Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Calvin and Hobbes
Over at GoComics they serve up daily comics, even those that have been out of print for a while. I think I've probably read all the Calvin and Hobbes strips but since I don't remember all of them I make this one of my daily visits.
Today there was a particularly good one (embbedded below).
The comment storm it created on the page for that particular strip are reasonably interesting.
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Drawn by a Christian
According to the personal comments by Bill Watterson, he was a Christian when he drew this strip. In fact, many of his strips reflect his personal struggles with the more gnarly questions of morality, eternity, faith, etc. Even the names 'Calvin' and 'Hobbes' were deliberate references to John Calvin (theologian) and Thomas Hobbes (philosopher).
So be careful in cherry-picking from these strips, for the whole paints a very different picture than any of the individual parts.
"I believe in preaching to the converted; for I have generally found that the converted do not understand their own religion." -G.K. Chesterton
I doubt it
Bill Watterson a Christian? You might want to cite a source for this statement.
I've met people who told me that atheists didn't even exist. People like that, you can't even HINT that you have beliefs, or they pigeonhole you instantly as a Christian.
Watterson might BE a Christian, I don't know, but I also wouldn't be surprised if some nice Christian took an offhand comment made by him out of context to reach this conclusion.
After all, people are still circulating the phony story that Darwin had a deathbed conversion.
Bill Watterson
I remember reading it in his own comments published in the anthologies. I'll source them tomorrow, when I am able to pull out the books at home.
"I believe in preaching to the converted; for I have generally found that the converted do not understand their own religion." -G.K. Chesterton
Bill Watterson Followup
Hank:
Well, it took more than a day, but I did follow up on this, just to make sure I wasn't posting something not true. Well here's what I found...
In the Essential Calvin & Hobbes Watterson makes no explicit statement about being a Christian, but a little reading between the lines from such comments about John Calvin ad his theology being part of the inspiration for his exploration into the themes of predestination, free will, and good behavior may be an indication. Then there is his deliberate use of C.S.Lewis' Screwtape Letters character Wormwood for Calvin's teacher, then his complaint about 'New Age' pop psychology (I've never heard a non-Christian use that term). I may be reading in too much, but I think there are more tidbits than simple chance would indicate.
But all in all, I'm glad he didn't put this issue "on his sleeve" for I think it would have distracted people from the pure enjoyment and appreciation of his strip.
"I believe in preaching to the converted; for I have generally found that the converted do not understand their own religion." -G.K. Chesterton
Calvin-ism
I'd guess you are reading too much into it. If there's one thing I know after reading comics for all these years, it's that devout Christians PROJECT their beliefs from their strips. Bil Keane (Family Circus), Stan Lynde (Rick O'Shay), Charles Schulz (Peanuts) and Johnny Hart (B.C.) left no doubt in reader's minds where they stood on God. And the fact that they so easily did it in strip after strip means there's a ready market for goddy themes in the comics-reading public. Which means other cartoonists have no need to hold back. If anything, I'd expect to find strips where cartoonists who are not all that goddy would inject Christian themes into their work in order to pander to obvious audience preferences. (Conversely, I'd bet a billion-squillion dollars that many cartoonists who are in fact atheists have soft-peddled or hid that fact from readers, because of the inevitable hateful backlash.)
"Predestination, free will, and good behavior" are philosophical themes so readily accessible even middle school students discuss them. The fact that these concepts are part of any religious discussion does not in the least mean they are Christian concepts. It means they're part of a larger philosophical ocean in which Christianity -- and every other religion and philosophy -- fishes. Like the substance of ethics and morality, which are invariably co-opted by Christian speakers and made to seem the result of religiosity, and nothing else, philosophical ideas are "in the air," so to speak, and have no necessary connection to religion.
If I came upon someone talking about predestination, free will, or good behavior, I wouldn't feel I had any basis for concluding they were believers in the Christian god.
Filters...
I know that I see things through my particular filters, as do you. And it is always good to recognize that we do.
When I read the comments penned by Watterson, I get the impression of a "house church" type of Christian. Cannot prove it, and I don't think it would serve anything positive to try to do so either way. I think his work should stand and speak for itself, and we can let it inspire our own questions.
"I believe in preaching to the converted; for I have generally found that the converted do not understand their own religion." -G.K. Chesterton
Christian?
According to Yahoo, Bill Watterson has never attended a church:
http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/006295.html
You're making shit up.
Agreed.
I was wondering whether you'd had a chance to follow up. Glad you did, and thanks for it.
Um, I've used the term for the better part of two decades. I think I was introduced to it by another friend who is an atheist, in the late 80s.
So I think you may be reading a bit much into it. Watterson is intelligent and adept at using the cultural references, but then you'll see a fair amount of that in other artists & authors. Just reading my novel has prompted a number of people to think I am either a Christian or some other variety of theist.
Agreed.
Jim Downey
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Like Science Fiction? Read *or listen to* my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Follow up
There was a nice follow up strip...
