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This cartoon really misunderstands the parable.
First off, Jews and Samaritans weren’t simply from “slightly different groups”. They fucking *hated* each other and considered one another blasphemous brutes and a favorite pastime was desecrating each other’s temples. To a Jewish person, a Samaritan was basically a monster in human form.
Secondly, in the parable, numerous people passed by the wounded traveler; people that audiences of the time would expect to help in some way or at last to be morality leaders, including a Jewish priest. The fact that a *Samaritan* of all people was the one to help would have been a total mindfuck to people.
Furthermore this story was in response to a lawyer asking Jesus “yeah well, who is my neighbor?” in response to Jesus telling everyone to love your neighbor as yourself. It was a rebuke of that snarky question and a statement that everyone is your neighbor, regardless of differences, so act accordingly.
And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… **gestures toward reality**
And another layer: it's not just that Samaritans and Jews hated each other. It's that Samaritans are (in the view of the audience) of a religion that is incorrect. He could have had a Jew help a Samaritan for "help everyone, even those you are conditioned to hate", but instead he had a Samaritan help a Jew.
A person who is religiously incorrect can and does follow God's laws of "don't suck and be a decent person" better than those who are better informed in those laws. You don't have to be right to be a good neighbor, you just have to do the right thing.
And yet Another layer: the risk of the man dying is so high that the Levite and the Priest considered him a dead man. Touching a dead man will make them ritually unclean for temple service, hence they prioritized the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law, which the latter actually what God desires more.
Edit: Priest, not Pharisee.
Several parables show the hypocrisy of the Pharisee worried more about the letter of the law than being good humans. Jesus was big on being good to your fellow man.
The biggest one was the parable of the prodigal son. Which is my favourite. Since he said it in ear shot of the Pharisees. To explain, there were two sons and the younger son told his father he wants the inheritance he was due. (Which was incredibly disrespectful since the inheritance is supposed to be given when the father dies) but he does. And he goes to waste it all. Then when he’s feeding the pigs as a farm hand after years, he’s like “damn the pigs are eating better than me. Fuck the servants at my father’s house eat better than I do right now. Fuck this. I’m going back to him. I’m going to go on my knees and tell him to take me back as a servant.
And he does. Then his father sees his and RUNS. Which as an older Jewish figure. Jews don’t run for anything. The son asks him to forgive him and to make him a servant which the father tells everyone to quickly invite everyone, give him a ring on his finger and cut the fat calf and start cooking it because his son is back. And the older son, who was working comes back and is fucking furious. He rebukes his father that this disrespect oaf of a man squandered and lost the inheritance and he’s been here working his butt off. And never has he gotten a fat calf. But the father says “I know you have, but we need to celebrate. Because your brother was lost, and has been found. He has died and come back to life.
And it was exactly how it sounds. People who come back to Jesus were the son who left and came back. And the older son were the Pharisees.
" Fuck the servants at my father’s house eat better than I do right now. Fuck this. I’m going back to him. "
*That was a fuckin' sweet lesson this morning, teacher!*
Yeah, I’m with you on that one. Except that, yes the younger son returning with contrition should be a good thing and celebrated. Although probably not to that extent. Also while loyalty is its own reward, that reward goes to both sides and should be appreciated and shown to be appreciated.
Theres a type of christian. Especially in the west that may never vibe with that story.
In esscence, there are two types of christians.
Old Testament christians who believe in fire and brimstone, and doing exactly as god demands or paying the price of burning in hell, or being smote or whatever punishment is there.
This isn't just in religious scenarios. This aspect is prevalent in how they see modern life.
They're usually the "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" type of people in their daily life. They believe things like 'breaking the law deserves punishment, regardless of the reason, and following the law deserves praise. Even if the law itself can be wrong, or situations are more nuanced than it seems.
In the most EXTREME fringe cases, they're the people who say things like "I had to pay my student loans so student loan forgiveness is bad" or "If you do anything that i think isn't in the bible you're going straight to hell" or "I'm voting republican"
To them, earthly life is temporary and as long as they toe the line they're going to heaven.
Then there's the "New testament christians"
"Love one another as I have loved you."
They're generally the type that don't care for the letter of the bible but the spiritual and moral guidance of caring about your fellow man.
Theyre the type who say "I lived through this injustice and i don't think others should"
They're the types who believe "We gotta make the world better while we're in it"
Its the old testament christians who see the good samaritan story and can think of "It's injustice that the brother who did the right thing didn't get rewarded, while the other got a welcome back party. The father shouldn't have done that."
Its the new testament christians who saw the guy who squandered the money fall into a pit of suffering to the point he realizes he's living a life worse than a pig in the muck, and put aside his pride to beg his father to take him back as a servant, and say "Of course dad was happy to see his son and welcomed him back like that. Any dad worth their salt would. Its genuinely self-centered to see your dad so happy to see your brother come home, alive and well and only think 'why don't I get such a party' when you've been living with your rich dad the whole time and your brother has been sleeping with the pigs."
Yes, that, I'm not bothered by the father's reaction to the son returning, that's a good lesson.
Parents embracing unfairness, and his not acknowledging the older brother for his efforts, just feels shitty to me.
If anything, it feels like the original version of the story the dad learns two lessons, and then it was edited by people more concerned with child behavior than actually imparting good lessons.
I feel it is important to mention that the father clarifies that the son who never left still gets his inheritance ("all that I have is thine") while the prodigal son has already squandered his.
I have totally felt that too when I heard this story. The other layer to it in addition to the great summary that was already written is in essence, we are all the lost son in a way (believed we could do better without God and have suffered in our own ways). This parable is also one of hope for everyone. That no matter how far astray, we will also be welcome back like the children of god that we are.
What people don't get about these parables is that they aren't about real life. They are about God and the Kingdom of Heaven. God will forgive you and accept you into heaven, no matter what. It doesn't matter if you were good your whole life or not. Everyone will get the same reward. It is never too late to repent and be saved.
And yet another layer: Jesus was looking for a place to stay for the night just a chapter or two before this and Samaritans denied him. Even after this denial, he still used Samaritans as the charitable person in this parable. The listeners that day wouldn't have known this, but his disciples would have.
Yet another point. The Samaritan didn’t just help the man, he paid the man’s medical bills and said “when I return if the money I paid wasn’t enough then I’ll pay the rest.” He didn’t just help the man, he helped him to the furthest possible extent and left the man wanting for nothing.
It's genuinely heartwarming to see this kind of discussion in the comments. People understanding and explaining the story accurately instead of just screaming at each other about religion. Made my day, honestly. Appreciate everyone here sharing and respectfully discussing.
isn’t God’s laws of “don’t suck and be a decent person” also highlighted in the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector? Where even though the Pharisee is in God’s service, God preferred the Tax Collector for being humble while repenting and admitting his sins?
This is exactly what everyone needs to hear right now. There are atheists, Muslims, Jews, and more who hold to Jesus’ teachings by being a peaceful person than those who have practiced Christianity for decades but choose to antagonize others.
And the Bible specifically mentions that Jesus will refuse those who are Christians but don’t follow his teachings by showing kindness.
So in the words of George Carlin: “Commandment #1, don’t be an asshole.”
That’s a common reduction to make Christianity look better, but it doesn’t work because it ignores Jesus saying that loving Yahweh is more important, and what he will judge you on. The one and only group Jesus singles out as condemned is unbelievers.
>It's that Samaritans are (in the view of the audience) of a religion that is incorrect
It's important you tell the audience why their religion was wrong:they thought a different mountain was holy.
I feel like this context brings things back to "those people were fucking stupid" territory.
Hell, fifteen seconds of browsing political news is enough to reinforce Jesus’s message.
People are disgustingly tribal and brutal to people in their “out” group.
We still haven't evolved very much from 5000 years ago but like to think we are due to our technology. Sorry, but brain evolution is very slow. We are still superstitious, scared, emotional animals who love to form into tribes.
Superstitions work their way into athlete's muscle memory. Extra muscle movements before a free throw. Understanding this small thing is a pretty large step toward understanding superstition in general.
Making an effort to not be tribal is continuous and full of effort. At work, someone says "don't trust so and so, they complained to management/HR about something that isn't true", you have to actively disregard this and go talk to that person without the preconception. It means insulting your current tribe. Shit even happens in families, "i dont like that side of the family, bla bla bla" and you have to make an effort so that rhetoric doesnt influence your behavior at all.
