchcraft. Jews were often tolerated, indeed protected by the Church, but their status was often precarious, and sometimes they were subject to terrible pogroms. But on the plus side, Christians formed the first modern universities and hospitals.

[fshrink]

45. Yes. A Jordanian

newspaper had the guts to publish 3 caricatures a couple of weeks ago. Paper was seized and editor fired. I hope figuratively. There are as many, I mean as few, people clearly opposed to religion there than here. And there are more churches here than mosks there. Etc...

[apnu]

77. "Renaissance and Enlightenment"

Oddly enough, US fundies want Creationism taught in public schools, want constitutional amendments banning homosexuality, think 'faith-based' sexual education will stop teen pregnancy. Not to mention they were the cheer leading squad for Bush to drop cluster bombs all over Afghanistan and Iraq and now they don't care if Bin Laden is out there or not.

I'd hardly call that enlightenment. Even in America fundamental religious nut-jobs (who are a minority) seek to impose laws based off their own regressive view of their faith.

While the rest of the first world nations seem to move forward, America is certainly moving backwards to the dark ages.

[Solon]

32. Actually, I have a question for you...

OK, first, these cartoons are pretty tame, funny, but tame. But the question is, how would Christians react if the NYT had a cartoon drawn up that showed Jesus molesting a little boy in a confessional?

[Zhade]

51. Now THERE'S a fair comparison.

Well-said.

[Hoping4Change]

54. Jesus nor his teachings are affected by a cartoon.

Christ said he was the truth and the way. If something is the Truth does it become less of a truth because people don't agree with that assertion or go so far to ridicule it.

[ronnie624]

68. Good analogy.

However, in order for it to be truly accurate, your scenario must be in addition to many years of meddling, exploitation, coups, bombings, invasions and the slaughtering of hundreds of thousands in western (Christian) nations by Muslims. As this has never happened,(or at least not in recent history) there really is no basis for comparison.

Those posters who make their foolish moralistic judgments about Islam without taking into consideration the very significant history of western(Christian) involvement in Asia do not have an accurate context to their perspective. The damage that we westerners (Christians) have done to the civilizations in Asia is impossible to quantify as well as impossible to deny.

Why would Muslims NOT feel as though they are under constant attack by Christians, if not with bombs, with cartoons? But the fact is, a tiny, infinitesimal fraction of the worlds Muslim populations were even involved in violent protests anyway. How strange and sad that some can't or won't see these simple and obvious truths.

Racism and cultural bigotry are the bane of human civilization, and if we do not address it, it will destroy us all.

[0rganism]

33. How many Muslims in America rioted, killed, and called for death?

I gotta say, I didn't see any of it if it happened. :shrug:

Perhaps there's more going on here than fundamentalist religion. Ya think, maybe?

[951-Riverside]

41. How many Christians in Europe rioted, killed, and called for death?

Hell tell me how many rioted in Israel over this.

I'm waiting for a news story 0rganism

Edit: And don't cite things that happened hundreds of years ago.

[0rganism]

42. "And don't cite things that happened hundreds of years ago."

Gee, why the hell not? Is it so hard to admit that the things Christendom went through 600 years ago are comparable what's going on in some parts of the Islamic world today? Of course there are differences, but if you look at where the most violent "cartoon" riots happened, those where people died or were killed, you'll see a common thread of poverty, immigrant population, low-intensity civil warfare, socially-enforced primitivism, and foreign occupation.

The cartoons cannot be viewed as the sole cause of the strife, in and of themselves. They are emblematic of the disrespect many Muslims feel they receive from western culture. They were, so to speak, another straw breaking the camel's already-fractured back, not the entire load. Look at the recent immigrant riots in France, before the cartoons became a point of contention. Volatility in these segments of the population is sadly overdetermined, and being exploited by some very irresponsible clerics (and willfully exacerbated by some publishers, as well).

[Zhade]

52. "The cartoons cannot be viewed as the sole cause of the strife..."

But then how will anyone feel safe enough to let their latent bigotry and racism against Arabs and Muslims come out?

:sarcasm:

[0rganism]

63. We'll find a way, for that much I have the utmost confidence

:woohoo: Never underestimate the Powers of Human Stupidity! :woohoo:

[enigma000]

46. Remember: X-ianity: bad all other religions: good

Only the religions that most Amerikkkans follow: X-ianity is wrong. That's the problem.

Just like in the 1930s: FDR: Evil Hitler: Good

Foreigners and foreign beliefs are always right. Americakkkans are always wrong.

[VegasWolf]

16. Great! Religious people don't seem to have problems with caricatures

of Darwin, Freud, Einstein and other intellectuals.

[Frank Cannon]

17. I think these cartoons are kind of funny...

if not the very height of comedy. They're pretty amateurish, and one or two of them don't even make sense, but I don't find any of them "irreverent".

