Webcomics and

[Mongrel]

I don't know, it seems to me that Original Sin is a very easy concept to believe in when you live in a world facing the revelation that a huge proportion of the average population (40%, for the US, currently) have been revealed as deranged zealots marching in the armies of hell.

Glib, I suppose, but all it requires it that you beleive people are generally evil. And when you ask why, well the Church has a pretty compelling answer for you.

[Lottel]

Forgive the tangent but this might be interesting to some of you. Back when I went to Catholic school, I got in so much trouble for asking questions that I didn't get recess from 2nd grade until I left after 6th grade.
One of the questions that bothered me was Original Sin.
I kept asking all sorts of questions about why it came about*, why it's still around**, and all sorts of other questions that I very innocently and politely asked and only when called upon.

Eventually I turned into an adult, got Confirmed, and went to get a philosophy degree. Looking into some of the theology aspects, I got an answer from a Cardinal about Original Sin and I will share his wisdom with you:

Original Sin can be seen as a curse placed on humanity by God, but really it's there to give us something to overcome, something so we can work towards reaching heaven. If we were all born perfect, some people would go to heaven by accident, without having to work towards God's Grace. Those with an easier life would get into heaven easier than those who struggle. This puts all of man on an even playing field from birth, even if it's behind the eight ball.

Which obviously is not a concrete answer, but basically after that I stopped asking questions because, after verifying with several other's people in the profession, they all agree that's the "correct" stance on the matter.***

Also, hey. I should point out that even born into this stuff, clearly from a young age I had a huge problem with the entire shebang so when I innocently asked questions as a six year old to quell doubt and got shut down, I assumed it was because no one really knew, which meant it was probably fake. I took this lack of faith as a huge moral failing on my part, which combined with other school factors, is why I had ulcers and crippling anxiety at before I left grade school.
I was incredibly young when I decided just give up on religion and it became more of an anthropological interest. I say all this to say: this is wild to me too, y'all.

* "Eve ate the apple and we are all born from Eve so we share her sin." "Does that mean I have the same sins of my parents?" "No. Her Sin was bigger." "But she was tricked? By the literal Devil? Doesn't that count for something?" "Detention."

** since Jesus was supposed to erase Original Sin. That's why he died, right? To open the gates of heaven that God locked and also to rid us of a sin none of us committed? Nope. That only goes away when baptized which is why babies go to hell. "Isn't that the fault of the parents and not the baby?" "Detention."

*** Well, that and some antisemitic views that I really don't want to type out but I'm sure you can guess what the priests said.

[mharr]

I don't know, it seems to me that Original Sin is a very easy concept to believe in when you live in a world facing the revelation that a huge proportion of the average population (40%, for the US, currently) have been revealed as deranged zealots marching in the armies of hell.

Good chance that Minna perceives those as being on the side of the angels though. The 40% aren't there because they've turned away from god.

If we were all born perfect, some people would go to heaven by accident

Well that needs to be an Oh no! comic. So basically the same emotional drive as that chimp throwing peanuts back at the researcher because its neighbor got grapes.

Actually that explains a lot about religious political leanings.

[zaratustra]

Does anyone have experience of what's going on with a person as they progress from confident modern thinker to statements like "And through many turns God, by his providence, allowed me to undertand something of how truly sinful my nature is, and how little I deserve mercy." ?

I can't process that as anything short of schizophrenic.

My best explanation is this:

some people, when they pray or sing hymns or such, they actually feel something

like, a presence, or some comfort, or something

and hey - if i ever felt that maybe i wouldn't have slooowly gotten bored with the whole thing

[Friday]

yeah the whole "can't get into heaven for free" shit is pure "when i was your age i had to get cast out of eden and work by the sweat of my brow"

like what fucking insane deity would not let infants who died at 2 months into heaven

not an omni-benevolent one, that's for sure

(by the way all my problems with god instantly vanish if you admit they're not omni-benevolent or omnipotent or both)

(this is why I totally accept the greek gods)

(yes, you heard it here first, the greek gods are more logically consistent than the christian god because they're just a bunch of fuckasses with a lot of power)

(sort of like a selfish, borderline evil version of the X-Men)

(okay so just the X-Men)

[nosimpleway]

I have friends who lost their baby at delivery when a stray blood clot gave it a fatal stroke in utero.

Now imagine looking that grieving mother in the eye and telling her that her baby is burning in hell forever because it died unbaptized

because that happened.