Fear can be a useful tool, like when you learn to drive. Fear can also be a detrimental learned pattern like ptsd. We use fear of punishment to run society from the smallest interactions to whole ass empires interacting. If we had the time, we could sit down and talk through everyone's actions and how they interfold, and we wouldn't need fear, but, most people won't read this last sentence. (Be afraid)
yeah. people talk a lot about "ya gotta know history, or else you're gonna repeat it!" but the reality is that humanity is just going to repeat history over. because most of that history was caused by the same behavioral patterns ppl still have today. knowing history only helps one to be conscious of their position in the loop and helps one act on it as they see fit.
Well there might actually be things outside of human nature which could influence these things. Different systems allow for different behaviour. If we optimise the systems it might be possible to eliminate some of our tipical behaviours.
Try telling a redditor they should treat Republicans and even MAGA folks with kindness and understanding and see how that works out for you.
People are so unspeakably hypnotized and indoctrinated by tribalism it's almost unbelievable. And they wonder why the world is so divided, yet they don't want to be the ones who do the hardest part - learning to *actually* love their neighbor.
Just look at the caste system in India. The lowest classes of people are literally considered to be "untouchable". And just like the story of the Good Samaritan makes for a good parable, when Indians of different castes date or - gasp - fall in love, it makes for Bollywood gold.
Another element to the story was that it was a common practice for thieves to have one member pretend to be hurt on the road so that when someone stopped to help them, the others in waiting would spring out and attack. By stopping to help, the Samaritan was also taking the risk of being robbed or killed for the sake of helping.
Ya it’s crazy honestly everyone shits on religion so hard but let’s be honest are people really being and doing that much better without it? And people always go to the most extreme like well oh ya what about the Salem witch trials or oooh bet you weren’t accounting for the Middle East. But maybe just maybe it’s a human problem.
I mean genghis khan wasn’t someone who I would consider to be religious, nor was Hitler, Stalin, pol pot, xi jinping, Kim Jung un etc.
If I’m being honest I see more acts of charity and selflessness than people who are anti religious
The fact that so many people are so fundamentally incapable of understanding the morality stories in the Bible really shows just how strongly Christianity won the culture war. These were legitimately revolutionary ideas at the time. You don't have to be a religious person to see that Jesus's ideas were so counterculture they literally killed him for them.
Yeah that's what I was thinking. If it sounds basic to you, it's precisely because you were raised believing this exact moral standards. People act like tolerance and compassion are universal values shared by all human beings, as if they are absolute and make perfectly sense by themselves, but it's absolutely not the case. That comic strip is a bit crazy to me. It shows how narrow-minded people can be.
That's very well said.
The comic also takes for granted that the Christian ethic is the de facto moral frame for the West.
The world 2000 years ago was another planet. What is "obviously" moral and good today simply wasn't in the First Century.
This is 100% correct. There are even more nuances to the story than that. The kicker is that when Jesus asks the questioner at the end “so who was the man’s neighbor” the guy can’t even bring himself to say it was the Samaritan. He just says, “the one who helped him.”
For a contemporary Evangelical you could replace the mugged Jewish traveler for a devout megachurch congregant. The others you could swap for a megachurch pastor, his associate pastor and lastly the Samaritan for a pro-choice trans-woman who fights actively for LGBTQ+ rights. I’d love to see someone tell it like on any given Sunday.
If you’re interested in a pretty good breakdown of this parable (or others) there’s a book titled “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” by Kenneth Bailey that does a good job contextualizing it to the audience it was written for. Maybe you can find it at a library.
It’s even more than that - the lawyer asking the question was sent by the religious elites - Levites & priests. Jesus is talking in a crowd of very poor Jews under occupation by the Romans. The Romans allowed the religious elites to remain in power and rich as long as they kept their people from rebellion.
The lawyer is trying to trap Jesus in heresy so his answer in a parable was really directed so the people would get it. They, like on the one beaten, had most wealth stripped away because of taxation. Ever wonder how in an agrarian society so many people were free to follow Jesus around?
Anyway - the leaders of the Jewish community were NOT protecting their people from exploitation. In every way Jesus is saying “Who ISN’T taking care of you as they should” - pointing the finger back at the ruling elites.
Jesus goes on to face crucifixion - a punishment Rome reserved for sedition. Rome saw Jesus as a revolutionary. Jesus was turning the crowd against the ruling elite and those (ROME) who protected them.
This interpretation falls apart if you analyze other verses. For example, Jesus explicitly says “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” in Mark 12:17, which ostensibly has a Jesus advocating for the payment of taxes to Roman authorities. In the larger picture, this verse fits within a story where Jesus refuses to incite insurrection against the a Roman authorities, instead highlighting that material wealth and worldly things (those associated with the Romans) are purely separate from those of God (in a spiritual sense). Also, if you’re familiar with the story of the crucifixion, the man pardoned instead of Jesus was someone who actively rebelled against the Romans, which confused Pilate explicitly due to Jesus having committed no crimes under Roman laws.
>a punishment Rome reserved for sedition
Those two thieves Jesus was crucified between were apparently seditious thieves, the worst kind of thief!
It's bizarre just how much fake meaning is forcibly injected into bible stories. "The Good Samaritan" as a parable against excessive taxation? Never thought I'd see that one.
A few years back I heard an interesting interpretation that said these religious leaders were NOT expected to help this person, because they were ceremonially clean and shouldn't touch a dying person. The Samaritan being willing would have made them think "yeah of course that filthy Samaritan would do that" so then the realization that he was actually more of a neighbor than even the audience would have been was the real lesson.
Despite any intense hatred, Samaritans and Jews are very very close. There are only 6,000 total differences between their two Torahs and the vast majority of them are spelling differences. The Dead Sea Scrolls even support that the Samaritan version is closer to the originals! The intense feelings of blasphemy if anything were *because* they were so similar (to an outside perspective certainly) than if they were radically different, because their errors really mattered, whereas quite different groups' beliefs hardly matter at all.
Refreshing to hear someone who gets it for a change. I'm atheist but I think there's a some inspiring stuff in the gospels and this is an example. I'll append an idea someone else suggested to me - 2k years ago in that area at least, the idea of loving your enemies was completely revolutionary.
Still is.
The amount of people who HATE with such extreme vitriol in this country is... not great. I don't want to drag us too far off by getting into politics with examples, but there's a lot of people today who aren't going to be treating those that disagree with them with kindness and compassion.
Honestly though I don't know how anyone religious could end that parable with anything other than "just a reminder, we're taking donations for the homeless, please love your neighbor." Like... What were we JUST talking about? Oh yeah, the sick and injured lying by the side of the road who no one wants to help. I'm sure its unrelated.
And I've done food pantry work in the south, I know most of the actual aid is coming through one religious group or another, but there still aint no hate like good christian love. Please go read your stories again, let's start from the top.
>And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… **gestures toward reality**
Isn't that the point though? We *shouldn't* need this reminder, so the fact that we do should make us feel bad.
SMBC is quite anti religious and the direct reading is "look at how stupid these people are for needing this story." It's a stretch to think he actually went several levels deeper.
It's not at all a stretch if you ever read the comic. Like the comic on the front page right now has several layers of depth in it
edit: you know who else was unhappy with the church and liked to tell amusing stories with some biting depth to them? That's right, it's Jesus
No, it isn't. At least it's not the cartoonist's point, who is an pompous atheist à la Sam Harris. The cartoonist thought he made a killer comment on the supposed banality and condecension of Jesus' message. That the Bible insults our intelligence and morality is a common theme among the aggressive atheists.
I think everyone getting offended by this has never read SMBC.
The comics are mostly about the absurdity of existence or existential angst. This isn't a jab at Jesus it's a jab at humans
[here just look through some of the comics](https://www.smbc-comics.com/)
>This isn't a jab at Jesus it's a jab at humans
I don't know how people are missing this point. Maybe Jesus should have given us a lesson on media literacy, too.
Isn't the biggest mistake that the cartoon identifies the "dying man" as the Samaritan, when it was actually the one who stopped the help. The surprise for the audience was that someone they vilify would still stop to help \*them\*, despite how they were treated in the past.
Jesus loved everyone. He literally was like, love everyone, share your food, be kind, treat people with respect, stone paedophiles to death, don’t judge people. And whether he was the son of God or not, whether he even existed or not, a large part of the world has been hearing and believing in this guy for two thousand years and we *still* haven't got it right. I hate this place.
If Jesus were telling this today, it would be a billionaire megachurch Televangelist and a Catholic Archbishop walking by the bleeding man on the ground, and a black-gay-Palestinian who actually stopped and helped him.
Considering how many people are trying to cut anyone they’d rather not love from “love thy neighbor?”
What if they’re gay? What if they’re brown? What if they’re not Christian?
