For those of you who don’t know, Johnny Hart is a cartoonist who creates the comic strip B.C., which is, for the most part, about cavemen. Mr. Hart, however, is also an evangelical Christian, and sometimes (ironically in a strip called B.C.) puts Christian messages in his comics. For this coming Sunday (April 15), which is the Christian celebration of Easter, Mr. Hart has produced the following cartoon: http://www.jdl.org/action/armchair/bc_comic.html
which can be found on the JDL (Jewish Defense League) website. Some groups, like the JDL, and the Anti-Defamation League have criticized the Sunday strip as being anti-Semetic, while other people say that it’s not at all. I have an opinion on this, but first, I’d like to hear what you think. Is this strip anti-Semetic?
It seems pretty blatant to me. It is offensive, and I am not even Jewish. Turning a symbol of one religion into another in order to promote it is very wrong. I really hope this doesn’t run.
I’m not sure what message can be formed from this other than: “Judaism is an invalid religion.”
A menorah is lighted one candle at a time, is it not, until all candles are lit? Showing the candles extinguished like that is certainly disrespectful to Jews. I would almost call it sacreligious. There also seems to be a subtext of the old “Jews killed Christ” theme which I thought went out with the Klan.
I guess part of the point he was trying to make is that Christ was, in fact, celebrating Passover at the Last Supper. This fact should unite Christians and Jews, not divide them.
Hey, where’s FriendofGod when you need him, whining about the lack of Christian perspectives in the media?
That said, the strip is not anti-semitic, in the sense of being “anti-Jewish.” It is, however, remarkably insensitive, degrading to the Jewish faith, and more than worthy of being dumped by every newspaper that carries it.
I’d say, nah. It’s definitely evangelical-Christian, but not IMHO anti-Semitic (though I agree that the boundary is difficult to see in the work of some evangelicals/fundamentalists). After all, Jesus was a Jew, so why not symbolize (what Christians believe to have been) the seven last words of his expiring earthly life by the seven dying candles of the Jewish Shabbat menorah? (Though the symbolism is a little sloppy, because Jesus died on the day before Shabbat. And say, did Jews of the Roman period even have the seven-candles-for-Shabbat thing, or was that later? If so, I’d be inclined to trash the whole concept just on grounds of slovenly scholarship.)
Then the menorah turns into a crucifix, i.e., the dying Jewish political victim is revealed as the Savior and Redeemer. Okay, whatever. I didn’t see that as in any way “destroying” or denigrating the menorah. I understand that many people feel sensitive about any juxtaposition of Jewish and Christian symbols, especially in Christian proselytizing, but in my book it has to be a much more negative presentation really to count as “anti-Semitic”.
What aggravated me more about that “comic”, actually, was the silly numerology about sevens. It seemed that the artist was trying to imply some kind of tie-in with a divine pattern in nature, with the “seven colors in the rainbow” and “seven notes of music” bit. Bushwa, of course: divvying up the visible spectrum or the “octave” into seven is just a cultural choice, and other cultures divide them differently.
(And I was also rather surprised to learn that the artist had these religious sympathies: you mean that the comic that for decades has been mocking an unattractive female character known only as the “Fat Broad” is the work of an evangelical Christian? Gee, how charitable can you get? :rolleyes:)
Note added in preview: hmm, so far mine appears to be the only Jewish (well, okay, half-Jewish) response and also the only vote for non-anti-Semitic. Hmmm, maybe my interpretation of “naturally extinguishing Shabbat candles = ebbing life of Jesus” is a little more far-fetched than I thought.
Preview can’t keep up with you folks; I’d only seen the first three messages when I submitted my post. Yes, I do know Alessan’s Jewish. (and yes, I do know how to get a :rolleyes: :))
I know “B.C.” has been dropped by a number of newspapers because of its blatant “witnessing,” and I hope this is the last straw that gets it dropped from its syndicator entirely. Why not just run it on the Religion Page?
