Review
"One of the barriers to hearing the word of God when we read the Bible is the feeling, "I've read all this stuff before." One way to break down that barrier is to see the humor that is often hidden in the Scripture. Rich Diesslin, in his THE CARTOON GOSPEL, uses a sometimes "off the wall" sense of humor to show us a humorous and, paradoxically, a dead serious side of the Scripture. [...] Jesus, who often used humor in his teaching would, we think, be pleased by these unorthodox and penetrating insights into his teaching." -- Douglas A. Dickey, Philosophy Professor, Pacific Christian College
"The work you have done is impressive. You have done a great deal of thinking." -- D. Elton Trueblood
"The work you have done is impressive. You have done a great deal of thinking." -- D. Elton Trueblood
From the Author
The Cartoon Gospel is unique because it is cartooning of scripture passages instead of scripture illustration or normal Christian cartooning (which primarily lampoons church life). The purpose is to add freshness to the interpretation of the passages. It should challenge the reader to (re-)read these verses and see if it adds a new dimension to his/her understanding. The Cartoon Gospel attempts to portray biblical characters as real people trying to know and follow God's will. It is all too easy to read the Bible and be left with the feeling that they are rigid, perfect, even superhuman characters instead of people with the same possibilities that we have. The cartoons are meant to be stimulating and humorous and are based on researched interpretation. Each one is defensible theologically (with the exception of minor cartoonist privilege now and then), even though the point is to assist the reader in his/her own analysis of the actual scripture passage. Hopefully, the humor and challenge stand on their own merit. The Gospel scripture selections in volume I usually follow the Common Lectionary Readings for Year C (verses from Luke and John).