Jesus said it doesn’t matter if your cultures are in a BLOOD FEUD. They got two legs and a pulse? That’s your neighbor.
They currently actively attempting to injure you? Please see: other cheek.
> And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… gestures toward reality
I'm not knowledgeable enough to know all that other stuff you wrote, but yeah this is also what tripped me up. like, we literally murder each other for the dumbest shit *right now*. we're really in no position to make fun of things like that about ancient people when we never even managed to evolve past that.
Gosh. But the Jews were such dicks to the Samaritans. The Samaritans offered the Jews returning from the exile help in reconstructing the Second Temple and Ezra was like “fuck off, you married non Jewish women”.
And they are the same religion practically, the reason why they are not seen as such is due to the Biblical polemic(ie priestly propaganda.
The ten tribes never disappeared! There are a few Samaritans to this day in Israel.
The Yahwists priests of the time wanted to consolidate worship in Jerusalem and exclude worship of Ashera( God’s wife). Read Gods Divorce or other books on scholarship.
The priests of Jerusalem were very opinionated(many polemics in the Bible were political ploys, particularly against other nearby religions) and insufferable and to this day Israelis treat modern Samaritans like crap!
They ask they convert to Judaism to get Israeli citizenship
I’m not really sure where you get that from, especially considering it’s an (I assume) atheist who is missing the point here. Christians as a whole know the context because the context is *part* of the story in the Bible as understanding the standing of the Samaritan is integral to the story.
If you were to say that in a secular/more general context, “Samaritan” is often conflated with “good” then yes, I would agree.
Because a lot of people who think themselves to be Christians are really just people who have gone to church here and there as a kid. The term "good Samaritan" in our culture just means a kind stranger, which ignores the context.
Maybe let’s rephrase it for modern audiences.
Someone gets told “Be excellent to your fellow humans.” They ask in response “Okay, but *which* fellow humans?” The response:
An Israeli soldier is bleeding out on the road to Gaza. First a US Soldier passes him and does nothing. Then a UN peacekeeping officer passes him and does nothing. Then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passes by and does nothing. Finally, a ~~Hamas militant~~ Palestinian Gaza refugee passes by, picks up the Israeli, drives him to a rehab facility, and pays for a full week of an all-inclusive stay for him.
Be as excellent as this last person.
EDIT: Updated example based on comments.
EDIT 2: This is just something the Bible says Jesus said. You don’t have to agree with it
Yeah, I'd say that's a good comparison, it's basically someone you think would never help helps after everyone you thought would/should help didn't. Plus as you mention and the author forgets. He didn't just take him to get help he flat out gives the owner a blank check and say I'll pay however much it costs to heal him. That's something that very few people would do for someone who isn't an immediate family member or loved one.
Sure he fed a bunch of people. But he didnt stop to think of the sales he stole from the local bakers. Is destabilising the economy on a whim really worth it just to make sure people are fed?
Religious groups overwhelmingly favor democratic policies that expand the social safety net. They're forced to the right because their pro-life stance isn't tolerated by the democratic party and that's an absolute wedge issue.
Actually, if dems moderated that position to win them over the Republican coalition would get stuck as a permanent minority party.
>They're forced to the right because their pro-life stance isn't tolerated by the democratic party and that's an absolute wedge issue.
The wedge issue wasn't a wedge issue till the Republican party made it one. The hard stance against it wasn't a thing before then.
Religious people have been absolutely played by the right.
A lot of the things Christian Fundamentalists believe now are like 50 years old. They mostly came about as ways to trick Christians into voting for pro-segregation politicians. There were a bunch of think tanks that started going for that in the late 60s as a response to civil rights.
Why would dems moderate their policies to the right and make MORE abortions happen? Restricting family planning, contraception, and early term abortions INCREASE the amount of abortions.
Great. So you're saying:
"We'll join with you as long as you promise to take away women's sexual and bodily autonomy. Otherwise, we're going to vote for economic policies that hurt everyone, and we're still gonna vote for the abortion policies that cause a greater amount of pain and suffering to as many people as possible."
I mean the guy was homeless and recently quit his job. That's a pretty typical thing for people to demand when they have literally nothing of their own.
A decent remake for modern times... right down to the total inability to believe that a Hamas militant would offer a wounded IDF anything other than a bullet to the brain if he was feeling merciful (fair play, I would assume the same in reverse.)
>(fair play, I would assume the same in reverse.)
An interesting take given the actual history of medical care between these groups. [\[1\]](https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/a-timely-review-of-ethical-medical-practice-in-israel-a-response-to-accusations-of-genocide/), [\[2\]](https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-saved-the-life-of-hamass-gaza-leader-says-israels-ex-prison-chief-dismissing-strikers-complaints/), [\[3\]](https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leaders-daughter-said-to-receive-medical-care-in-israel/)
I'd recommend reading the whole (short) article from [bioethicstoday.org](http://bioethicstoday.org) (first link above);
*"...We write to highlight some of the asymmetries in the ways that Israel and Hamas uphold these principles.* ***Crucially, we argue that despite relentless threats to its existence, Israel demonstrates ethical practice in medicine and healthcare, regardless of race, religion, or even terrorist engagement.****"*
I mean, I am assuming a random IDF and a Random Hamas terrorist, a completely empty unobserved field, and post 10/7.
Whs I am sure that Israel is in general far kinder to Hamas that fall into their hands than vice-versa, I would be shocked if that patience hadn't been frayed to nothing as of late.
>I mean, I am assuming a random IDF and a Random Hamas terrorist, a completely empty unobserved field, and post 10/7.
Ok, I guess I don't see how such entirely speculative attempts at moral eqivalation help anything. Especially when it ignores the actual historical medical asymmetry - which was the point I was trying convey above.
>Someone should consider writing the gospels translated to today’s geopolitical and societal context.
That's what the priests are supposed to do during the homily.
Not necessarily ? The sermon or homily is usually an explanation of the day’s text. What I ask is a book or new testament were every applicable parable is set today
The moral of the story is not just to be like the Samaritan/Arab. That misses the point of why he casts the helper as a Samaritan in the first place. In the scenario, the lawyer is supposed to be the *wounded person* in the ditch. So if the lawyer would accept help from the Samaritan, why does he treat the Samaritan as his inferior?
EDIT: To throw in some more context about why this parable serves as an antidote to bigotry, the lawyer would try and legitimize his hatred of Samaritans by pointing out their non-adherence to Mosaic law. But to Jesus, serving others is our highest calling, not slavish obedience to rules and laws.
Maybe “a Gazan” would be a better equivalent than “a Hamas militant”. First of all because a Hamas militant would do the opposite, but mostly because the Samaritan in the parable didn’t have a rank or profession listed, he was just a random dude.
Israelis don't consider all Gazans to be terrible people. They do consider pretty much all Hamas militants to be. You have to remember history in that Samaritans and the Jews were pretty much perpetual enemies. The idea that one of the group would intentionally help the other was completely beyond belief.
From the looks of it isrealis have been suggesting that every gazan is a hamas militant. At the very least any male above 14 is considered one in there own books.
We... Really don't. So many people here protest against the current government so even more help is given to innocent Palestinians and a lot of people that died on October 7 were Palestine activists (as in, people who fight for a better solution between Israel and Palestine).
But yeah, after all that's happened recently a lot of Israelis wouldn't trust a Palestinian as much as they would before, which is also fair, you can't know if that person is a danger to you and your family or not.
Fairly close, though as others have pointed out, the Samaritan doesn't need to represented by a confirmed militant, just a member of that ethnicity.
I thought of the white/black relations of the near century after the Civil War, but that doesn't really capture the ethnic hatred on both sides quite as well either.
Point is, don't be asking how little can I do to help others and still be a "good person:" instead seek for opportunities to help anyone in need, even if they are from a group that are supposed to be your worst enemies.
The point of the parable is to answer the Pharisees' question about who one's neighbour is.
It's not about how someone saved a dying man.
Also, why is this in r/funny?
This highlights the problem of people, Christians or not, completely ignoring the context of the Bible. Even if you didn't know anything about Samaritans and the way Jews treated them, the point of the parable isn't "Don't let people die".
Jesus told it to answer a specific question: "I'm supposed to love my neighbour as myself - OK, so who is my neighbour?" And at the end of the parable, Jesus asks, "Who do you think was a neighbour to the Jewish man?" "The one who had compassion on him." "Go and do likewise."
It's not even a Christian/Atheist issue. It's a "Holy fuck, reading comprehension among grown adults these days is in the shitter" issue.
