What are your thoughts on this illustration?

1. 63

   cruelkindnessposted 11 years ago

   What are your thoughts on this illustration?
   
   

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2. 0

   Sooner28posted 11 years ago

   In my opinion, it's just poking fun at the idea that any one religion has an exclusive claim to complete authority over the truth.  Look, the Greeks were right, and all the current major religions are wrong (Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam). 
   
   I think the Greeks are used because most of us find them to be prima facie absurd.  They are simply stories to illustrate a point.  Yet, in the cartoon, Greek "mythology" (which is how it's actually taught), is the one true religion. 
   
   But I think it's an ambiguous cartoon and is open to multiple interpretations.

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3. 60

   kj forceposted 11 years ago

   This must have been the Wednesday God and I were late getting back from our golf game...it was Zeus who volunteered for gate duty..sorry..couldn't resist....
   I  personally don't believe the " Gatemaster" is .of any denomination.sex./race/creed/colour or religion.....by the way wasn't Zeus the god of war ?
   Interesting question, what prompted it ?

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   1. 89

      ccornblattposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ares was the god of war. Zeus was the ruler of the gods and the god of the sky, weather, and those sorts of things.

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   2. 81

      Jewelsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, Zeus was the head honcho who played around a lot with the women.

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   3. 63

      cruelkindnessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Just the merry-go-round of discussions on hupages about religion.  Arguments are based on a seemingly illogical question. A zen koan riddle, ironically we will all find the answer upon our alone death. I like Amy Becherer answer as well

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4. 81

   Jewelsposted 11 years ago

   It makes me chuckle.  I like Greek mythology because it's mythology which tells many many stories and the pictures are wonderful!!   I can only take the viewpoint of what could happen when those who align to a particular rigid dogma, get to the end of the line and find perhaps their viewpoint was not as 'correct' as they thought.

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5. 73

   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   It's very funny in a cartoon. However, if that was the truth, I would be disappointed and amazed that they were right.

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6. 61

   Grim Masterposted 11 years ago

   I think it's very funny.
   There are older religions that have turned to myths, but in my eye I see every religion being of some copy of the other in some form or another.
   It just proves how we forget that the greeks had a large belief in their gods as many christians believe in a single god today.

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7. 67

   Amy Bechererposted 11 years ago

   According to Greek mythology, Zeus was the god of the sky and climate.  He was once worshipped by the people of Greece, but being a mythological figure, would have been considered a false idol by organized religions.  As the stories go, Zeus had an eye for the ladies and although married to Hera, did not subscribe to monogomy, as he had many extramarital affairs that produced many illegitimate children. 
   
   The illustration appears to be a picture of irony (from my viewpoint), reducing all the "fire and brimstone" restrictions, rules and man-made laws concocted by organized religions to rubbish.  The irony of the symbolic leaders of some of the easily recognized religions with the caption "uh oh" illustrates a vicarious, humorous thrill after all the "holier than thou", kissing the pope's ring adulation insisted upon by the Catholic church and followed blindly by many of its followers.   The fact that those sins considered most abominable by religious organizations are the very sins committed by many in the church against the most vulnerable in society would certainly, at the very least, elicit an "uh oh".  It would seem justice served.
   
   The expression on Zeus is priceless.  "Surprised, worried?  Get ready, oh high and mighty ones", might be what he's thinking.  All the bloodshed, wars, power trips, petty backbiting, insignificant molehills made into mountains and injustices served up in the name of God would come crashing down. Every person hurt by the inflexibility and mandates that aren't put into practice by its leaders,  in the name of organized religion, would know justice.

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   1. 81

      Jewelsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I doubt Zeus could have said it better himself.

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8. 83

   Freeway Flyerposted 11 years ago

   It's a great cartoon. And it displays the foolishness of the notion that life is like some sort of a quiz in which we are supposed to figure out which religion is the correct one. Behavior is what matters, not the particular theological system that we choose (or, more likely, are born into).

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9. 63

   cruelkindnessposted 11 years ago

   Here is a Zen Koan I like called "A Cup of Tea" from Shaseki-shu (Collection of Stone and Sand)
   
   
   Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
   
   Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
   
   The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
   
   "Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

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   1. 81

      Jewelsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I've wanted to comment on this for days only cause it's worth commenting on, not that I have anything intelligent to add to it, cause it speaks volumes. Just had to acknowledge it.

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10. 83

    phillippeengelposted 11 years ago

    This is just an imagination...the dominance of a religion or faith and the subordination of others is hard to analyse. You can't just surmise that one religion is the true, and the others are misleading. The proponents of a particular religion do not favor the gods and deities of other religions. This is evident in the war between Muslim extremists and Christians.

