Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for May 22, 2010

“But there’s a catch”. “Catch 22”. That’s some catch, that catch 22”. “It’s the best there is”.

She’s right, of course.

I wonder if the Chaplin is related to Yosarian?

I must not have read the comics where it was made clear that this chaplain wasn’t also a psychologist or psychiatrist, as uncommon as one might expect that to be.

Ugh. Just say no to the bronze age.

Gee, why did we go to the Chaplain? Could it be that a session with the psychiatrist would mean the loss of our clearance? Naw!

..if your eye offends you pluck it out…

plus4, yet you believe in an invisible non-provable entity. Religion is the most tenuous of platforms. No-one can prove their god exists, and quoting scripture is the least proof of all. If you want to believe, that is fine and dandy. But do not tell me that I am wrong because I do not accept your particular mythology. There is just as much proof that there is no god (if not more) as there is proving it. Scientology is just as rational a belief system as is christianity.

It’s all fascinating – for what it’s worth, all chaplains have some psychological / counseling training. Most ordained ministers (I am one) have to go through a certain amount of similar training before they can be ordained. We do generally know when to pass off to a therapist, however.

The thing I find ironic about this is that, as others have said, God’s purpose for us is fairly straight forward: It is to love each other. The end. The complicating factors come in when we don’t want to love others – when we want what they have, when we want revenge, when we feel threatened. Then our own stuff kicks in (religious or not) – but it’s not God’s purpose. So, invading another country, for example, can’t be God’s purpose.

Frank Herbert, who wrote “Dune”, also wrote a series of sci-fi books in which humans are traveling in a hyper-conscious, god-like spaceship. The title of the top-ranking human leader on-board was “Ceepee” - short for Chaplain-Psychologist.

He envisioned that these two professions would obviously merge in the future …

Chap and Henry speak the truth! War of whatever worth is crazy making.

I’d like to hear what they think of my non-theism.

Radish:

These words leave me with such a warm comforting feeling in my tummy. NOT!

If God existed (and God does not) God would be horrified at what way too many people believe about God.

Thank God, God doesn’t exist.

Take personal responsibility for what you love and care about! Your loves and cares are real. God is NOT.

The two things I learned growing up in Lubbock TX are, God loves you, and you’re going to burn in hell; and sex is evil, vile, and dirty, so you should save it for the one you love.

wcorvi:

Sounds as if you are unlearning those truths.

I’m always amazed at how whatever happens to you, be it your choice or not, it’s God’s plan or God’s will. “I’ll just let the universe take care of it.” Right.

Well said, wcorvi.

@corzak, dare I assume that Ceepee is male? Somenow I get that impression.

No one can prove that God does not exist. An absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

The only “evidence” that I have ever seen that God does not exist was subjective (i.e. “If God existed He would do ‘X’ or would not allow ‘Y’”).

@ poohbear8192,

Regarding the posts yesterday about morals…

Is cannibalism morally wrong? There is at least one culture that practices ritual cannibalism (i.e. they eat their dead… it is basically their funeral rite).

Is infanticide morally wrong? While I am not sure if any still exist, there have been several cultures that practiced it.

Here’s a kicker… on a forum that I read, there was a thread which debated the question of whether evil actually exists (i.e. If someone does not regard his actions as evil, is he?). What are your thoughts on that?

I really want to know what your answers to these questions are.

sounds lame to me

I left the “craziness” 43 years ago, still crazy after all these years. My son is in the same boat after leaving it 2 years ago, and waiting to get out after 12 years service and multiple physical injuries as well.

Can’t buy the “creator god” at all, but there are universes out there that say that our myths and “creations” to use as our moral crutches- readily ignored when the profits are sufficient, greatly underestimate reality. When we can’t blame our own stupidity on ourselves, a deity will do. When we look at our positive accomplishments, it is also unwise to give credit where not due.

Peace should be a very human response and goal to settle our differences, permanently.

I like this chaplain, and am enjoying this arc.

Radish:

It looks as if I have a hard time spotting sarcasm too. You did “sound” pretty earnest though.

Maizing:

I’ll try answering that here tomorrow. I need some time to think (and feel) it through.

Suffice to say, humans manage to invent terrible ways to live in world as well as wonderful ways. For me it is imperative for us humans to own our ways of living. Unfortunately, bad (yes bad) ways have a way of surviving their badness. Fortunately good ways of living also survive.

Yes, infanticide still exists – usually inflicted on girls in cultures where boys reign supreme, or one of a set of twins when a mother has insufficient milk to manage to feed 2 infants at the same time.

Remember joe, man created god. There is more proof of that than god created man.

These confessional outpourings on the blog were probably unavoidable, on what is the final day (I hope) of GT’s brief arc on Last Things.

The variety of our responses must delight Trudeau’s satirical soul. I’m particularly interested in posters who quote the Bible. I’m neither Christian nor Jew, yet I have no difficulty reading Scriptures as the word of God–so long as we keep in mind that what we’re reading has been edited and transcribed by mortals like ourselves, or like Justin and the Chaplain.

I assume that anyone who quotes from the Bible is ready to maintain that despite all its editings and translations, the Bible still shows the integrity of God’s word. My question to you Bible quoters, therefore, is the following:

How can you claim that the biblical God (or his Son) always deprecates war? In the OT, Yahweh (Hebrew YHWH, consistently translated by the King James Version as the LORD) not only takes revenge on Israel’s enemies but accompanies Israel into battle and whenever Israel is on the march (e.g. Numbers 11:33). This YHWH calls himself a god of war, more powerful than all the rival gods.

And later, when Isaiah proclaims YHWH the Only God and monotheism replaces the earlier polytheism (the other gods were YHWH’s rivals, “baalim”)–and even later, when after another 600 years we reach the end of the monotheistic New Testament–even then, God/Christ is still promising us he’ll return and destroy his enemies and establish a New Jerusalem (see Revelation 21).

It’s this biblical promise that has inspired militant believers–from the time of the Crusades down till this last week in Afghanistan and Israel–to seek a piece of the action in what they think are “the End Times.” And these militants are not at all confused by war, although ordinary, Bible-quoting Christians may be, as the Chaplain implies.

So until you posters can reconcile the Prince of Peace with the YHWH of battles, please spare us your selective and pacifist misreadings of the Bible. Its overall message can only be found by taking God’s word in its entirety, no matter how contradictory that divine message may turn out.

Maizing said that you can not prove that God does not exist. I agree! I truly believe that you can not prove anything does not exist. As far as proof that God does exist, it hasn’t been proven to me yet. I guess that makes me an Agnostic. Jesus had many wonderful things to teach us and if we would live by those teachings, we might all be better off regardless of whether we believe he was the Son of God or only a man. For a lot of people faith helps them get through life, so why try so hard to tell them they are wrong?

Not a bad idea W6– we could all quit preaching it & start living it.