I had a slightly different version of the first meme saved in my camera roll...😬

I am an inveterate car hater and agree that american car culture is an altar to sin, or, as I unironically believe, an altar to some kind of road rage demon that has claimed dominion over all of our roadways, so I don't disagree with the thesis overall

...then becomes whether it would be more useful for your purposes to start with atheism and point out the ways in which it's functionally Christian, or to start with Christianity and find the strands easily labeled atheistic.

I think of Paul Tillich, a prominent theologian of the 1950s who (if I correctly recall my takeaways from reading a little of what he wrote) thought the conflict between atheism and Christianity was overblown and that "eternal life" shouldn't be understood as literal. I guess my question...

I'm reminded of that scene in Good Omens where they're watching the crucifixion and say something like "What did he do?" "He said we should all be nicer to each other" "Yup, that'll do it." Like, it's funny and gets at the absurdity, but I'm pretty sure it was a little more than just that.

...I think the answer has something to do with the fact that Jesus *does* have teachings that I would not unhesitatingly sign off on. But I suspect people on all sides often unconsciously think "Jesus was perfect, therefore he would agree with everything I already believe to be correct and good."

I recently thought, "I don't have any objections to Jesus, so why do I prefer it when non-religious folk occasionally say they have real objections to his teachings, as opposed to the frequently expressed sentiment of 'I love Jesus, it's his fan club I have a problem with'?"

And...

(I know COVID is also very much here to stay, but I was running out of characters)

I think this is due to how we imagine(d) the future of each phenomenon. We decided early on that COVID was going to—must!—quickly disappear, such that any story was either a) in a near future where it Isn't A Thing Anymore, or b) A Very Special Quarantine Episode.

Whereas AI seems here to stay

Now that the original Winnie-the-Pooh books are public domain, that might be our best bet, honestly.

You should watch it! With my highly incomplete sense of what your vibe is, I nevertheless feel like it fits your vibe.

Did you get to see The Holdovers today?

Maybe not what you had in mind, but this xkcd comic is about the only thing in this world that has never failed to make me laugh every time I look at it

Give me the pitch and I'll figure out how to make it. It might take me ten years with the final product being a 480p animation put together with Windows Movie Maker and MS Paint at 8fps with me doing all the voices, but I'll make it.

Like, my dude, if the essence of all evil has been locked up in a giant jar for 7 million years, I'd still say based on history that evil resides in the human heart, no matter how Lovecraftian the monster is!