EN80 Heart Spill
02/06/10 14:39
The recent Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill is reportedly the worst eco-disaster in US history. The powerful image of this stuff leaking endlessly into an unsuspecting environment is disturbing to say the least. This is the kind of image that Jesus evokes in Matthew 15 when he talks about the natural condition of the human heart. Though wonderfully made in God's image, we are also capable - and regularly achieve - the most polluting of choices.
And by this, I am not necessarily talking about being some kind of Hitler figure. We often recognise that we let ourselves down in ways that seem surprising. When a person looks honestly at their life they often see that life took some darker turns because of deep-rooted selfishness that they were often powerless to prevent.
The Bible is wonderfully clear on the solution to this issue - there is a theme that develops throughout the Old Testament timeline of people being made 'new' in some special way. This culminates in Jesus Christ, who make the explicit promise to not only 'top kill' the rusty pipe of sin, but also replace the flow with something altogether different - something linked to source and giver of life: God Himself.
EN77 Worldly/Heavenly Wisdom
04/03/10 19:34
Happy New Year: The Jesus Comic!
01/01/10 07:49
What a fab way to start the new year. After two years of work, this was released onto the iPhone/iTouch app store:
Some blurb from a recent e-newsletter:
Jason Ramasami is an RE teacher who wants to make the Bible memorable and accessible to students who may have little or no interest in following the Christian faith. Two years ago he embarked on the ambitious project of creating a wordless comic of the main events of Jesus' life for visual learners.
Somewhere along the line the project developed further into an iPhone/iPod Touch app that was approved in December for worldwide distribution.
The Jesus Comic (which is easily searchable in iTunes) is a 150 page comic that moves through 12 chapters and is intended as a discussion kick-starter - not a replacement for the Bible. So far feedback has been very positive -
"This comic is really inspiring; the first genuinely fresh retelling of the good news about Jesus that I have seen in ages. It manages to be faithful to the original text, yet visually creative at the same time. Required viewing!"
"It provoked discussion with my wife, our son and daughter. They spotted some stuff that I didn't and I spotted some that they didn't. This was fun!”
The accompanying website gives some further guidance on interpreting the bigger Bible narrative, but the main idea isn't to be a digital tract but an intriguing and fresh way of reflecting on the life of Jesus.
Jason is asking people to have a look and to recommend/rate it if they enjoy what they experience.
More info website:
http://www.thejesuscomic.com
App store link for the full version:
http://www.iTunes.com/apps/jesuscomic
App store link for the free sampler version:
http://www.iTunes.com/apps/jesuscomicnativity
Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jesus-Comic/222779070030?ref=nf
Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/theJesusComic
Some blurb from a recent e-newsletter:
Jason Ramasami is an RE teacher who wants to make the Bible memorable and accessible to students who may have little or no interest in following the Christian faith. Two years ago he embarked on the ambitious project of creating a wordless comic of the main events of Jesus' life for visual learners.
Somewhere along the line the project developed further into an iPhone/iPod Touch app that was approved in December for worldwide distribution.
The Jesus Comic (which is easily searchable in iTunes) is a 150 page comic that moves through 12 chapters and is intended as a discussion kick-starter - not a replacement for the Bible. So far feedback has been very positive -
"This comic is really inspiring; the first genuinely fresh retelling of the good news about Jesus that I have seen in ages. It manages to be faithful to the original text, yet visually creative at the same time. Required viewing!"
"It provoked discussion with my wife, our son and daughter. They spotted some stuff that I didn't and I spotted some that they didn't. This was fun!”
The accompanying website gives some further guidance on interpreting the bigger Bible narrative, but the main idea isn't to be a digital tract but an intriguing and fresh way of reflecting on the life of Jesus.
Jason is asking people to have a look and to recommend/rate it if they enjoy what they experience.