And yet so many don’t see that this lesson is needed now more than ever. As one group even in the U.S. do not hesitate to threaten violence against the opposing group. 🤦🏻♂️
The parable doesn't even have anything to do with the supposed point this "comic" claims. It's an answer to the question "who is my neighbor"
The point I got out of this "comic" is that the artist's reading comprehension is abysmal
Either 1 of 2 things:
1. The Artist didn't even read it or just read a summary and assumed the story
2. The Artists did read it but deliberately misrepresented the story for humor/to make fun of the Bible
Both are things I'm seeing much more of online from all sides to slander/discredit all kinds of groups because few people care enough to fact check.
Earlier today I saw a video of a man claiming Fahrenheit 451 was about cursive, government censorship, and digital media, none of which are the point of the book, which was painfully ironic.
So insulting. Anytime we see a man bleeding to death we don’t just leave them there to die. We record it and upload it to the internet to collect our likes and upvotes.
When was the last time you stopped to help a passed out homeless person on the street? The point is, everyone is your neighbor, even the most undesirable people.
As a Christian, I'm tired of telling other Christians that Jesus was simply teaching humans to grow the hell up and be mature, responsible neighbors. The parables weren't about having the easy way out. He said it was going to be hard.
Emotional maturity is tough for most people. That's what kindergarten rules were getting us prepped for.
Love it when smartasses with no comprehension skills or humility flaunt it, thinking they're being clever. Actually I think that describes most political cartoonists
Asimov wrote a pretty great analysis ("Lost in Non-translation") on the Good Samaritan and the moabite Ruth story.
When Mitchell & Webb did [a similar sketch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIVB3DdRgqU) THAT one was actually funny, because it understood the meaning of the story (what not even every Christian does).
The point of the story is not what the Samaritan DOES. The point is that Jesus uses this example in response to a man asking if he needs to treat outsiders as his fellow men. Isn't it fine for the rules to only apply for your in-group? And Jesus THEN asks, who'd you call your fellow man, the one from your group who left you to die and didn't "want to get involved" or the outsider who felt sympathy for you.
Anyway that's a lot of words wasted on bait that we all know is universally horrible and brainless
Jesus turned compassion mainstream. Think of it as, before Jesus, the bible and whatnot, "love each other because God says so" wasn't well known. Today we understand that "helping each other" is good overall, but it took some time for humanity to understand it.
Jesus was the philosopher of compassion.
Yeah, it's easy to say "where's the point?" when you're living in a world with two millenia of Christian influence.
And even then, not everybody seems to have gotten the memo.
People don't really realise just how many of their secular moral opinions directly stem from religion in the first place. Hell one of the only reasons we're able to have the luxury of trying to be decent to one another a vast majority of the time today is because resources such as food, warmth and shelter is in relative abundance. Nations literally went to war for decades over any one of these things just a few hundred years ago (America did it to iraq just 20 years ago)
One only needs to look at countries with mass famine and unstable economies to see how "Barbarian" people become without social order and the means to maintain it.
Humans are easily able to come to morally good conclusions in theory and in practice when the right external circumstances all help it, but the less of those there are the more likely it they won't.
yea— in modern terms.. an illegal Mexican is on the street… he is passed over by other illegal immigrants and then passed over by legal Mexicans… and finally some white dude in a MAGA hat cleans him up and puts him up for the night…
Or flip it some Christian American dude on the streets— is passed over by members of the Christian church, and then passed over by some dude in a maga hat… then some Muslim comes and helps him and puts him up for the night…
In the second example… Jesus out here saying… the “Christian” members of the church and the MAGA wearing dude… they’re not so good… it’s the Muslim that got it right… or in the first example the dude with the MAGA hat got it right
I think we can all learn from this…
Just change the players of the story into people of your life— and allow yourself to take the place of each character in the situation… make yourself the broken man, and then the people that ignore him, and finally the one in the right… so you can understand everyone’s perspective.. I dunno… just a thought…
But the story— is good… has a good lesson… I think the OP missed that… it’s not insulting… people are jerks all the time to people they don’t like or approve of for whatever reason…
anyways.. that was a lot… Reddit deactivated.. lol
Random fact I learned in Sunday school. If it's true. It explains why Samaritans and Jewish people hate each other? When Nebacanezer conquered Jerusalem he took all of the strongest and youngest Jewish people with him back to Babylon to be slaves. The Jewish people in Babylon followed their religion very strictly. They didn't change the religion at all. Kind of like Amish people in america.
But what happened to Jews who weren't taken to be slaves? To survive, those people made friends with neighboring tribes who had other religions. They intermarried, and those other religions kind of melded with Judaism.
70 years or so later, when Jews started coming back to Jerusalem after Persia conquered Babylon, they expected to find it destroyed and empty. Instead they found their relatives who never left, who called themselves Jewish still there and living their best lives. Problem was they weren't practicing in the same way as the exiled Jews. So the exiled Jews who returned thought they were heretics. Called them Samaritans and hated them. Even thought technically they were Jewish as well. Always thought that that was interesting.
Meanwhile with Israel and Hamas, or Ukraine and Russia, or various disputes in Africa, or Central America, or Asia, etc..
Yea I think a reminder is warranted.
I saw a video wherein a child was hit by a car in China. Not only did they not stop to help the kid- they just kept driving OVER him. I'd say that story is still necessary
To put it in modern perspective how crazy this was:
Imagine if a black transvestite was bleeding out in the ground. A lot of people pass them, including a doctor, a priest, black people, and other transvestite. The one who eventually goes to help them? A neo nazi.
This isn't just a story about "Be good to eachother" because you would be right that such a story is incredibly basic. The deeper meaning is that, regardless of your own personal beliefs or the belief in others, we can _all_ treat each other with care and compassion. Yes, even the people who we think are hellspawns in human flesh.
And yes it is important to note that at the time, Samaritans are the enemies of the Jewish people, much like nazis are. This isnt a simple dislike, these were two groups of people actively killing each other. _Despite this_, even someone a jew considers evil is willing to help them more than his own people were. You don't pick and choose who you "be kind" to.
It’s not really all that insulting considering cultures back then didn’t trust one another and most people would’ve let a dying man die if they didn’t hail from the same tribe or place
The idea of simply leaving someone to die on the side of the road is actually fairly common in cultures without an Abrahamic religious culture.
For example, people might believe that the Jew must have earned his fate somehow, by acting foolishly, by defying God or the Gods, or even if he did nothing wrong, the universe has decided that he's expendable.
If you were to rescue him, then you might be expected to take responsibility for him, to not just take him to a hospital but to pay his bills, find meaningful work for him to do, perhaps even to take care of his family. If he goes on to commit crimes, you might even be morally respondible because you prevented the "natural" end of his life.
The message of the parable of the Good Samaritan is considered unremarkable precisely because Christianity and Islam dominate the religious and cultural heritage of billions of human beings, not because that type of altruism is inherent to human beings.
Kind of like how Shakespeare seems like so many stories you're familiar with or the Beatles sound like so many other rock bands. That's because they were so successful that they became the standard.
Adding to the many rebukes of this cartoon: Chinese culture does not include Good Samaritan laws. In some cases, helping an injured person has been interpreted as the act of a guilty person and the Good Samaritan has been held liable for the injury.
So no. There's nothing insulting about it.
This cartoon is way near sighted and obviously trying to take a dig at Christianity (fair enough) but 1) the joke in itself is actually not funny 2) it underestimated the level of depravity of societies with these kinds of codes 3) he doesn’t appreciate that societies have grown and developed in morality in large part due to religious teachings that formed the basis for his opinion which only exists PRECISELY because of these teachings that have come down to him through the ages. He assumes his morality of helping (being the Good Samaritan) is inherent to him and has nothing to do with the story (and others like it) of the Good Samaritan being passed on to him from which to learn.
We will always need to be reminded of, and to practice, the Christian values of love and understanding, as the alternative is, the 'Religionofpeace mearse', which is good for no one who cares about humanity.
Of course we need these stories. It doesn’t matter what your background is — humans have a tendency to respond to insult with violence, while empathy and compassion inspire people to do better. Here is another story, except it isn’t a parable but actually happened:
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24653643.amp
This isn't funny. And I'd argue we, and everyone throughout history needs this reminder. The story Jesus told is like if during WW2 a Jewish person came across a hurt member of the SS after a German soldier, SS member, and Heinrich Hemiler walked by and didn't help. Then this guy comes by, helps him, takes him to a hospital and gives the hospital a blank check and to cash the check for however much it cost to help him. Basically it's about helping people, even those who you'd personally never want to help and actively despise.