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    1. 63

       cruelkindnessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       So you vote everyone answer down.... hmmm.... Its your right to do that... I'll vote you up for you opinion... You should have read the others cause they kinda agree with you

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11. 0

    Gypsy Rose Leeposted 11 years ago

    Love this cartoon. Means we were all wrong and the Greek gods rule. Wonder what they would make of us???? We all know Greek mythology and it is fascinating but we certainly couldn't possibly imagine that there were really such gods. However the Greeks did believe in their gods as much as we Christians believe in our one God.For all religions it's important to have faith in what you truly believe.

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    1. 63

       cruelkindnessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It sounds crazy, I know, however when you research on these religions they seem too much alike in their stories from early Greek beliefs. Its hard not to wonder knowing how long they ruled over nations, their could of have been influence. maybe?

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12. 60

    MickSposted 11 years ago

    It reminds me of a very old comedy sketch I once saw on the telly, Peter Cook/Dudley Moore, if my memory serves me well.
    'What will we do if we get to heaven and it's, Odin, or Zeus waiting at the gates.'
    There was another old joke along the similar lines - Archaeologists found an old plan of the city of Ur, one got a magnifying glass out to read a small  notice on it, 'Copyright, Yaweh, Odin, and Zeus Inc.'

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    1. 80

       Kennedi Brownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       That sounds hilarious. I must find this.

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13. 74

    ALL4JESUSposted 11 years ago

    I agree with Jewels - it makes me smile. If you look closely the uh ohs are from the heads of "organized" religions. I have to wonder how Jesus really feels about the humankind adding in all the rules and formality.
    
    Jesus healed on the Sabbath - he was simply loving. Whatever he did was with love. His simplicity of loving God with all your heart and loving others was all we really need.
    
    I feel if we did nothing else but try to love, we would have a better world more acceptable in the eyes of Jesus.

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14. 61

    OneFineG467posted 11 years ago

    This is very difficult to  explain.. what some believed and praticed all their life as become a myth ...someway of showing that people who fought for their respective religions only to get a bang in the end..

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15. 65

    wingedcentaurposted 11 years ago

    Hi cruelkindness!
    
    To tell the truth, I doubt that the afterlife (if there is one) would turn out so simply. The picture is amusing, of course, but I can't believe there is a single, 'right' 'answer' to the questions of life and death, and where human beings 'come from' and 'where we go when we die,' and so forth.
    
    I just cannot believe that when dealing with such a mind-bending, to say the least, concept of 'God,' that there is any one people, at any one place and time, who managed to 'get it right,' above and beyond everyone else in history.
    
    If you're interested, I wrote a little something on this a while back. In that hub I proposed an alternate theory of the afterlife (if there is one). In a nutshell my theory goes like this: That Pope, Rabbi, and Hindu religionist (or Sikh?) would each arrive at their afterlife seeing what their particular religions always trained them to expect to 'see.'
    
    I doubt that anyone of them, therefore, would see a 'pagan' god as the master of heaven and earth. My idea has to do with psycho-social-cultural conditioning. Here's the hub if you'd like to take a look....
    
    http://wingedcentaur.hubpages.com/hub/T … -Afterlife

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16. 80

    Kennedi Brownposted 11 years ago

    I think it's hilarious.
    
    But just in the spirit of Internet conversations involving religion:
    
    HOW DARE YOU NOT DEPICT THOR OR TOM SERVO FROM MST3K AS THE SUPREME GOD?

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    1. 81

       Jewelsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You know even Darth Vadar could get a jumper in this gig.

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17. 92

    Elderberry Artsposted 11 years ago

    I agree with 83 Sooner28 and Freeway Flyer. I'm not religious at all but do like the greek myths

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18. 70

    CBartelmeyposted 11 years ago

    I would have to agree with Jewels, I think it is an amusing illustration.  Societies have always put forth their best guess as to how the universe is organized and how we should in turn behave within it.  The Native Americans, the Egyptians, the Mayans, the list goes on.  What I find interesting is that even back to pre-historic times you can find inscriptions on cave walls indicative that we as a people were considering, searching for and trying to define how the universe works, and how exactly we fit into that picture. 
    
    It would seem that as long as man has been alive to think about it, we have been searching for the answer to that question, and I think that is telling.  As to who exactly is waiting at those pearly gates, there I would have to agree with Freeway Flyer.  I don’t think one should box themselves into any one particular corner of the answer.  I think all answers should be explored, and perhaps then will we get closer to the portrait that is the answer.

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