Subject:
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Re: The Brick Testament: A Family Stoned and a City Massacred
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 9 Sep 2004 14:36:38 GMT
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Viewed:
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1565 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal wrote:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Brendan Powell Smith wrote:
> > To stick with your analogy for a moment, can Michael Jackson, as a former
> > black person, call a currently black person the "N" word?
>
> You aren't being serious.
What I meant was this: I was once a Christian. Out of curiosity, in your mind,
does that affect my right to criticize or poke fun at the Bible?
> > Not that I think this is a very good analogy. Having dark skin is really
> > not analagous to subscribing to a religion.
>
> Skin color wasn't the issue; it was a racial issue.
I prefer to speak of these matters in terms of skin color, since I'm not
entirely sure I know what "races" are, and skin color is what most people seem
preoccupied with.
But my criticism of your analogy stands: a religion is a very different thing
than a race. A race is not a set of beliefs, and one has no option to change
their race.
> > And whereas a non-black person calling a black person the "N" word is a pure
> > insult without supporting evidence, The Brick Testament is all evidence
> > without insult.
>
> You've missed my point. How about this: a Jewish comedian pokes fun at Rabbi
> in a joke. A Muslim comedian pokes fun at a Rabbi in a joke. Is not one
> perceived as anti-semitism and one not?
Well, now you're not dealing with races but with religions, and I see religions
as more akin to political parties, so let's try this analogy:
A republican can poke fun at another republican, but is it wrong for a
republican to poke fun at a democrat? Is it wrong for a republican to criticize
the beliefs and practices of a democrat?
I'm not trying to *equate* religions with politics, I'm simply saying that I see
religions as much more easily comparable to political parties than they are to
races.
> > I appreciate the Christian and Jewish fans of The Brick Testament even if I
> > do not hold the same religious beliefs as they do. I am always happy to
> > give permission to ministers and Sunday school teachers who ask to use my
> > illustrations in their classes. I do not consider them "suckers". I do not
> > expect that their doing so will make atheists out of their students, nor
> > would it upset me if it made their students stronger believers in their
> > religion. I'm just glad they would be getting a chance to see these stories
> > presented in a frank manner, maybe get a little amusement, and be in a
> > better position to make up their own minds about whether or not these
> > stories (and not merely the illustrations) are praiseworthy.
>
> It's interesting that you think that viewing the BT stories would put someone
> in a better position to make a judgment on the merit of the story itself (or
> even the Bible for that matter).
Sure. First of all, The Brick Testament brings to light many Bible stories that
are often unknown or ignored. So certainly a person is in a better position to
judge a story if they see it on The Brick Testament than if they'd never read
any version of it.
And the Brick Testament presents Bible stories in a very frank manner--one that
is not clouded by a concern to make the stories jibe with a much later theology
or just more palatable to our modern sensibilities and moral standards. So I
think it is often more true-to-the-original than most other retellings.
I would say that someone is in the best position to judge a Bible story after
reading it for themselves firsthand (preferably a few different translations of
it). I would recommend that to anyone, especially if they suspect my retellings
and illustrations are too skewed. I would hope that any Bible illustrator would
give that same advice.
-Brendan
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