Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling for December 22, 2016

If this confuses anyone: it’s common practice for comic-book blogs that reprint stuff from the ‘40s (and ’50s and ’60s and ’70s and…well, ANY time period, unfortunately) to add similar “through the lens of the time” disclaimers regarding the content—whether it’s Batman shooting someone in the head, revolting racist caricatures (only some of which was inspired by WWII), or grotesque sexism. Some blogs are sincere about such disclaimers, while others post them simply to avoid discussions that they can’t “win” or otherwise make excuses for the content. Personally, I enjoy these relatively primitive funnybooks immensely, and I do understand that “things were different then” but I’m not going to let them shape my perceptions of the modern world. Racism is racism, period—even if it was practiced decades ago during wartime by an artist whose work you otherwise like. You understand and move on, hoping that they changed their ways at some point. Hate the sin, not the sinner and all that.

Is this just about comic books? Compare the Old and New Testaments.

Indeed. Look up the concept of Christian apologetics. It’s comparing that to the way nerds (and DC and Marvel Comics themselves – characters acting weird? Secretly replaced by aliens!) attempt to explain continuity errors. In fact, Christian apologetics even includes explaining away actual continuity errors – like the gospels depicting Judas dying in two completely different ways.

“He’ll **** you up

God-Man will **** you up…"

(see: John Butler, “The Hand of the Almighty”)

Thou shalt not [ insert smite-able offense here ]. Deity is in the eye of the beholder.

God gets a lotta blame for humanity’s failures.

God-Man; “Yo Abe, I need you to slice up your son to prove your faith. Just kidding. Never mind.” What a sense of humor GM has.

First, you have to acknowledge that you, today, have no lock on all moral knowledge. (If you don’t, see below.) In other words, you’re just as flawed as all those people in history who burned witches, denuded whole continents of trees, traded slaves, and saw women as a form of somewhat defective property. So…. in which way are you flawed today. In 50, 100, or 500 years, which of your behaviors will lead future people to view you as ignorant or evil?

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Can you do it? If you can identify one or more things, well then, why are you doing them? Really. Why. If you can see the evil from a future perspective, why don’t you stop? I’ll bet you know of people who don’t behave that way, just at slave traders knew of people who thought it wrong. Yet, there you go, still doing whatever you can see is wrong. Are you evil? Ignorant?

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And if you can’t see your own evil, how would you expect those of the past to see theirs? This is the category you’re in, if you truly don’t think you’re engaging in any horrible behaviors. You’re wrong. What hubris, to imagine you’re the first folks in history to get it right.

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In the end, ask if those folks were evil – or just human.

Of course this has nothing to do with the way our concept of God has changed over the years. Don’t be silly. It’s just a comic. God exists, but God-man? HO HO HO.

Let us pray.

So remember kiddies; when in Sodom, watch your…but I digress.