[Grath]

they're just a bunch of fuckasses with a lot of power

Zeus would not have anywhere near so many children if he was fucking asses

[Yoji]

Hell, your god is bad if even a webcomic like Kill Six Billion Demons has a more internally consistent diety.

"Why does evil exist? Because the struggle against it or even for it gives creation meaning. Perfection and stability is like a corpse; once achieved, the only thing left for it to do is decay."

[Mongrel]

they're just a bunch of fuckasses with a lot of power

Zeus would not have anywhere near so many children if he was fucking asses

I mean, a few donkeys were probably in there too. It was Zeus.

"Yeah, so the king of our gods? He fucks like a machine, living, dead, human, animal, spirit, random inanimate objects? He gives no fucks about the fucks he fucks. That's why he's in charge."

[mharr]

KSBD is one of those epic works that I want to have read far more than I want to actually sit down and work through. I need the archive on brain spike media.

some people, when they pray or sing hymns or such, they actually feel something

I think this is why churches tend to be fearful of ritual magic, drug use, decent music, even fantasy stories and games outside of their influence.

Any time I've described a secular encounter with the numinous to one of the faithful, they immediately jump to the tricksy demons explanation. Nothing from outside is allowed to be non-aligned, let alone good.

Which is the general form I expect the SSSS shark jump to take. Oh hey, Culture ship name. Drink!

[nosimpleway]

I read a myth at some point, don't remember which one, where someone had the gall to question Zeus on his behavior and the answer was basically "Humans are as far beyond the ants as the gods are beyond humans, and I am that far above all the other gods."

I assume the point was "You're in no position to question me" but I feel like my reply would have been "Yeah, but humans don't fuck every ant that crosses their path" and I'd have been cursed to turn into a toad or a plant or something.

There'd be nosimpletoad hopping around ancient Greece and people would look at it and say "That's why you don't ask Zeus why he does what he does I guess, huh"

[Thad]

I once created a protagonist whose defining characteristic is being the guy who says "Hey, remember that time King Arthur wanted to kill his incest-baby, so he had all the babies killed? Am I really the only one who thinks maybe that guy was kind of an asshole?"

One of these days I oughta sit down and write up some of the further adventures of Old Tom. He also has a few questions about whether all Lancelot's problems were really caused by losing his virginity.

[Mongrel]

KSBD is one of those epic works that I want to have read far more than I want to actually sit down and work through. I need the archive on brain spike media.

I'm not sure what it is about it... That sort of thing is often very much my bag (I mean I have just about every Moebius book published and there's certainly some overlap there at least), but KSBD never hooked me, I don't know quite why, and it's not like I'm going to try again just for the sake of figuring out why.

[Büge]

There's something about KSBD that reminds me, uncomfortably, of Imajica, and I really didn't like Imajica.

[Friday]

One of these days I oughta sit down and write up some of the further adventures of Old Tom.

I remember enjoying that. Something about an old, cynical mercenary protag really sells me. My favorite character from Bebop (non dog) is Jet, after all.

[Lottel]

Also explains your friendships here

[Destynova]

I read a myth at some point, don't remember which one, where someone had the gall to question Zeus on his behavior and the answer was basically "Humans are as far beyond the ants as the gods are beyond humans, and I am that far above all the other gods."

I assume the point was "You're in no position to question me" but I feel like my reply would have been "Yeah, but humans don't fuck every ant that crosses their path" and I'd have been cursed to turn into a toad or a plant or something.

There'd be nosimpletoad hopping around ancient Greece and people would look at it and say "That's why you don't ask Zeus why he does what he does I guess, huh"

Something about all the gods not being able to yank him down but he could string all the other gods up.

Time for a team-up between Kratos and Doom Slayer

[nosimpleway]

Maybe if the other gods gave him a yank every now and then he wouldn't be trying to fuck mortals all the time idk

[Friday]

I mean, let's be real. We want to fuck our 2d waifus and Zeus sees us the same way.

[Romosome]

If we were all born perfect, some people would go to heaven by accident

Well that needs to be an Oh no! comic. So basically the same emotional drive as that chimp throwing peanuts back at the researcher because its neighbor got grapes.

Actually that explains a lot about religious political leanings.

It was a capuchin, they were cucumber slices, and it was happy to receive them until its neighbor got grapes and it did not.

This is the complete opposite. Please do not slander the monkeys.