I think Jesus of Nazareth himself would have gotten a chuckle or two out of some of these cartoons, because Jesus was enormously centered and had NO self-esteem problems, and he wouldn't have perceived "injury" from a simple cartoon parody.

There used to be a great magazine out a few years ago called The Door, which functioned as a kind of Christian National Lampoon. They used to have some pretty funny cartoons and articles. There was one cartoon that sticks out in my mind: Young Jesus is walking into his house and leaves the door open. His mother is yelling from off-frame, "Jesus, for crying out loud, close the door! What were you, born in a barn?" I thought that was pretty funny. I know Jesus would have too.

[megatherium]

26. The Door still exists.

It seems to be called the Wittenburg Door now: http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/home.html

[Frank Cannon]

59. Deleted dupe

[Frank Cannon]

60. Wow! I had no idea.

I used to see this magazine at bookstores in Dallas, which I guess is where it's published. When we left Big D, I never saw it again. Good to know that it's still around.

[TankLV]

29. I think the cartoons are GREAT, too.

Love the occasional comments, too - especially the ones from those with NO sense of humor.

[Shelor]

18. Supply Side Jesus

[Gregorian]

36. That's a work of genius.

I thought Al Franken had something to do with the writing of that. I am probably wrong.

On a serious note, I just realized that I can laugh like silly at all of this Christ stuff. But when someone gets all righteous about atheism on this forum, I turn livid. Embassy burning livid. I guess it's all how threatened we feel, or something...

[NuttyFluffers]

44. god, that is beautiful and hysterical

brings a tear to my eye.

[joshcryer]

57. Absolutely beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

[barb162]

19. that guy in the very bottom photo shouldn't wear a tube top

[CentralEuropeanDude]

20. *burns embassy* nt

[sofa king]

22. Go Highlanders!

You know that one room on the second floor of Perry with all the dartboard holes in it? Yeah, I did that, back when all of you kids there now were just a glint in my Milwaukee's Best goggles. What are you gonna do about it?

[Charlie Brown]

25. I kind of resent the devil wearing a pentagram

Riot! Riot! Death to America! Hulk Smash!

[currents]

35. Anyone who believes in Religion is an idiot

Let's set the record straight.

[Zhade]

53. That's just plain wrong.

There are literally millions of very intelligent people who belong to belief systems based on unproven mythical assumptions.

[progressivebydesign]

37. I liked the poker game one the best...

that was actually hilarious. People are sooo thin-skinned.

[Bonhomme Richard]

38. LOL, I graduated from Radford.

Good for him.
Boy Do I miss Norwood

[sandnsea]

39. Jesus the Pedophiliac Serial Killer

Draw a picture blaming all pedophilia murders on Jesus, and do that for oh, 50 years, and see if you don't end up with some Christians rioting.

Oh, and what about all those abortion clinic bombings and murders??? That doesn't count?

[Zhade]

55. THANK you.

NT!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

40. I like the glorified Easter bunny one.

nt

[Zhade]

48. I swear, the hypocrisy of some Christians...

Jesus, assuming he actually existed as more than an idea, must be rolling in his grave.

[fujiyama]

56. To those offended

Get over it!

I found the cartoons to be pretty funny.

[joshcryer]

58. Most of those don't mock Jesus.

They mock the establishment. Actually, all of them seem to merely mock the establishment.

[knitter4democracy]

65. Looks like the kind of joking we did at college.

We went to an evangelical college, so it was a bit racy, but we firmly believe that God has a sense of humor.

Those are funny. :D

Best one: http://www.radford.edu/~whim/toon/articles/jc2.html

[Igel]

72. The cartoons are tame.

The hypocrisy is rank. And I don't mean that of the Xians.

The reporter and all DUers get it right: Satirization of the hypocrisy of Xians. Presumably the Xians involved also get the point.

It is not satirizing Jesus. It is not blasphemy: the target isn't the Son of God, but the Xians that don't do as they preach. Instead of representing the King of Kings as Xianity presents him, the cartoonist presents him as the hypocrites must believe him to be--assuming, of course, that they're really being hypocrites. Frequently those outside a group portray failings as intentional (it's rather like effacing the willfulness needed to make something a lie--it just feels better to misrepresent things and say somebody's a liar than to be as accurate as possible and say he was wrong).

But when it comes to satirizing Muslims, the press and many others get it willfully wrong. Even when what's being satirized is pointed out, it's denied. It doesn't feed their sense of righteousness and the concomitant need to vilify and dehumanize others they need to feel better than.

These cartoons vilify and blaspheme against Jesus like the Danish cartoons vilified and blasphemed against Muhammed. Except that in the case of the Xians, the vices are more venal, and the response more subdued.

[Javaman]

73. Once we realize that man created god...

everything else falls into place.