Anti-Defamation League on that Doonesbury Cartoon

Well, no sooner had I commented on Targuman's comments on the recent Doonesbury cartoon than I spotted this interesting piece on the ADL (Anti-Defamation League)'s reaction to the same piece:

ADL: Doonesbury creator 'maligns Judaism' in comic

The Anti-Defamation League is demanding Garry Trudeau, the creator of the popular Doonesbury comic strip, apologize for a feature that the group says "maligns Judaism" and "promotes a Christian heresy."

The strip, which ran in Newsday's Sunday editions, features a character who refers to the God of the Old Testament, before Jesus was born, as "crabby and snarky," and the God of the New Testament, which centers around the life of Jesus Christ, as "about love." . . . .

It has to be said that the ADL's take is on the ball here. Perhaps the publicity gained from there objection to the piece will itself provide a useful teaching moment.

The ADL have a Press release and there is further comment from Rabbi David Saperstein.

Neo-Marcionism alert @ Doonesbury

Over on Targuman Chris Brady has some excellent comments on a Doonesbury cartoon from the weekend, The Gospel according to Doonesbury. The cartoon falls very much into the pattern of Old Testament God is mean and judgemental / Jesus is great and mellow.  It is remarkable just how widespread this kind of neo-Marcionism is in popular culture, and I think it's useful for us geeky academic types to point it out when it occurs.  Perhaps we should get a little "neo-Marcionism alert" logo of our own together and bring it out on occasions like this. 

Marcionism in Washington Times article on Cash

There's an enjoyable review of Johnny Cash's last album, American V: A Hundred Highways, in The Washington Times today, in which the author drifts into Marcionism:

Cash bares his soul on final recording
By Adam Mazmanian

Though the star's profound Christian faith is known to fans of his music, people who know Mr. Cash through the 2005 biopic " Walk the Line" will be forgiven for not understanding the extent to which themes of sin and forgiveness, prayers to God and references to prophecy inform not only in his lyrics but in his posture and tone. Like much of his recent work, the songs written and covered by Mr. Cash exhibit a tension between the wrathful God of the Bible's Old Testament and the forgiving son of God in the New Testament.

It's a shame that so blatant a piece of Marcionism is stated as if a self-evident truth, and it's another good reason why education about Biblical Studies and early Christian history is good for you.