Christian Themes and Thought Provocation

[Doubtcent]

A very astute observation. Incredibly thought out. I've already subbed to thine comic.

[kklekc718]

Everybody else already said it, but I'll just add a note.

There are stories like "Facing the Giants," where it preached the story, while Narnia just tells the story.

Although I am a Christian, I hate watching Christians films, as they were often done poorly. Movies like Narnia, the Bible series, Exodus, and Lord of the Rings, they were pretty much done right, as it was telling the story.

If I want to hear a sermon, there are pastors or the actual Bible. If I want to check out a story, there are medias of all forms that I can look.

In my story, Legend of the Crusading Artist, the character is a Christian, but that is not the main focus of the story. The focus is about his journey as an artist, through skills alone or with help (whether supernatural or physical). There may be some "Easter Eggs" that I'll throw in, and at the end, I could explain the easter egg with the verses. Throwing in a snipbit of verses can be fun, as it may either encourage the reader to check it out or throw in good moral lesson for others.

I have one verse that might sound silly, but for the story, it'll be radically funny.

[UzukiCheverie]

For a bit of comedic uplifting, someone made a thread on reddit called "What would the Bible be like if Dr. Seuss wrote it?". The results were pretty hysterical (Disclaimer: this is not meant as an offense to serious Christians, it's just good comic relief to keep our heads on straight x3). This one seems to be the 10 commandments written as a Dr. Seuss rhyme:

Don't stabbeth your neighbor with a big pointy knife,
Or covet his buxomous, lustimous wife.
And honor thy parents, they raised you so well,
But don't honor false gods or you'll go straight to hell.
Don't steal from your neighbors, not soft furs nor breads,
Or falsely claim Jacob wears frogs on his head.
Don't cheat on your spouse, for it would be a pain,
To wake up to her screaming my own name in vain.
Remember young Jews, take the sabbath with glee,
But remember, you shall have no other gods before me.

[NagashiKhan]

I think it's important to note that people's perspective of "Christian" has no real bearing on the quality of a comic, and because art should be made regardless of the demands and desires of the people, I don't think posing your comic as "Christian" has any real negative effects. Unless, of course, you're looking for likes and views and subscribers, in which case, that would be a good point.

I also think it's VERY important to note that the cornerstone philosophy of Christianity is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength- which is pretty much amoral and has little to do with "being a decent human being".

Also, why does having a Christian themed comic have to have a Christian audience only? I personally am directing my comic to anyone BUT Christians. Just a thought.

I don't think anybody could be offended by a Dr. Seuss 10 commandments @UzukiCheverie =P Thanks for that ^^

[Jimbo]

There is so much wrong with this thread it is hard to begin. Individual posts contain so much absurdity that the entire thread would be comedic if the stakes weren't so high. This thread has not only abandoned all logic, it has also abandoned both brevity and wit.

Candor is not disrespect. Candor is the highest form of respect. Secondly, if you think the truth is harsh, trying living in denial of the truth. Third, unless you walked a mile in my zapatos, you should not give me life advice.

If you think religion is not important, try operating your computer without an operating system.

And let's not indulge the fantasy that all points of view are welcome when we have members that flag every post that offends them.

I ASK YOU: HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BE A GREAT ARTIST WHEN YOU CENSOR EVERYTHING THAT OFFENDS YOU?

If you think Christianity is a den of hypocrites, try living in non-Christian societies. [joke edited to appease the humorless.]

[Jimbo]

Yay for disrespect and sacrilege. If you cannot see the conflict of interest between wearing a moderator's hat and a poster's hat, maybe some fashion simplicity is in order.

[Jimbo]

What you wrote is true. Who really wants to view badly executed artwork.

On the other hand, well executed artwork can propagate the faith and aid the believer in his pilgrimage.

[zelkats]

To be fair, your posts were flagged because you were insulting people. Criticising ideas and practices are perhaps fine to a degree but making fun or calling people who are not like you (atheists, non-heterosexuals, etc.) unintelligent is not. And we were following the rules. Hence the flags.

Perhaps this isn't the right place for you to discuss what you want to talk about. We all come from different walks of life and may silently disagree with other people's lifestyles, but we've done a fairly good job at keeping everything civil in these forums despite it being part of the Internet. And we would like to keep it that way.

My advice to you is to take a deep breath and stay away from the internet temporarily. You can come back once you're capable of having a calm discussion without the constant need to challenge people and pick fights.

[Jimbo]

Is the thread about atheists? Or homosexuals?

[zelkats]

Well, this thread isn't about atheists or homosexuals. And neither is the other topic where your replies were flagged. So you went out of topic, broke a couple of rules and got flagged. Nothing complicated about that.

