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2014-09-02
So, I guess this is it. I started working on this project back in May of 2006 with the first comic being posted at the beginning of June. To be honest, I never really thought I would finish the bible, I just wanted to go until I got bored—which actually happened mid-Genesis. But I continued this comic for close to 2,000 days and I attribute my longevity to all of you! Without your criticism, questions, and praise, I never would have lasted this long!
I still think this project is worthwhile; coupling humor, design, and critical analysis makes it much easier for someone to enjoy and comprehend an otherwise atrocious book. But I’ve grown so weary of reading, reviewing, and researching a novel I revile. Believers often wonder why non-religious people would waste so much time combating religion, often accusing us of harboring hidden beliefs. But the reality is, the reason we fight religion is because religious people continue to make and support policies that oppress us. I’m quite proud of the work I put into this project, and even more proud of the responses I’ve received from all of you. While I really wanted to at least illustrate Deuteronomy and finish up the Torah, this project has become a chore rather than a hobby. Pulling myself out of the clutches of religion was a Herculean effort, and I have no desire to let it ruin my happiness ever again!
The comics and the comments will remain online, and I will no doubt begin another religion-themed project before too long, hopefully one that will give all of you more involvement. Until then, thank you everyone who has been reading along with me all these years, you’ll never realize just how important you have been to me!
~ Dean Tersigni
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Comments
Ladyofthemasque writes:
| TAG, thank you so much for the work you have done. Thank you for being willing to keep this online into the foreseeable future, too. It is an invaluable resource. Even without Deuteronomy rounding out the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), the logical decimation of all the fallacies, the questions exposing all the hypocrisies, these things will help back up many of us who may find ourselves in that unenviable position of explaining why "Because The Bible Tells Me So" is not the right answer when it comes to questions of morality, ethics, and righteous, compassionate behavior...which does NOT have to rely upon the words of some "holy book" in order to exist and be utilized. Our humanity, our humanitarianism, is not dependent on some imaginary god-being yelling at us and threatening to punish or reward us for arbitrary reasons.
...I still haven't delved into the Book of Mormon or the Bhagavad Ghita, even though I know I should to round out my education in Religions. I know how tiring it is to deal with this stuff. You have my admiration for sticking with it as long as you have, and my gratitude.
Thank you. You've touched more lives than you know...but more importantly, you've touched more *minds* than you will ever know. Thank you. |
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E writes:
| I'm going to miss reading this every day. Thank you for the education.
Bye, TAG. |
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busy_one writes:
| I always admired your perseverance - I once collected the "wisdom" of Martin Luther and I felt sick after a view weeks, such nauseating spite, cynicism and misanthropy.
Thank you for the countless hours you spend!
...and: get well soon! |
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HiroOdan writes:
| I for one couldn't read the bible, so therefor I shouldn't ask you to continue to. It isn't nice to force oneself to be tortured, nor ask another to do the same.
Thanks for all your hard work TAG!
I can't wait to see what you come up with next, even if it's not religious themed.
Hiro. |
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Baughbe writes:
| A Herculean effort. Unlike the many pro-commentators, you had to actually read what it said and deal with the errors instead of cheery-picking and glossing over huge swaths of a horribly written horrible book. I salute you. |
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Ladyofthemasque writes:
| ...I still wish these could be put into a book format we could buy... *sigh* But at least it'll be online! |
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Great Tiger writes:
| We'll all pray for you.
*snerk*
No, but thanks for the laughs. Great stuff. |
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Arashikou writes:
| Thank YOU, TAG. In your five years on this job, you've introduced us to new ideas and new ways of thinking. To critical and scholarly methods of engaging with religious texts. This is a comic I usually came away from smarter than before I read it. And more importantly, equipped with the tools to engage intelligently with the material.
And thanks to everyone who joined in the discussions below the comics. Your insight and polite disagreement have provided further depth to the conversation that would have been sorely missed without you.
This comic, in its final form, is an invaluable tool for anyone looking to contend with the zealous, as well as anyone struggling to find a way to engage critically with their religion. Thanks for making it possible. |
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Maju writes:
| Oooooh!
Well, it was fun, or at the very least highly educative while it lasted. Thanks a lot for your dedication, Guru. |
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Belg writes:
| Will miss this comic, but thanks for the all work you put in! |
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mightychook writes:
| Thanks for going as far as you did. I was wondering how long you could keep this up for.
I'll miss reading your comics every evening.