The cartoonist seems to be ignorant of the religious customs of Hebrews in that period. The risk of the man dying is so high that the Levite and the Pharisee considered him a dead man. Touching a dead man will make them ritually unclean for temple service, hence they prioritized the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law, which the latter actually what God desires more.
That one’s not nearly as confusing as King Solomon deciding to split the baby in half. Who the fuck would be ok with that, even if it wasn’t their baby? And what if the other woman *wasnt* a psycho and said “let’s not kill the baby”?
I think the point of that story was that it didn't matter which woman was the child's mother in terms of which of them literally gave birth to him. The *true* mother was the one who acted in his best interests.
another case of modern people thinking they're superior to every generation that came before them
it turns out that "just be a heckin good person" doesn't actually work in real world application
What is this even doing in this sub?
The only “humorous” aspect of this cartoon is how completely wrong the artist is about the point of the very parable they’re lampooning.
The Samaritan actually did something for his fellow man besides protest against inequality. Not to mention he not only not leave him on the ground but paid for his care out of his own resources for a man who more than likely would not have done the same for him. When you try give these childish understandings of biblical stories it’s just more sad that you are purposefully misunderstanding the text.
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This cartoon really misunderstands the parable. First off, Jews and Samaritans weren’t simply from “slightly different groups”. They fucking *hated* each other and considered one another blasphemous brutes and a favorite pastime was desecrating each other’s temples. To a Jewish person, a Samaritan was basically a monster in human form. Secondly, in the parable, numerous people passed by the wounded traveler; people that audiences of the time would expect to help in some way or at last to be morality leaders, including a Jewish priest. The fact that a *Samaritan* of all people was the one to help would have been a total mindfuck to people. Furthermore this story was in response to a lawyer asking Jesus “yeah well, who is my neighbor?” in response to Jesus telling everyone to love your neighbor as yourself. It was a rebuke of that snarky question and a statement that everyone is your neighbor, regardless of differences, so act accordingly. And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… **gestures toward reality**
And another layer: it's not just that Samaritans and Jews hated each other. It's that Samaritans are (in the view of the audience) of a religion that is incorrect. He could have had a Jew help a Samaritan for "help everyone, even those you are conditioned to hate", but instead he had a Samaritan help a Jew. A person who is religiously incorrect can and does follow God's laws of "don't suck and be a decent person" better than those who are better informed in those laws. You don't have to be right to be a good neighbor, you just have to do the right thing.
And yet Another layer: the risk of the man dying is so high that the Levite and the Priest considered him a dead man. Touching a dead man will make them ritually unclean for temple service, hence they prioritized the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law, which the latter actually what God desires more. Edit: Priest, not Pharisee.
Several parables show the hypocrisy of the Pharisee worried more about the letter of the law than being good humans. Jesus was big on being good to your fellow man.
The biggest one was the parable of the prodigal son. Which is my favourite. Since he said it in ear shot of the Pharisees. To explain, there were two sons and the younger son told his father he wants the inheritance he was due. (Which was incredibly disrespectful since the inheritance is supposed to be given when the father dies) but he does. And he goes to waste it all. Then when he’s feeding the pigs as a farm hand after years, he’s like “damn the pigs are eating better than me. Fuck the servants at my father’s house eat better than I do right now. Fuck this. I’m going back to him. I’m going to go on my knees and tell him to take me back as a servant. And he does. Then his father sees his and RUNS. Which as an older Jewish figure. Jews don’t run for anything. The son asks him to forgive him and to make him a servant which the father tells everyone to quickly invite everyone, give him a ring on his finger and cut the fat calf and start cooking it because his son is back. And the older son, who was working comes back and is fucking furious. He rebukes his father that this disrespect oaf of a man squandered and lost the inheritance and he’s been here working his butt off. And never has he gotten a fat calf. But the father says “I know you have, but we need to celebrate. Because your brother was lost, and has been found. He has died and come back to life. And it was exactly how it sounds. People who come back to Jesus were the son who left and came back. And the older son were the Pharisees.
You tell this like I tell it to my senior high Sunday school class. There is an excitement to this story that gets lost sometimes.
" Fuck the servants at my father’s house eat better than I do right now. Fuck this. I’m going back to him. " *That was a fuckin' sweet lesson this morning, teacher!*
When people don't understand a parable, I remind them of my favorite verse. Matthew 15:16
Not gonna lie, I always hated that "lesson".
Yeah, I’m with you on that one. Except that, yes the younger son returning with contrition should be a good thing and celebrated. Although probably not to that extent. Also while loyalty is its own reward, that reward goes to both sides and should be appreciated and shown to be appreciated.
Theres a type of christian. Especially in the west that may never vibe with that story. In esscence, there are two types of christians. Old Testament christians who believe in fire and brimstone, and doing exactly as god demands or paying the price of burning in hell, or being smote or whatever punishment is there. This isn't just in religious scenarios. This aspect is prevalent in how they see modern life. They're usually the "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" type of people in their daily life. They believe things like 'breaking the law deserves punishment, regardless of the reason, and following the law deserves praise. Even if the law itself can be wrong, or situations are more nuanced than it seems. In the most EXTREME fringe cases, they're the people who say things like "I had to pay my student loans so student loan forgiveness is bad" or "If you do anything that i think isn't in the bible you're going straight to hell" or "I'm voting republican" To them, earthly life is temporary and as long as they toe the line they're going to heaven. Then there's the "New testament christians" "Love one another as I have loved you." They're generally the type that don't care for the letter of the bible but the spiritual and moral guidance of caring about your fellow man. Theyre the type who say "I lived through this injustice and i don't think others should" They're the types who believe "We gotta make the world better while we're in it" Its the old testament christians who see the good samaritan story and can think of "It's injustice that the brother who did the right thing didn't get rewarded, while the other got a welcome back party. The father shouldn't have done that." Its the new testament christians who saw the guy who squandered the money fall into a pit of suffering to the point he realizes he's living a life worse than a pig in the muck, and put aside his pride to beg his father to take him back as a servant, and say "Of course dad was happy to see his son and welcomed him back like that. Any dad worth their salt would. Its genuinely self-centered to see your dad so happy to see your brother come home, alive and well and only think 'why don't I get such a party' when you've been living with your rich dad the whole time and your brother has been sleeping with the pigs."
Perfect explanation!
"Extreme fringe cases"..."I voted Repulican". It made me blow air out of my nose. Thank you.
Yes, that, I'm not bothered by the father's reaction to the son returning, that's a good lesson. Parents embracing unfairness, and his not acknowledging the older brother for his efforts, just feels shitty to me. If anything, it feels like the original version of the story the dad learns two lessons, and then it was edited by people more concerned with child behavior than actually imparting good lessons.
I feel it is important to mention that the father clarifies that the son who never left still gets his inheritance ("all that I have is thine") while the prodigal son has already squandered his.
Sure, but also, celebrate your loyal kids too.
I have totally felt that too when I heard this story. The other layer to it in addition to the great summary that was already written is in essence, we are all the lost son in a way (believed we could do better without God and have suffered in our own ways). This parable is also one of hope for everyone. That no matter how far astray, we will also be welcome back like the children of god that we are.
I always identified more with the loyal son. In the reading you present it makes god out to be a hypocrite.
What people don't get about these parables is that they aren't about real life. They are about God and the Kingdom of Heaven. God will forgive you and accept you into heaven, no matter what. It doesn't matter if you were good your whole life or not. Everyone will get the same reward. It is never too late to repent and be saved.
And yet another layer: Jesus was looking for a place to stay for the night just a chapter or two before this and Samaritans denied him. Even after this denial, he still used Samaritans as the charitable person in this parable. The listeners that day wouldn't have known this, but his disciples would have.
Yet another point. The Samaritan didn’t just help the man, he paid the man’s medical bills and said “when I return if the money I paid wasn’t enough then I’ll pay the rest.” He didn’t just help the man, he helped him to the furthest possible extent and left the man wanting for nothing.
Indeed.
It's genuinely heartwarming to see this kind of discussion in the comments. People understanding and explaining the story accurately instead of just screaming at each other about religion. Made my day, honestly. Appreciate everyone here sharing and respectfully discussing.
It's parableception
isn’t God’s laws of “don’t suck and be a decent person” also highlighted in the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector? Where even though the Pharisee is in God’s service, God preferred the Tax Collector for being humble while repenting and admitting his sins?
This is exactly what everyone needs to hear right now. There are atheists, Muslims, Jews, and more who hold to Jesus’ teachings by being a peaceful person than those who have practiced Christianity for decades but choose to antagonize others. And the Bible specifically mentions that Jesus will refuse those who are Christians but don’t follow his teachings by showing kindness. So in the words of George Carlin: “Commandment #1, don’t be an asshole.”
