I found this graphic on the Internet and, as a fan of the long-running Simpsons TV show, it got my mental wheels spinning.
First, the fun stuff. Homer Simpson the hard worker?? If you’ve seen the Simpsons, you’ll know Homer works hard looking for ways NOT to work at all. 🙂
“Not a bad guy”. Maybe not. But a good guy? Well, who among us is really good?
Consider these words from one of the earliest and most important followers of Jesus of Nazareth: “There is no one doing what is right, not even one.”
Beyond that challenging statement, I ask: what is “good”? Am I still good if I routinely exceed the speed limit (which I do)? Am I still good if I pay a contractor under the table to avoid taxes (which I don’t)?
And what about ignoring my creator? As a serious follower of Jesus (who many people believe is the Son of God), I know that God is interested in every part of my life. So if I live as if He barely exists, am I still “good”?
One of the reasons I follow Jesus is because in the end, I have to admit I’m NOT good. And no matter how hard I work at it, I can never be good on my own.
I welcome Jesus into my life because He is bringing me closer to “good”. And for the many times I still fall short, his sacrificial death and resurrection wipes all my shortcomings off the books. God sees me as he sees His Son – perfect, without blemish.
The other thing that grabbed me about this graphic is the notion of spending Sundays (in church, I presume) hearing about going to Hell.
I imagine if you’re not a regular church attender, then you’re nodding in agreement with Homer’s assertion. But it’s no more true than his claim about working hard.
I regularly attend church services because through them, I learn more about how to live as a Jesus follower. I’m also surrounded by other Jesus followers who encourage me, support me and pray with & for me.
Does Hell come up? Now and then. However, serious Jesus followers aren’t fixated on it because we know we’re not going there. But we keep in mind all those we know who don’t follow Jesus. We want to spend eternity with them in Heaven, so we pray for them and, at church, we learn how to lovingly show them and tell them about the hope we have in Jesus.
If that sounds appealing to you, then step out on the ledge one Sunday. Go to a church service and talk to the people you meet there. It just might change your life. 🙂
Frank's Cottage 
My pastor will mention Hell, but never preaches on it in a threatening way. His take is that people need to be loved into the church. I agree! And, it sounds like your church is very supportive, practicing Christianity as it should be practiced.
Blessings, Frank!
Your pastor sounds like mine, Martha! 🙂
[…] on an atheist humor community on Google Plus. For anyone else reading, please check it out first: Homer’s Half-Baked Philosophy. Done? Great. Now the picture accompanying image is funny, and I agree with you that yes, it is […]
Why? Why bother going to church to hear stories about fictional characters? I’ve considered religious stories as boring fairy tales ever since I was 6 and had to go to a church run preschool.
By then I no longer believed in Santa Claus and nobody tried to tell me that I was wrong and he did exist so it felt weird that these grown people then told me that there used to be a guy who was basically magical as Santa but I was supposed to believe that he did exist for some reason.
Religion is often used as a convenient excuse to do terrible things and people using religion to do good is far less common.
And I’ve never understood people who rely on god to solve all their problems, I understand that it’s tempting because it’s easy but it also makes you foolish.
People wonder about the meaning of life and say that some god created us for some purpose but really, life is just a random occurrence and its only purpose is to continue, i.e. procreate. Nothing more, nothing less.
But as conscious beings we can choose what we want to make our life purpose. To some, (perhaps less intelligent ones, as studies have shown) it’s religions but religious people shouldn’t try to act like it’s the only right answer or try to make other people choose it.
You shouldn’t try to force your beliefs on others. Most people nowadays are smart enough to doubt things that they are told and question them. People are no longer satisfied by manipulative people who tell them that they should believe in the same things as they themselves do or something bad will happen. Saying that god’s purposes can’t be understood by humans isn’t nearly satisfactory enough.
And there is no right or wrong, good or evil, it’s all just concepts created by us humans and our perception of morals, not some higher being. That’s all it is.
Thanks for your thoughts, Tommy.
1. Yes, “religion” is often used to do terrible things. That’s why I have no interest in “religion”. I have an interest in a life-long, life-changing *relationship* with Jesus Christ.
2. Many, people people, including some atheists, I would imagine, would disagree that there is no right or wrong. I bet that most victims of crime, children who have been abandoned or abused by their parents and people who have gone through horrendous divorces could tell you, in detail, about the existence of right and wrong and the BIG difference between them.
3. It’s worth remembering that Frank’s Cottage blogs are not meant for atheists. They’re written for people who are open to spirituality.