More info website:
http://www.thejesuscomic.com
App store link for the full version:
http://www.iTunes.com/apps/jesuscomic
App store link for the free sampler version:
http://www.iTunes.com/apps/jesuscomicnativity
Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jesus-Comic/222779070030?ref=nf
Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/theJesusComic
EN72 Damn Good Works
30/09/09 07:34
Mark Meynell has a really worthwhile blog that manages to get the right balance between the lighthearted and personal/serious/critical. He recently wrote this post quoting Tim Keller at length. The end quote from the cartoon above is taken from that post. I have changed the word 'Pharisee' for 'religious people'.
Before I spoil things, it is worth reading Mark's webpage to get a clearer view on what this section is about.
The epilogue text can be read here. It is a story where Jesus makes the important distinction that our external reputation/deeds cannot disguise inner pollution.
EN68 Spotting Specks from the Media Plank
03/06/09 19:18
The Matthew 7v1-6 text is crucial to understanding this one. You can find it here.
My main motivation for this cartoon came from a couple of places Read More...
Hidden Treasure: Matthew 13v44
08/05/09 12:50
EN67 WYSIWYG
05/05/09 20:10
The glorious news is that Jesus unlocks slavery in all sorts of ways. I have been thinking a lot recently about the kinds of twisty paths that social-networks lead to. This cartoon picks up on three tendencies and brings three texts to bear upon them: Matthew 11v28, John 10v3-5 and Matthew 13v45 (you might have scroll down to find the exact bit).
Read More...
EN61 Brand and Ross
01/11/08 20:08
The Bible epilogue text can be found here and here (you will need to scroll down to find the exact part).
Yes, it was a major media event - perhaps whipped up by people who didn't like these two presenters, perhaps an indication of how disgraceful licence-fee wages are for such childish antics, perhaps a sense of people getting ready for harsher financial times. Anyway - it dominated the news for some time and so I weighed in with this piece that has two main ideas in it: Read More...
EN41 Polluted Heart Spillage
01/02/07 13:53
The Bible epilogue text can be found here (you may have to scroll down a bit to find the exact part...).
It was pretty shocking to see how open people were on TV about stealing stuff from the Napoli that wasn't theirs. It was a bit like the scenes of looting during Katrina in the sense that it was in broad daylight and there was an atmosphere of 'normal rules don't apply'.
This strip is linking two ideas Read More...
EN35 Safety in Numbers
22/08/06 13:52
The Bible epilogue text can be found here (you may have to scroll down a bit to find the exact part...).
Prejudice among trained professionals is something that is always shocking and hard to cope with especially when it is something highly personal that is at stake. This is a generalised reflection based on something I had heard from the lips of someone who should really have known better. The person in question had expressed the view that if you are a christian you are too narrow and should revise your 'wrong' ideas as soon as possible.
The composition aims to link the downward despondency of the christian in the tunnel with the security of the crowd before heading for the damning conclusion.
Christians can be guilty of smugness about the end of this life and it's terrible consequences before God. I wanted to portray the christian here as I think true believers will be at the end - surprise at just how sunny things are going to be. If we really knew how good it was going to be it wouldn't be a faith thing would it? I am looking forward to being surprised at just how great things are going to be.
EN27 Bowled Over
01/12/05 13:51
The Bible epilogue text can be found here (you may have to scroll down a bit to find the exact part...).
This one had something to do with reflecting on retirement issues. I think that that there may have been some pensions related stuff in the news and I wanted to handle it obliquely. I didn't really feel confident dealing with it head-on but this taps into the general idea of what you are ultimately basing your security and hopes on. I think that the Bible text (above) is the best explanation here, so I won't waste my shallow breath.
Occasionally I have departed from the regular format and gone for something almost parentless. The main idea is to establish the window discussion before revealling their ultimate fate and blindness to the impending hit.
I really dislike bowling and when I go I usually look for some creative way to avoid actually playing it - like writing stupid things on the scorecard, or throwing in the most anti-competitive way possible. Once I went to a place that had a speedometer display so I was overjoyed to be aiming for the slowest throw ever. It was hilarious. I find bowling alleys very depressing because they usually have unhealthy food. I don't like the shoes either...