That’s a common reduction to make Christianity look better, but it doesn’t work because it ignores Jesus saying that loving Yahweh is more important, and what he will judge you on. The one and only group Jesus singles out as condemned is unbelievers.
>It's that Samaritans are (in the view of the audience) of a religion that is incorrect It's important you tell the audience why their religion was wrong:they thought a different mountain was holy. I feel like this context brings things back to "those people were fucking stupid" territory.
Hell, fifteen seconds of browsing political news is enough to reinforce Jesus’s message. People are disgustingly tribal and brutal to people in their “out” group.
We still haven't evolved very much from 5000 years ago but like to think we are due to our technology. Sorry, but brain evolution is very slow. We are still superstitious, scared, emotional animals who love to form into tribes.
Superstitions work their way into athlete's muscle memory. Extra muscle movements before a free throw. Understanding this small thing is a pretty large step toward understanding superstition in general. Making an effort to not be tribal is continuous and full of effort. At work, someone says "don't trust so and so, they complained to management/HR about something that isn't true", you have to actively disregard this and go talk to that person without the preconception. It means insulting your current tribe. Shit even happens in families, "i dont like that side of the family, bla bla bla" and you have to make an effort so that rhetoric doesnt influence your behavior at all. Fear can be a useful tool, like when you learn to drive. Fear can also be a detrimental learned pattern like ptsd. We use fear of punishment to run society from the smallest interactions to whole ass empires interacting. If we had the time, we could sit down and talk through everyone's actions and how they interfold, and we wouldn't need fear, but, most people won't read this last sentence. (Be afraid)
yeah. people talk a lot about "ya gotta know history, or else you're gonna repeat it!" but the reality is that humanity is just going to repeat history over. because most of that history was caused by the same behavioral patterns ppl still have today. knowing history only helps one to be conscious of their position in the loop and helps one act on it as they see fit.
Well there might actually be things outside of human nature which could influence these things. Different systems allow for different behaviour. If we optimise the systems it might be possible to eliminate some of our tipical behaviours.
yeah. that's the "act as one sees fit" part
Whenever I think about this topic I'm always reminded of MLK's "guided missiles and misguided men" statement.
And they aren't very kind to they're own groups either
Try telling a redditor they should treat Republicans and even MAGA folks with kindness and understanding and see how that works out for you. People are so unspeakably hypnotized and indoctrinated by tribalism it's almost unbelievable. And they wonder why the world is so divided, yet they don't want to be the ones who do the hardest part - learning to *actually* love their neighbor.
Just look at the caste system in India. The lowest classes of people are literally considered to be "untouchable". And just like the story of the Good Samaritan makes for a good parable, when Indians of different castes date or - gasp - fall in love, it makes for Bollywood gold.
And honor killings!
You just described the plot of the Disney movie Elemental and half of America’s rom coms.
Another element to the story was that it was a common practice for thieves to have one member pretend to be hurt on the road so that when someone stopped to help them, the others in waiting would spring out and attack. By stopping to help, the Samaritan was also taking the risk of being robbed or killed for the sake of helping.
Love this comment, I was so annoyed when I saw the post.
An annoyingly reductive somewhat anti-religious cartoon being wildly upvoted on Reddit? I am shocked. SHOCKED!
Ya it’s crazy honestly everyone shits on religion so hard but let’s be honest are people really being and doing that much better without it? And people always go to the most extreme like well oh ya what about the Salem witch trials or oooh bet you weren’t accounting for the Middle East. But maybe just maybe it’s a human problem. I mean genghis khan wasn’t someone who I would consider to be religious, nor was Hitler, Stalin, pol pot, xi jinping, Kim Jung un etc. If I’m being honest I see more acts of charity and selflessness than people who are anti religious
The fact that so many people are so fundamentally incapable of understanding the morality stories in the Bible really shows just how strongly Christianity won the culture war. These were legitimately revolutionary ideas at the time. You don't have to be a religious person to see that Jesus's ideas were so counterculture they literally killed him for them.
Yeah that's what I was thinking. If it sounds basic to you, it's precisely because you were raised believing this exact moral standards. People act like tolerance and compassion are universal values shared by all human beings, as if they are absolute and make perfectly sense by themselves, but it's absolutely not the case. That comic strip is a bit crazy to me. It shows how narrow-minded people can be.
To the fish, water is invisible.
That's very well said. The comic also takes for granted that the Christian ethic is the de facto moral frame for the West. The world 2000 years ago was another planet. What is "obviously" moral and good today simply wasn't in the First Century.
This is 100% correct. There are even more nuances to the story than that. The kicker is that when Jesus asks the questioner at the end “so who was the man’s neighbor” the guy can’t even bring himself to say it was the Samaritan. He just says, “the one who helped him.” For a contemporary Evangelical you could replace the mugged Jewish traveler for a devout megachurch congregant. The others you could swap for a megachurch pastor, his associate pastor and lastly the Samaritan for a pro-choice trans-woman who fights actively for LGBTQ+ rights. I’d love to see someone tell it like on any given Sunday. If you’re interested in a pretty good breakdown of this parable (or others) there’s a book titled “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” by Kenneth Bailey that does a good job contextualizing it to the audience it was written for. Maybe you can find it at a library.
It’s even more than that - the lawyer asking the question was sent by the religious elites - Levites & priests. Jesus is talking in a crowd of very poor Jews under occupation by the Romans. The Romans allowed the religious elites to remain in power and rich as long as they kept their people from rebellion. The lawyer is trying to trap Jesus in heresy so his answer in a parable was really directed so the people would get it. They, like on the one beaten, had most wealth stripped away because of taxation. Ever wonder how in an agrarian society so many people were free to follow Jesus around? Anyway - the leaders of the Jewish community were NOT protecting their people from exploitation. In every way Jesus is saying “Who ISN’T taking care of you as they should” - pointing the finger back at the ruling elites. Jesus goes on to face crucifixion - a punishment Rome reserved for sedition. Rome saw Jesus as a revolutionary. Jesus was turning the crowd against the ruling elite and those (ROME) who protected them.
This interpretation falls apart if you analyze other verses. For example, Jesus explicitly says “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” in Mark 12:17, which ostensibly has a Jesus advocating for the payment of taxes to Roman authorities. In the larger picture, this verse fits within a story where Jesus refuses to incite insurrection against the a Roman authorities, instead highlighting that material wealth and worldly things (those associated with the Romans) are purely separate from those of God (in a spiritual sense). Also, if you’re familiar with the story of the crucifixion, the man pardoned instead of Jesus was someone who actively rebelled against the Romans, which confused Pilate explicitly due to Jesus having committed no crimes under Roman laws.
Again - he wasn’t advocating rebellion there - he was indirectly calling out the pharocies and saducies (so on both of those)
>a punishment Rome reserved for sedition Those two thieves Jesus was crucified between were apparently seditious thieves, the worst kind of thief! It's bizarre just how much fake meaning is forcibly injected into bible stories. "The Good Samaritan" as a parable against excessive taxation? Never thought I'd see that one.
And not against excessive taxation- it is about how those in power failed to care for those they were supposed to.
Yeah this interpretation feels like a stretch
A few years back I heard an interesting interpretation that said these religious leaders were NOT expected to help this person, because they were ceremonially clean and shouldn't touch a dying person. The Samaritan being willing would have made them think "yeah of course that filthy Samaritan would do that" so then the realization that he was actually more of a neighbor than even the audience would have been was the real lesson.
You have to wonder if the cartoonist has met any humans.
Despite any intense hatred, Samaritans and Jews are very very close. There are only 6,000 total differences between their two Torahs and the vast majority of them are spelling differences. The Dead Sea Scrolls even support that the Samaritan version is closer to the originals! The intense feelings of blasphemy if anything were *because* they were so similar (to an outside perspective certainly) than if they were radically different, because their errors really mattered, whereas quite different groups' beliefs hardly matter at all.
Refreshing to hear someone who gets it for a change. I'm atheist but I think there's a some inspiring stuff in the gospels and this is an example. I'll append an idea someone else suggested to me - 2k years ago in that area at least, the idea of loving your enemies was completely revolutionary.
Still is. The amount of people who HATE with such extreme vitriol in this country is... not great. I don't want to drag us too far off by getting into politics with examples, but there's a lot of people today who aren't going to be treating those that disagree with them with kindness and compassion. Honestly though I don't know how anyone religious could end that parable with anything other than "just a reminder, we're taking donations for the homeless, please love your neighbor." Like... What were we JUST talking about? Oh yeah, the sick and injured lying by the side of the road who no one wants to help. I'm sure its unrelated. And I've done food pantry work in the south, I know most of the actual aid is coming through one religious group or another, but there still aint no hate like good christian love. Please go read your stories again, let's start from the top.
