Martin Luther in the Bathroom

“Here I stand, I can do no other” is one of my favorite sayings, which I take very seriously. But there is a time for everything: a time to be serious and a time to poke fun. Here’s an example of the latter:

Religious Illiteracy

Prayer in School

Matthew 25

OK, maybe this isn’t the funniest cartoon I’ve ever done, but it does illustrate a point: Upon seeing his friend the priest, the unbeliever Hux Lee immediately thinks of God and tries to make fun of him, whereas the priest is mostly concerned for the people in his parish.

Throughout history, many believers have recognized that God is to be met primarily by helping others. It’s the whole Matthew 25 thing – the parable about the sheep and the goats. You might want to read it sometime, if you haven’t already done so.

Amos: A Cry Against Social Injustice

A few years ago, a German magazine asked me to write a series of articles on the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament and to draw a picture for each article. Here’s the one about Amos, who lived in the eight century BC and preached passionately against social injustice. I think the picture needs no further explanation:

Everyone has to begin SOMEWHERE

Utilitarianism in Theory and Practice

Priests Obsessed with Sex: The Abuse Scandal in Ireland

You don’t hear much about it in the international news anymore, but the recent disclosure of sexual abuse by Irish churchmen continues to be a topic here in Ireland. I hope I am not making light too much of a very serious issue by posting this cartoon I drew a while back:

What made me draw the cartoon was not any sex scandal, though, but the curious fact that many believers throughout history have almost been obsessed with their sexuality, whereas many (or at least several) forerunners of secularism have been rather indifferent on the topic.

I’m thinking of St. Augustine, for instance. When he became a Christian, he ditched his long-time friend and lover, Floria, with whom he had a son, only thereafter to give into his passions and satisfy his cravings with another woman, exchanging love for mere lust. And throughout his life – even as a bishop – he struggled with his sexuality, as one can read in his Confessions. The Greek philosopher Epicur, on the other hand, taught openly the importance of pleasure, but the greatest pleasure for him lay in the contemplative life. The one man sought contemplation and struggled with pleasure; the other sought pleasure and found contemplation.

The second observation that went into the comic strip is the irony that some of the most famous unbelievers seem uncommonly obsessed with the idea of God and can’t stop talking about him, whereas many believers grow apathetic in their faith and might even feel embarrased to talk about God. A dead God apparently intrigues people more than a live one.

Perhaps it’s all due to law vs. freedom. If you have to think and talk about God, and you have to abstain from sex by all means, the one becomes a burden and the other an obsession. But if you are free, well, then you can find out your true interests.

So God is dead, huh?

Bureaucracy