Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ Karen Armstrong

March 4, 2015 • 6:10 am

Today’s Jesus and Mo, called “Ineffable,” takes a poke at those hypocritical Sophisticated Theologians™ who claim that we can’t say anything about God, for he’s a Great Apophatic Mystery, but then go ahead and tell us all kinds of things about who he is (loving, ubiquitous, etc.) and what he wants. (And yes, I’m talking about you, Karen Armstrong):

2015-03-04

I’ve written posts on this topic, often long ones, but I’m always amazed (and humbled) when the Jesus and Mo artist manages to make the same points in only four brief panels.

As for those Sophisticate Theologians™, they’re even worse than fundamentalists—at least in terms of intellectual honesty.

37 thoughts on “Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ Karen Armstrong”

  1. Can IQ be determined by viewing the amount of words used in relationship to the powerfulness of the message? This cartoon looks like a good example of high IQ.
    Great Job Everyone!

          1. I agree panel four fully captures the conflict between the ineffible claim and characterization. They make it classy with the first three frames!

  3. Right on the money. I can’t think of a better characterization of Sophisticated Theologians™ than this.

  4. Correction: On the author’s page, the title is “wants” not “ineffable”.

  5. When admonishing a child, I frequently hear “Because I said so!” Sophisticated Theologians are the adults who never learned to respectfully provide a reason why they ask children to do or to think something.

    1. As a parent, I have long made it a point to try to explain why they cannot have that video game, or a sleepover tonight. It does help, but it only works sometimes b/c they quickly learn to use logic and reasoning back at me.

      1. At the hairdresser I had a conversation with a mother and her child about politics. We were discussing who to vote for, when suddenly the child asks: “Can you also vote against someone?” Children’s logic can sometimes offer amazing insights. Sometimes I do think we should be able to vote against a politican.

        1. You can in systems like STV where you rank the candidates you like and don’t vote at all for those you don’t. It’s used for some elections in NZ, although not national ones. (For those we use the MMP voting system.)

      2. Yeah, I would also say that little kids (before the sleepover and video game phase) can be a good example of the adage “you can’t reason someone out of a position they weren’t reasoned into.”

        I find its often better setting expectations beforehand. When they come face to face with their desire, it may be too late to get them to think rationally about it. Better, if you can, to get them to think rationally about it before you put the banana in front of the monkey. “We’re going to the store; we are going for groceries. You can pick out a cookie but we are NOT getting a toy” works much much better than dealing with it only after you’re in front of the toy aisle.

        1. That’s what I was thinking–getting kids to reason is a huge part of child raising.

    2. I’m more inclined to see the Sophisticated Theologians in the role of the Eternal Child, perpetually jumping up and down while crying out “We’re just too little to understand! Daddy is soooo much smarter and wiser and bigger than our tiny little minds can ever figure out!”

      They then sit back smugly and congratulate themselves on their humility, acceptance, and capacity to resist the tendency to think themselves wiser than they are.

      1. I don’t think there’s any danger of excesses of wisdom emerging from theologians any time soon. Still, that doesn’t seem to stop them from considering themselves the ultimate bastions of wisdom. Go figure….

        b&

  6. Methinks that PCC, like the rest of us less-than-human atheists*, just doesn’t get the numinousness of it all.

    * with thanks to cardinal cormac murphy-o’connor-former catholic archbishop of westminster

    1. But I guess Sophisticated Theologians™ will argue that Jesus and Mo were/are just “tools” for communication. And that Jesus even was/is God™ in a way… There’s always a way (irrational, but still) around it, eh? :-/

  10. When the world is your stage …

    … do not deep-six your show with Sophistry Theologian™ deepities.

  11. Yes, I hold a special disdain for those who, faced with blatant Scriptural absurdities and contradictions, fall back on the claim that the mind of the Almighty is unknowable, but then turn around and confidently declare which dietary practices He prohibits and which sex acts He has proclaimed verboten.

  14. Isn’t “we can’t say anything about god” saying something rather substantial about god?

  16. Can we please put an end to this accursed blasphemy?

    Jesus and Mo’s artist?
    The author of Jesus and Mo?

    His name is Author, and by His works shall you know Him!

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