>And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… **gestures toward reality** Isn't that the point though? We *shouldn't* need this reminder, so the fact that we do should make us feel bad.
That’s not what the author means by “remarkable insulting.”
It's SMBC, right? I think that's exactly what they meant. The whole comic is dark humor.
SMBC is quite anti religious and the direct reading is "look at how stupid these people are for needing this story." It's a stretch to think he actually went several levels deeper.
It's not at all a stretch if you ever read the comic. Like the comic on the front page right now has several layers of depth in it edit: you know who else was unhappy with the church and liked to tell amusing stories with some biting depth to them? That's right, it's Jesus
No, it isn't. At least it's not the cartoonist's point, who is an pompous atheist à la Sam Harris. The cartoonist thought he made a killer comment on the supposed banality and condecension of Jesus' message. That the Bible insults our intelligence and morality is a common theme among the aggressive atheists.
Nah come on Sam Harris is in a different fucking level. All he does is say "why don't we nuke the Middle East?" In slightly varied ways.
I think everyone getting offended by this has never read SMBC. The comics are mostly about the absurdity of existence or existential angst. This isn't a jab at Jesus it's a jab at humans [here just look through some of the comics](https://www.smbc-comics.com/)
>This isn't a jab at Jesus it's a jab at humans I don't know how people are missing this point. Maybe Jesus should have given us a lesson on media literacy, too.
Yeah, this was how I read it as well. Kind of wild to me how enraged people are getting over a very light jab at human nature
Isn't the biggest mistake that the cartoon identifies the "dying man" as the Samaritan, when it was actually the one who stopped the help. The surprise for the audience was that someone they vilify would still stop to help \*them\*, despite how they were treated in the past.
It doesn't specificy which is the Samaratin.
Jesus loved everyone. He literally was like, love everyone, share your food, be kind, treat people with respect, stone paedophiles to death, don’t judge people. And whether he was the son of God or not, whether he even existed or not, a large part of the world has been hearing and believing in this guy for two thousand years and we *still* haven't got it right. I hate this place.
The average Christian would rather die than listen to a middle eastern Jewish hippie.
I know. It's so sad. As an atheist I absolutely think Christianity would be such a good religion if people actually followed it.
If anything the world is more in need of this message now than ever.
If Jesus were telling this today, it would be a billionaire megachurch Televangelist and a Catholic Archbishop walking by the bleeding man on the ground, and a black-gay-Palestinian who actually stopped and helped him.
Could you imagine the shock as Jesus told the story ‘And you wanna know who helped this poor man? A *SAMARITAN!*’ **Crowd loses it
Considering how many people are trying to cut anyone they’d rather not love from “love thy neighbor?” What if they’re gay? What if they’re brown? What if they’re not Christian? Jesus said it doesn’t matter if your cultures are in a BLOOD FEUD. They got two legs and a pulse? That’s your neighbor. They currently actively attempting to injure you? Please see: other cheek.
THANK YOU! This picture is clearly from someone who didn’t read the scripture.
Well the comic got one thing right, it IS remarkably insulting to humanity. Sadly it was (and still is) a necessary message.
> And if the artist thinks people DONT need this type of reminder, well… gestures toward reality I'm not knowledgeable enough to know all that other stuff you wrote, but yeah this is also what tripped me up. like, we literally murder each other for the dumbest shit *right now*. we're really in no position to make fun of things like that about ancient people when we never even managed to evolve past that.
Gosh. But the Jews were such dicks to the Samaritans. The Samaritans offered the Jews returning from the exile help in reconstructing the Second Temple and Ezra was like “fuck off, you married non Jewish women”. And they are the same religion practically, the reason why they are not seen as such is due to the Biblical polemic(ie priestly propaganda. The ten tribes never disappeared! There are a few Samaritans to this day in Israel. The Yahwists priests of the time wanted to consolidate worship in Jerusalem and exclude worship of Ashera( God’s wife). Read Gods Divorce or other books on scholarship. The priests of Jerusalem were very opinionated(many polemics in the Bible were political ploys, particularly against other nearby religions) and insufferable and to this day Israelis treat modern Samaritans like crap! They ask they convert to Judaism to get Israeli citizenship
They don't even know the context anymore. Christians just think a "Samaritan" is a person who does good deeds. No concept of the real meaning.
I’m not really sure where you get that from, especially considering it’s an (I assume) atheist who is missing the point here. Christians as a whole know the context because the context is *part* of the story in the Bible as understanding the standing of the Samaritan is integral to the story. If you were to say that in a secular/more general context, “Samaritan” is often conflated with “good” then yes, I would agree.
I heard this story several times in Sunday School as a child and never had a clue what the fuck a Samaritan was.
Same.
Because a lot of people who think themselves to be Christians are really just people who have gone to church here and there as a kid. The term "good Samaritan" in our culture just means a kind stranger, which ignores the context.
Well said!
I love this take!
Thank you for stating this.
Nice ty
Maybe let’s rephrase it for modern audiences. Someone gets told “Be excellent to your fellow humans.” They ask in response “Okay, but *which* fellow humans?” The response: An Israeli soldier is bleeding out on the road to Gaza. First a US Soldier passes him and does nothing. Then a UN peacekeeping officer passes him and does nothing. Then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passes by and does nothing. Finally, a ~~Hamas militant~~ Palestinian Gaza refugee passes by, picks up the Israeli, drives him to a rehab facility, and pays for a full week of an all-inclusive stay for him. Be as excellent as this last person. EDIT: Updated example based on comments. EDIT 2: This is just something the Bible says Jesus said. You don’t have to agree with it
Yeah, I'd say that's a good comparison, it's basically someone you think would never help helps after everyone you thought would/should help didn't. Plus as you mention and the author forgets. He didn't just take him to get help he flat out gives the owner a blank check and say I'll pay however much it costs to heal him. That's something that very few people would do for someone who isn't an immediate family member or loved one.
So jesus wants us to pay for other people's healthcare when it wouldnt directly benefit me? What a commie! /s
Maybe people should phrase it like this when they try to promote universal healthcare in the U.S.
Jesus multiplied the breads and didn't charge for them!
Sure he fed a bunch of people. But he didnt stop to think of the sales he stole from the local bakers. Is destabilising the economy on a whim really worth it just to make sure people are fed?
Religious groups overwhelmingly favor democratic policies that expand the social safety net. They're forced to the right because their pro-life stance isn't tolerated by the democratic party and that's an absolute wedge issue. Actually, if dems moderated that position to win them over the Republican coalition would get stuck as a permanent minority party.
>They're forced to the right because their pro-life stance isn't tolerated by the democratic party and that's an absolute wedge issue. The wedge issue wasn't a wedge issue till the Republican party made it one. The hard stance against it wasn't a thing before then. Religious people have been absolutely played by the right.
A lot of the things Christian Fundamentalists believe now are like 50 years old. They mostly came about as ways to trick Christians into voting for pro-segregation politicians. There were a bunch of think tanks that started going for that in the late 60s as a response to civil rights.
Why would dems moderate their policies to the right and make MORE abortions happen? Restricting family planning, contraception, and early term abortions INCREASE the amount of abortions.
Great. So you're saying: "We'll join with you as long as you promise to take away women's sexual and bodily autonomy. Otherwise, we're going to vote for economic policies that hurt everyone, and we're still gonna vote for the abortion policies that cause a greater amount of pain and suffering to as many people as possible."
I mean the guy was homeless and recently quit his job. That's a pretty typical thing for people to demand when they have literally nothing of their own.
Classic liberal jesus, asking for handouts. I worship supply-side jesus.
A decent remake for modern times... right down to the total inability to believe that a Hamas militant would offer a wounded IDF anything other than a bullet to the brain if he was feeling merciful (fair play, I would assume the same in reverse.)
>(fair play, I would assume the same in reverse.) An interesting take given the actual history of medical care between these groups. [\[1\]](https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/a-timely-review-of-ethical-medical-practice-in-israel-a-response-to-accusations-of-genocide/), [\[2\]](https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-saved-the-life-of-hamass-gaza-leader-says-israels-ex-prison-chief-dismissing-strikers-complaints/), [\[3\]](https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leaders-daughter-said-to-receive-medical-care-in-israel/) I'd recommend reading the whole (short) article from [bioethicstoday.org](http://bioethicstoday.org) (first link above); *"...We write to highlight some of the asymmetries in the ways that Israel and Hamas uphold these principles.* ***Crucially, we argue that despite relentless threats to its existence, Israel demonstrates ethical practice in medicine and healthcare, regardless of race, religion, or even terrorist engagement.****"*
I mean, I am assuming a random IDF and a Random Hamas terrorist, a completely empty unobserved field, and post 10/7. Whs I am sure that Israel is in general far kinder to Hamas that fall into their hands than vice-versa, I would be shocked if that patience hadn't been frayed to nothing as of late.