Edit: oops. Almost fell into that trap. The talk of atheist and homosexual isn't the point of of my reply. I was hoping to discourage you from taking out your anger on the people and their opinions in threads like these. It's not worth anyone's time.

[infectedbloodcomics]

@Jimbo I don't really get you. You have a comic on a transwoman and wrote in the looking for LGBT+ comics thread , so I assumed you didn't see anything wrong with LGBT+ people. When you posted that drawing of Jesus coming out of the closet, I found it funny, because it seemed to me that you were, indeed, not into Bible thumping. But now you sound more conservative than I thought, calling atheists stupid as a rule, and finding a silly joke sacrilegious. What's going on, am I having visions, so to speak? Is your comic bait, and maybe for our LGBT+ folks and you will tear the transwoman apart?

[Jimbo]

This thread is not about homosexuals or atheists. Therefore all posts unrelated to the primary post and title are therefore off topic and should be flagged.

You have threads about gays, Spanish speakers, authors looking for followers in the disguise of seeking writing advice, but the minute a Christian thread pops up, the anti-Christ people flag any promotion or association Christian artists may want to engage in.

That's a fact. Nothing complicated about that. [comments omitted to satisfy the flaggers and anti-debaters]

[zelkats]

Refer to my edited comment above. Kindly stop trying to turn the blame to someone or something else.

[Jimbo]

@infectedbloodcomics

my art is my expression. You are free to interpret it in any way you want. It exists outside of me.

http://tapastic.com/series/Call-Me-Robby

I will only say it is based on true events.

I am Bible thumping because this is a Bible thumping thread and I seek common cause with people who share my worldview.

I posted a drawing of Jesus getting thrown in the closet because I see new totalitarianism. When I call atheists stupid as a rule because when a man isolates himself from his God he becomes subject to sin, he becomes quite literally, deaf, dumb (silent) and blind. The atheist must worship something outside himself because he knows he is mortal and the thought of his death is unthinkable. He therefore makes himself God echoing the dictum of Satan "Do What Thou Wilt." When I call atheists stupid as a rule I am just quoting the Bible.

Like I said, the point of this thread is to find other Bible Thumpers not debate or defend the Bible. But if the Bible is attacked like it has been on this thread, I will pick it up.

Most of you folks reading this are younger than me so take an older man's advice, pick your operating system wisely for everyman's life is continuation of debate between dead philosophers.

What say you?

[Jimbo]

I have a different point of view than you. Kindly exercise tolerance

[infectedbloodcomics]

Oh, I thought Jesus was getting out of the closet thanks to Obama, so I assumed you suggested Jesus was gay. Never mind, then.

I don't have anything else to say, I don't need your god. Enjoy your Bible thumping thread.

[Jimbo]

Touche

And I will.

Thanks

[NagashiKhan]

Excuse me? I'm sorry sir, but this thread has nothing to do with Bible Thumping. If you'd like to do that you can kindly do that somewhere else. But not here. And I apologize, I don't quite care what your thoughts are on the state of this thread, those who want their say on the matter can have it. That's why this is a forum thread.

Now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, let us please continue speaking on the subject matter at hand, not this chatter.

[nothing09876]

I agree. I'm a Christian as well, I'm also serious about the faith I just have. But I will never make an argument or debate like what is happening right now. I may declare my faith, but not in the wrong timing. I would just stay quiet...

[Wishjacked]

Guys. The only way to take care of somebody else is to take care of yourself first. This is true of pretty much everything. Put your own oxygen mask on first, y'know? In order to take care of people outside the faith which, yes, we want to convert... don't go around hollering about how they're going to hell. That is not helpful to anybody. Instead, focus on making you own life more holy and Christ-centered, live the way Jesus taught, and please talk to someone stronger in their faith who can help you stop needing to go around hollering about how everybody's going to hell.

Another thing to think about is that we have a lot to learn from people outside the faith! About half of my friends are non-Christians of various stripes, and they have enriched my life greatly. I also have a number of homeschooled Christian friends, who are all around college age. They are so afraid to be friends with people who are not Christians that they dehumanize them, which is wrong.

Aaaaand I think all this needs to apply to our art as well. We can absolutely make Bible thumping, propaganda type comics... but we can't except non-Christians to enjoy them or gain anything from them. Take care of your comic first, make sure it's good, that the story and characters are intact. Do it because you love it, not because you want to convert with it. Take care of yourself: if you are a strong, healthy, hard-working Christian it will show in your work. And don't be afraid to learn things from non-Christians. They can be amazing people.