Graphic Doubt: The Disruption of Faith in Comic Books and Graphic Literature

On April 17th, 2015, I attended the Upper Midwest Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion.  During this event, I presented the following paper about faith and doubt in comic books.  Essentially, I sat in a room with respectable religious scholars and professors and talked about comic books for twenty minutes or so.

And of course they selected me to go first.  Which wasn't intimidating at all for someone who was pretty much the least educated person in the room.

Anyway, if you've followed Wednesday Theology for the past year or so you will recognize a lot of these themes.  Doubt has, in a way, become my main message, my strongest expression of my faith, and comic books have facilitated that expression and exploration.  So, I hope you enjoy the following.  I hope you appreciate the proper citations.

But why do this?  Why go to the trouble to write such a thing and present it to only a select few?  Well, this is pretty much an example of the culmination of everything Wednesday Theology strives to be: a legitimation, scholarly or otherwise, of the exploration of the intersection of theology and comic books.

Plus, it also gives me a sense of purpose to my life.

Mitch Reads... Mark 16

I love Mark 16 because of the questions and uncertainties it poses.  This is not a clean ending to the gospel story.  I feel I can look at this chapter in two ways: it's either a Choose Your Own Adventure where I pick which ending I like, or it's The Return of the King where it keeps ending over and over until I'm begging for the credits to roll because I've been sitting here for three and a half hours and I really have to use the bathroom.

Mitch Reads... Mark 15

Immediately in the morning the chief priests hold a meeting with the larger council before taking Jesus to Pilate.  Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews, to which Jesus replies, "You say so."  Very mature, Jesus.  Pilate listens to the priests' accusations but Jesus says nothing more in his defense.

Mitch Reads... Mark 14

After all that apocalyptic rhetoric (or literal predictions of the future!), Mark continues his story two days before Passover.  The chief priests and religious leaders want to kill Jesus, but they need to be sneaky about it.  Jerusalem is packed during Passover and arresting such a popular figure may incite a riot among the rabble.

Mitch Reads... Mark 13

When Jesus and his crew leave the Temple, one of the disciples marvels at the huge buildings.  I imagine this might be because they were all backwoods yokels visiting the big city.  Jesus responds rather ominously, though, and says that these buildings will be destroyed so thoroughly that not one stone will be left atop another.  Um, Jesus, people can get killed for that kind of talk.

Think about visiting Washington today and, on a tour of the White House, speaking within earshot of the Secret Service that the day is coming when not one brick of the White House will stand atop another.  You will probably be tackled pretty fast.  Words are dangerous, Jesus.  Words are more dangerous than miracles.

Mitch Reads... Mark 12

Then Jesus tells a parable about a very stupid man.  The man plants a vineyard and constructs all the buildings around that are necessary.  Then he leases it to tenants and moves away, as rich men tend to do.  When the time comes, he sends a slave back to the vineyard to to collect his rent and portion of the profits.  But the tenants say, "screw this!" and beat the slave and send him back empty handed.  The man sends another slave, and the same thing happens.  For some reason, the man thinks the third time is a charm, but the tenants kill that slave.

Curiously, this pattern still continues, until the only messenger the man has left alive his is own son.  The man does the unthinkably stupid and sends his son, thinking that this time the tenants will be respectful.  No sir, mister stupid man.  The tenants kill the son, because of course they would.  So what will the man do?  Jesus says he will come to the vineyard himself, presumably with an army or something, and destroy all the tenants and give the vineyard to someone else.

Mitch Reads... Mark 11

Jesus continues on his mission to Jerusalem.  Stopping at Bethphage and Bethany, he sends two of the disciples ahead of him into a village to steal a colt.  If anyone questions them, they are to explain that the Lord needs it, but they will bring it back.  Sounds legit, Jesus!

So the disciples do just that, and they are asked just that, and they reply just that, and the villagers are completely fine with it.  That is one weird village.  I don't know about you, but I would lock my car if I was stopping there for a burger and a Fresca.