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Permalink Reply by Steve Crespo on March 22, 2012 at 2:34pm

Just printed it out, and I'm gonna read it during my commute home!

Thanks, Buzz.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Crespo on March 22, 2012 at 10:06pm

   Well, I didn't read the whole thing, interesting as it was. The author had too much of a bone to pick with Christianity- or rather, Johnny Hart's Christianity- for me to finish the article. I get enough of that just walking through the streets of Manhattan.

   Here's a taste...

"...the problem is not in the expression of opinion; it’s in the expression of a religious certainty. And the problem is not in the strips. Hart’s statements about his faith in his strip were always simply assertions of his belief; he did no proselytizing in these episodes. So the annoyance expressed by offended readers has its roots outside the strip. ...The rhetoric of some fundamentalist religious attitudes assumes a posture of moral superiority that rubs persons of less aggressive convictions the wrong way. A dedicated evangelical fundamentalist often radiates an aura of smug arrogance. They say they are “Christians” in a way that implies that Catholics are not Christians; neither are Episcopalians or Lutherans or devotees of any of the other denominations of Christianity. In conversation, Hart displayed the same attitudes."

   The funny thing about this is the author Harvey asserts that Johnny Hart's "expression of a religious certainty" (i.e., claiming that Jesus alone is the way) has "an aura of smug arrogance".

   Yet, Harvey himself asserts his own religious certainty by claiming Johnny Hart's religious certainty is wrong.

   The argument is self-defeating. Harvey cannot condemn Hart for claiming to know the truth without Harvey himself claiming to know the truth. (Specifically, that Hart's truth is wrong.)

   Pretty smug of him, I'd say. 

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Permalink Reply by Lee Weeks on March 22, 2012 at 10:29pm

I had a similar reaction reading it, Steve.  And did you find the author to move in and out of that smugness?  At times I thought he was in a pretty balanced place and then he'd rip -- then move back out to balanced again.

I loved much of the information, regardless.

I also had the same reaction to the author's objection to certainty.  People are under the illusion that there is some neutral ground in that discussion; there isn't.  The person who says, "all religions are true"  excludes any and all who don't agree. Truth by its nature is exclusive.  Yesterday only happened the way that it happened, no matter how varied the retelling of it might be. And every tomorrow will one day be another yesterday.  At the end of time, the universe and all that it ever was will have been only what it was...nothing else...exclusively. 

I guess it's okay to believe there are people going to hell as long as you don't tell anyone nor tell them the Way to avoid it.

 

God bless--

Lee

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Permalink Reply by Buzz Dixon on March 22, 2012 at 11:44pm

I posted this, BTW, not to endorse or knock anyone's views, Hart's or Harvey's.  It IS a detailed account of his work, style, history, and creative habits; for that reason most of us should find it interesting.
 
And c'mon, it's The Comics Journal.  When have they ever had anything good to say about anybody?  ;)

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Permalink Reply by Lee Weeks on March 23, 2012 at 8:54am

And it is interesting, Buzz!  Mission accomplished.

L

Buzz Dixon said:

I posted this, BTW, not to endorse or knock anyone's views, Hart's or Harvey's.  It IS a detailed account of his work, style, history, and creative habits; for that reason most of us should find it interesting.
 
And c'mon, it's The Comics Journal.  When have they ever had anything good to say about anybody?  ;)

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Permalink Reply by Steve Crespo on March 23, 2012 at 9:01am

I posted this, BTW, not to endorse or knock anyone's views, Hart's or Harvey's.

I think we all appreciate that Buzz, but it's always fun calling people out on their hypocrisy. 

It is inspiring to know that Hart reached the level of success he did, and created such an awesome platform to freely express his views that people from all views could enjoy.

I think the "outrage" always expressed by the media- The Comics Journal included- at such blatant references to Christ are really only felt by a few. The majority of folks are mature enough to either consider the points made, or ignore them, and go on happily with their lives.

And interesting piece. (From what I read.) Thanks again.

...By the way, I just thought I'd say it is a beautiful day here in NYC, and I spent my morning commute thanking God for the birds and the blue sky, and grooving on the Allman Brothers Band on my ipod.

Life is good.

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Permalink Reply by Brien Sparling on March 28, 2012 at 9:09pm

Harvey really wrote well and in depth on an inspirational cartoonist. Thanks for the heads-up, Buzz.

Harvey's view on Johnny's self-assured faith is an articulate relativist reaction to a man of faith, and in its own backhanded way is yet another complement of Johnny's dedication to Jesus.  The fact that Harvey notes Hart's value-system, and reacts to it...is hopeful for him as well.  It means he sees a difference between his values and Johnny's and finds it irritaiting...and he's thinking as he's writing...and we all know where thinking about God can lead.

 

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