Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “test”, comes with a link to the backstory, which is here (click on screenshot to see the Guardian piece):
I remember several readers sending me that story when it came out.
And the strip:
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ irony
February 14, 2018 • 8:10 am
This is a good one.
A bit of subtle linguistic irony from Author, cutting off Jesus saying Vatican at the word “vatic”?
It’s a common tactic used for stealing some unearned legitimacy. Professional psychics, alt med practitioners, or other dubious charlatans usually make a point about warning folks to stay away from the “fakes” and the “con artists” (who are only more blatant, not different in kind.) That way, they position themselves with the Good Guys of Science and Morality. You can trust them you see.
Brilliant. Mo enlightened me today (I thought I’d never say that sentence).
Sir, meet your new proctologist, Mr Mohammed TheArtist. Have you warmed your single-use lubricant package?
I was sorely disappointed at the number of people I think of as being worth listening to that burbled excitedly when this Pope first mounted the throne. About how enlightened he was, about how this heralded a significant new liberalization of the RCC, about how he said nice things about LGBTQ folks and even throwing in the old “the RCC accepts Evolution!” claim. About how kind he is, how he is a Pope of the people, how humble he is(!).
All crap. Pay closer attention to what the Papal-man actually said, wrote and, just as importantly, what he didn’t say. These wishy-washy statements that caused all the excitement are examples of Pope-man engaging in propaganda. More directly, they are lies and the way they are told demonstrates that they are carefully premeditated and delivered with the intent to deceive. The RCC has not changed its position on any of these issues. Here’s the new Pope, same as the old Pope.
He is enlightened though, in comparison with some of his recent antecedents.
Nothing has actually changed.
Same-sex couples still can’t marry, or even have sex.
Divorce is still out unless it’s a coup for the Church to allow it (e.g. Newt Gingrich).
Women still can’t be priests.
Abortion is still a sin, and so is contraception in most situations. Even abortion to save the mother’s life, or in the case of rape or incest is out.
He’s into the environment, but won’t endorse the most important part of that for places like the Phillipines – population control.
Paedophile priests from the past are still being protected.
I could go on.
Rome wasn’t built in a day — Vatican City, neither.
I didn’t say he was enlightened in any absolute sense, only compared to his recent antecedents.
Yeah, that’s true. He’s certainly a lot better than the bloke he replaced, who literally came from the Office for the Inquisition.
I like most that of “one-sided reports of old news that has been dealth with”.
On the ONE hand, you could argue that the original New Testament writers up to a point believed what they were writing is true.
On the OTHER HAND, the Donation of Constantine, blood libel against Jews (which Pope Sixtus IV attempted to his credit to stop though unsuccessfully), the “False Capitularies” of Benedict the Deacon, and virtually all saint’s relics certainly count as fake news.
The destruction of the Knights Templar was largely motivated by false propaganda about them motivated by folks like Philip the Fair who owed them a lot of money. It was common to tell slanderous lies about groups deemed heretical to rile up the folk against them- the best-known case being the Cathars.
The Middle Ages were rife with manipulated news, as Shakespeare well knew. At the beginning of “Henry V”, church officials with mercenary motives of their own persuade Henry to invade France citing a thoroughly tendentious interpretation of Salic Law that makes no sense whatsoever.
So even if you give a pass to basic Catholic beliefs as an honest mistake, it certainly has its hands deep in the fake news cookie jar.
This fake news story relates to his recent trip to South America. In Argentina, there were a lot of stories brought up about his past. He’s used to the press being sycophantic, and got a but miffed when they weren’t.
Politician, is he? Oddly, I haven’t fallen off my chair in astonishment.
In other much more important news … someone is doing a midnight book reading about fun with owls. “Little Owls”, introduced in Britain in the 1870s. I shall get iPlayer links …
“Author Miriam Darlington immerses herself in a world of owls”.
“Owl Sense” as “Book of the Week”.
Hail Athena, bringer of wisdom!
Flo.Nightingale had a pet owl, rescued as an owlet chez Athena (the Athenian Parthenon). With a devastatingly sad end.
Monday’s first episode.
iPlayer with usual caveats
I’d love to know who invented the notion of the irony meter – also, when will we get one actually made? 🙂
I don’t think making one is hard. The problem is getting one that doesn’t immediately break.