In the recent classic column, Cecil says:
However, the slugs don’t scream, for the simple reason that they don’t have any vocal apparatus. No doubt what you hear is your own guilty conscience, which is tormenting you for destroying God’s creatures.*
I’d long thought Cecil was an atheist, as are many Dopers, but this quote suggests otherwise. Thus the question in the title.
Also tempted to submit “Does God exist?” as a topic for a future column, just to see what he’d say…
I think that quote is irrelevant to his belief in God because I get the vibe he’s using the term “God’s creatures” jokingly, much as I would.
I always assumed he was Jewish. I’m not sure I can articulate why.
Have you seen Cecil and God in the same place? That’s what I thought…
I’ve always thought that Ed was Catholic, which means that Cecil is Catholic.
Definitely not Jewish.
I can’t see how someone could “fight ignorance” and be religious at the same time.
As opposed to your perfect understanding of all things? A perfect understanding of All is Cecil’s schtick, not yours or mine.
Cecil is wise:
The Perfect Master speaks in metaphor, and espouses no -ism.
Or, he’s using the term metaphorically, but basically in sincerity.
There’s one column where Cecil mentions a Catholic school education, although you can get one of those without being Catholic. I think that’s all he’s ever written about the subject.
I get the feeling he’s a lapsed Catholic. I understand they are great in number, especially among the intelligentsia.
Never mind.
As Cecil would tell you, wisdom comes from both understanding everything and understanding the folly of understanding. Ergo, Cecil is a Bodhisattva.
Many, many years ago, Cecil told a story about his (presumeably Catholic) mother talking about a saint who was beheaded for expressing her faith, and how her body then picked up her decapitated head and kissed it, I suppose thereby proving her Holy Nature…
The precocious young Cecil then questioned his mom, asking her “How could a headless body kiss it’s own head?!?”
Anyone else remember this one?
(from that old column I have always assumed that Cecil is a lapsed Catholic, which must really make him stand out in Chicago)
Yep, I remember the column where he told that story about his Mom, but not sure of the date.
He’s mentioned it on several occasions, possibly more than that. A search through the column archives for the term “Catholic” returns ~70 hits, but I haven’t been through every one to see if Cecil’s made a reference to his Catholicism.
I’ve always assumed Cecil is a skeptical liberal Catholic, along the lines of Stephen Colbert. He talks of a catholic education, and gives no evidence of having left the faith.
I note with some amusement that this thread has a views/posts ratio comparable to some of the sex threads…
I think there was a reference to Cecil having been an altar boy.
Here’s the column for that one:
And a mention of going to a Catholic school:
“I’m reminded of Catholic veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus–and I don’t mean metaphorical heart. I mean one with Sacred Atriums and Sacred Ventricles, and I could swear as a kid in parochial school I saw one with a Sacred Aorta.”
I know I’ve read something that indicates Cecil at least has a Catholic background.
A little searching reveals the line “Could be just my Catholic background talking” in this column.
And in [url=Did Jesus have siblings? - The Straight Dope], Cecil says “Sure, maybe they took away our Latin Mass and fish on Friday. But we’ve still got the virgin birth.” (And later, “I know, you secular humanists think the whole thing’s for the birds, but work with me on this.”) It’s not clear to me, though, whether Cecil is here speaking as a Catholic himself, or speaking for the Catholics.