On first reading I was uncertain about the intended meaning of the cartoon. Kimstu’s explanation seems right on point. The cartoon probably symbolizes Christianity arising out of Judiasm, which is, of course, historically true.
I must admit that before reading Kimstu’s explanation, I wondered if the cartoon had elements of, “The Jews killed Christ.” If it suggests this to some readers, even unintentionally, then it’s objectionable.
Did I find the strip to be antisemitic? It really depends how you define the term. Hart wasn’t going out there and saying “Kill the Jews” in his comic. He wasn’t advocating any direct harm to Jews or Judaism. As such, he needs to be seperated from some of the more radical loonies out there.
That being said, however, I was disturbed by the comic. I’ve been reading B.C. for a while now and I know Hart sometimes uses his strip to preach. I don’t have a problem with that.
What disturbed me about the strip was the use of the menorah, universally known to be a Jewish symbol and it’s being transformed into a cross, and the use of the menorah to convey Jesus’ words.
Part of the campaign that is currently going on in some circles is to blur the lines between Christianity and Judaism. There are certain groups (and I don’t need to mention who they are – we all know them) who teach that you can be Christian and Jewish. Their goal, of course, is to ultimately convert Jews to Christianity. While I don’t know if it was Hart’s intention to encourage this blurring; I can’t help but wonder if this strip (or something else encouraged by it) will start showing up in pamphlets and fliers of these organizations. That, to me, is very disturbing.
After reading the material on the JDL site and then reading minty green’s and Kimstu’s comments, I wouldn’t call it anti-semetic, it does cross the boundries of good behavior.
Celebrating the the MAJOR event of Christianity is one thing, but in doing so, you denigrate another religion’s symbols is really, really tacky.
IANAJ, but I borrow a friend’s bubbe when I need her.
Tacky. Very tacky. I do not, however, find it anti-semetic in the common use ofthe term, nor do I agree with JDL (bit surprise there) that “it is telling Christians to destroy our religion in the name of Jesus.” AFAICT it’s assuming that the Jewish religion is already destroyed, that Christ’s death replaced the menorah with the sign of the cross. Tacky.
The menorah undergoes a transition from a branch of lit candles to a snuffed-out shell shaped like a cross. Christ’s life burning out, transforming him from a Jewish man to the Savior of Man. With Christ’s death, Christianity is born. I don’t see this as anti-semetic. I don’t see this as comic material, either. I’d rather see the fat chick whaling on that snake with her club. Or am I missing the message in that?
Well, the question comes down to this: do you think that the very existence of Christianity is, in and of itself, an affront to Jews?
The cartoon itself does NOT mock Jews. It does not denigrate Judaism. It does NOT say that Jews or Judaism must be destroyed, and only a paranoid jerk (which includes most of the JDL, in my opinion) or a liar (which includes the REST of the JDL) would claim that it does.
On the other hand, the cartoon definitely DOES indicate that Judaism (as represented by the menorah) was merely a prelude to Jesus, that Judaism was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus, and that the old Jewish covenant has now been superceded by a new one in Jesus Christ.
You may choose to believe that or not. You may find that concept comforting, or you may find it appalling. But folks, that is NOT something that Johnny Hart made up! That is a fundamental tenet of virtually every Christian church.
In short, the cartoon represents basic, mainstream Christianity. You now have to decide whether that alone constitutes anti-semitism.
Ok…here’s my take on it. I don’t think the cartoon is anti-semetic, exactly, at least not the way “The Protocalls” are However, it does make me feel really uncomfortable, and I can’t exactly say why. I mean, I’m not really religious or observant, but it’s hard to explain. It just made me feel a tiny little bit less like an American, which I know is a weird sentiment.
In Good Taste: Probably Not
Anti-Semetic: No. I think it symbolizes Christianity coming out of Judiasm. Probably should flog his editor for letting it through unchecked.
