that's funny... as we all know :)

lol
I've always found that anyone who uses one of the classical sins of critical thinking, "appeal to authority" with "as we all know..." is really saying, "look, this is how I see, and this is how you should see it too. Now shut up, and conform!"

Whether they intend that or not, that is what is coming through, and so dissenters remain quiet harboring thoughts of "well, he may see it that way, but I certainly don't."

Nope, better to allow those hidden thoughts out, better to see what is being held quietly in the heart because once it's out the subject/idea/belief can be addressed in a smart, and hopefully, open discussion.

Y'shua quoted the torah, the histories, the prophets, and dipped a few times into tradition as well...not as a hardliner, but to see how people would react.
If they reacted with humility, he rewarded them for going past the written opinion to the spirit of G-d's command to mankind. But he never brow beat people to conform to his maxim.
He wasn't here to enforce his will as King, he was here to bring salvation to those who wanted it, so he allowed people to think whatever they wanted to think. If they followed him, he gave them instruction, correction, and encouragement, if they opposed him, he went out of his way to annoy them even more.

Y'shua is my kind of messiah, and my kind of King.

this is so good on so many different levels.

This is classic. I think this says more about how we should think our congregations. They don't always know, so start from the beginning. (And don't use Christianese, that's just annoying.) That also has implications for our 'marketing' efforts. Every person who sits in your worship center does not know everything about your church. That's safe to assume, so we should communicate with that mindset.

Yes. Absolutely classic!

It seems we can no longer make even the most basic assumptions regarding the biblical knowledge of our people, even our regular attenders. It's time to give the page numbers in the pew Bibles and quit referencing biblical stories and illustrations without any detail or explanation. I have to quit talking in the "unknown tongue" of preacher talk without the good gift of basic interpretation. Thanks for the strong reminder.

so, editors...is this cartoon meant to condemn ignorance, or forgetfulness? knowing something is in Scripture, but having to remind oneself of the precise canonical location, is hardly something worthy of being mocked.

yes, there is a rather sad canonical ignorance floating around, and i am in no way seeking to justify deliberate ignorance, particularly in teachers as the cartoon presents. but in the end, how does canonical knowledge weigh against the importance of Scriptural knowledge? while the two go hand in hand, they are not one in the same. i would hope that, in time, a mature believer would know what words are catalogued as john 14:6; but in the end, it seems to me the primary importance is that everyone knows that Jesus said, "i am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the father except through me."

i love satire and social commentary, and i'm all for a good editorial cartoon, but perhaps in the context of a Christian publication whose message boards can get pretty ugly, a clarification of intent would not hurt.

to elly:

It's art, even if only in the simplest form, and it's open to interpretation. I think you'll see from the comments that different viewers have had different reactions. That's the idea, isn't it?

...in the context of a Christian publication whose message boards can get pretty ugly...

i think we stay pretty civil here, actually, in spite of the uber-seriousness of some of the topics at hand.

of course, in light of cartoons like this i'm reminded of ... let's see ... (sound of rustling pages) ... where was that again? ... oh yeah - ecclesiastes chapter 7:

(3) Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.

wait ... that wasn't the verse i wanted ...

mike rucker
fairburn, georgia, usa
mikerucker.wordpress.com

lol