Best of luck for the future. |
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Agnos writes:
| TAG, thanks for all the work you put into this comic! Reading it was funny, alarming, informative, etc. And it helped me once to annoy, confuse and drive away a guy from one of those free churches, when he was trying to sell his church/religion to me. *grin*
All the best! |
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Sharkie writes:
| Finally the super duper power of Jesus has prevailed and another heathens stops trying to and succeeding in debunking a book that only fails to be the worst book ever thanks to Twilight! Hurrah Jesus! |
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tussock writes:
| Thanks. It was an eye-opener to see just how normal the whole thing is.
Your basic crappy soap opera plot, everyone sleeping with everyone else, the rich hoarding all the money, the lawmakers being protected by law, the same show-defining early plot lines retold at great length over many seasons with slightly different characters.
Much like the real world. George Bush, II, the other War in Iraq, nothing like Vietnam, honest. |
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jc writes:
| Your comic was informative and yet quite entertaining. Thanks for all your dedicated research. The time and energy you've put into it were very much appreciated. Best wishes. |
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Anonymous writes:
| Thank you, and hey, congrats on getting a mention in an Angry Video Game Nerd video. |
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Sander the Great writes:
| I step away for a bit and come back hoping the catch up and it ends :( thanks for all your work I've read the bible multiple times both when I was religious and after I left but you still pointed out a lot of things i missed. |
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The Hand writes:
| Thank you TAG. I've truly enjoyed reading these. Once you let your imaginary friend tell you what to do, bad things will happen. Or as Stephen Weinberg said "Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things it takes religion."
Let's hope that some day religion, all religion, will become forgotten as slide rules. |
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Mr-know-it-all writes:
| Well, no idea if you remember this name, but in the off-chance you do: hello again, thanks again for having made this, and while it saddens me to see you drop it, I completely understand. Thank you again, and please do have fun in whatever projects you tackle hereafter.
(Fun fact: I went back to check how exactly I'd spelled my nick back in the day, and I had terrible diction. Embarrasingly so!) |
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TheAlmightyGuru writes:
| Thank you so much everyone for the kind words! I really appreciate all your posts, critiques, and insight!
And yes, I've read every post ever made to this comic, and I remember pretty much everyone who posted (Yes, you too, Mr-know-it-all). |
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Laura writes:
| Sorry I missed the ending TAG. I hope many new great wonderful comics are made by you in the future. |
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Larqua writes:
| aww.
I managed to lose the comic via multiple hard drive losses and computer switches, sad to see it ended in the meantime, was looking forward to the new testament.
That said, I can't really blame you for stopping considering what a slog it is to read through the thing. Best of luck in your future endeavors. |
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Crawford writes:
| Could not find a place elsewhere to comment. It is a Horde of Cockatiels, and a Minion of Budgies. Several other parrot species have descriptive qualifiers, too. You might ask a Lorikeet or ann ARA or a CAG or TAG. ;) |
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This Site is a FAIL writes:
| Couldn't take the truths in Old Deuteronomy, could you?
"Tired of the Bible" typical Athiest way of tapping out. And now this place is a haunt for spammers. I was right. The Bible is right.
THIS SITE IS A FAIL! |
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TheAlmightyGuru writes:
| @This Site is a FAIL: I've missed you so much! I only wish you didn't hide yourself away for so many years.
You're right, of course, Deuteronomy is just too full of truthiness for me to continue. Like in 22:20-21 where God orders women to be tortured to death if they can't prove that they're virgins on their wedding nights.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+22:20-21
Then, I read ahead to 1 Samuel 15:3 where God orders the wholesale slaughter of infants and children.
http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/15-3.htm
So, I thought to myself, "How are you going to deal with such correct truths? Shut it down... you've lost!" |
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One Weird Dude writes:
| I'm a Christian, and I'm sorry to see your comic end. I enjoy seeing your take on things (sometimes), and I'm sorry you never made it out of the books of Moses, never mind making it to some of my favorite stories like Jonah or Job or King David. Maybe you could write those up without illustrating them? |
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TheAlmightyGuru writes:
| Hello One Weird Dude. Thanks for the kind words. Even though the comic was highly critical of the bible, I tried to make it as fair as I could and consider the position of believers.
I still write about religion on my main site:
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Atheism
And various ancient literature, including books incorporated into the bible in my Wiki:
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Category:Ancient_Writing |
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Oh the irony!
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