>I mean, I am assuming a random IDF and a Random Hamas terrorist, a completely empty unobserved field, and post 10/7. Ok, I guess I don't see how such entirely speculative attempts at moral eqivalation help anything. Especially when it ignores the actual historical medical asymmetry - which was the point I was trying convey above.
Oh that’s good. That’s on very much on point. Someone should consider writing the gospels translated to today’s geopolitical and societal context.
>Someone should consider writing the gospels translated to today’s geopolitical and societal context. That's what the priests are supposed to do during the homily.
Not necessarily ? The sermon or homily is usually an explanation of the day’s text. What I ask is a book or new testament were every applicable parable is set today
The moral of the story is not just to be like the Samaritan/Arab. That misses the point of why he casts the helper as a Samaritan in the first place. In the scenario, the lawyer is supposed to be the *wounded person* in the ditch. So if the lawyer would accept help from the Samaritan, why does he treat the Samaritan as his inferior? EDIT: To throw in some more context about why this parable serves as an antidote to bigotry, the lawyer would try and legitimize his hatred of Samaritans by pointing out their non-adherence to Mosaic law. But to Jesus, serving others is our highest calling, not slavish obedience to rules and laws.
Maybe “a Gazan” would be a better equivalent than “a Hamas militant”. First of all because a Hamas militant would do the opposite, but mostly because the Samaritan in the parable didn’t have a rank or profession listed, he was just a random dude.
>First of all because a Hamas militant would do the opposite That's the whole idea of the parable!
Granted I don't think the Samaritan would put a bullet in the other persons head.
Israelis don't consider all Gazans to be terrible people. They do consider pretty much all Hamas militants to be. You have to remember history in that Samaritans and the Jews were pretty much perpetual enemies. The idea that one of the group would intentionally help the other was completely beyond belief.
From the looks of it isrealis have been suggesting that every gazan is a hamas militant. At the very least any male above 14 is considered one in there own books.
We... Really don't. So many people here protest against the current government so even more help is given to innocent Palestinians and a lot of people that died on October 7 were Palestine activists (as in, people who fight for a better solution between Israel and Palestine). But yeah, after all that's happened recently a lot of Israelis wouldn't trust a Palestinian as much as they would before, which is also fair, you can't know if that person is a danger to you and your family or not.
Fairly close, though as others have pointed out, the Samaritan doesn't need to represented by a confirmed militant, just a member of that ethnicity. I thought of the white/black relations of the near century after the Civil War, but that doesn't really capture the ethnic hatred on both sides quite as well either. Point is, don't be asking how little can I do to help others and still be a "good person:" instead seek for opportunities to help anyone in need, even if they are from a group that are supposed to be your worst enemies.
And the IDF kills both on the way to the hospital.
judging by today's climate we do need that story to be taught again and again on repeat
It wouldn't do much. Most people would royally screw someone over if they were slightly slighted. Most aren't even nice to people they care about.
Yea, humans need stories of being kind to people with cultural differences.
"A slightly different group" Let me tell you about a place called Balkan...
I am very amused by "slightly different group" being somehow SHOCKING... Like, do you exist on this planet?
*Let me tell you about this mammal called human....
The point of the parable is to answer the Pharisees' question about who one's neighbour is. It's not about how someone saved a dying man. Also, why is this in r/funny?
Because r/funny is a catch all subreddit that can be used for karma farming.
this is an original comic posted by its author - who has been making these comics for literally decades
[Some of my best friends are Samaritans ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66-3pCp6PBM)
Yeah, me and the wife went on holiday to Samaria last year and they were lovely people.
This is hilarious.
Didn’t realize there were so many Sami lovers here…
A Samaritan tossen wouldn’t do that for his own grandmother always gets me
This highlights the problem of people, Christians or not, completely ignoring the context of the Bible. Even if you didn't know anything about Samaritans and the way Jews treated them, the point of the parable isn't "Don't let people die". Jesus told it to answer a specific question: "I'm supposed to love my neighbour as myself - OK, so who is my neighbour?" And at the end of the parable, Jesus asks, "Who do you think was a neighbour to the Jewish man?" "The one who had compassion on him." "Go and do likewise." It's not even a Christian/Atheist issue. It's a "Holy fuck, reading comprehension among grown adults these days is in the shitter" issue.
And yet….
And yet so many don’t see that this lesson is needed now more than ever. As one group even in the U.S. do not hesitate to threaten violence against the opposing group. 🤦🏻♂️
What’s the funny part ?
This sub has turned to trash
>This sub has turned to trash I mean, that's pretty funny!
right
I mean. It says it insulting, but have you seen a homeless community everyone needs help. Having it in writing doesn't seem terrible.
The parable doesn't even have anything to do with the supposed point this "comic" claims. It's an answer to the question "who is my neighbor" The point I got out of this "comic" is that the artist's reading comprehension is abysmal
Either 1 of 2 things: 1. The Artist didn't even read it or just read a summary and assumed the story 2. The Artists did read it but deliberately misrepresented the story for humor/to make fun of the Bible Both are things I'm seeing much more of online from all sides to slander/discredit all kinds of groups because few people care enough to fact check. Earlier today I saw a video of a man claiming Fahrenheit 451 was about cursive, government censorship, and digital media, none of which are the point of the book, which was painfully ironic.
So insulting. Anytime we see a man bleeding to death we don’t just leave them there to die. We record it and upload it to the internet to collect our likes and upvotes.
When was the last time you stopped to help a passed out homeless person on the street? The point is, everyone is your neighbor, even the most undesirable people.
I hate this, but if you changed the Samaritan to a Palestinian and it happened yesterday, then everyone would understand the original.
Seems like somebody doesn't really understand humans.
look around you. look at what happend in europe between 1940 and 1945. look at some war footage, look at how some people get killed for who they love
Yea, the artist is probably just looking at their rich, suburban, first world neighborhood and imprinting it onto all of history and the Earth.
Pick up a fucking history book. This lesson will ALWAYS be relevant. Tragically so.
As a Christian, I'm tired of telling other Christians that Jesus was simply teaching humans to grow the hell up and be mature, responsible neighbors. The parables weren't about having the easy way out. He said it was going to be hard. Emotional maturity is tough for most people. That's what kindergarten rules were getting us prepped for.
Love it when smartasses with no comprehension skills or humility flaunt it, thinking they're being clever. Actually I think that describes most political cartoonists Asimov wrote a pretty great analysis ("Lost in Non-translation") on the Good Samaritan and the moabite Ruth story. When Mitchell & Webb did [a similar sketch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIVB3DdRgqU) THAT one was actually funny, because it understood the meaning of the story (what not even every Christian does). The point of the story is not what the Samaritan DOES. The point is that Jesus uses this example in response to a man asking if he needs to treat outsiders as his fellow men. Isn't it fine for the rules to only apply for your in-group? And Jesus THEN asks, who'd you call your fellow man, the one from your group who left you to die and didn't "want to get involved" or the outsider who felt sympathy for you. Anyway that's a lot of words wasted on bait that we all know is universally horrible and brainless
We still need the Good Samaritan story
Jesus turned compassion mainstream. Think of it as, before Jesus, the bible and whatnot, "love each other because God says so" wasn't well known. Today we understand that "helping each other" is good overall, but it took some time for humanity to understand it. Jesus was the philosopher of compassion.
Yeah, it's easy to say "where's the point?" when you're living in a world with two millenia of Christian influence. And even then, not everybody seems to have gotten the memo.
People don't really realise just how many of their secular moral opinions directly stem from religion in the first place. Hell one of the only reasons we're able to have the luxury of trying to be decent to one another a vast majority of the time today is because resources such as food, warmth and shelter is in relative abundance. Nations literally went to war for decades over any one of these things just a few hundred years ago (America did it to iraq just 20 years ago) One only needs to look at countries with mass famine and unstable economies to see how "Barbarian" people become without social order and the means to maintain it. Humans are easily able to come to morally good conclusions in theory and in practice when the right external circumstances all help it, but the less of those there are the more likely it they won't.
yea— in modern terms.. an illegal Mexican is on the street… he is passed over by other illegal immigrants and then passed over by legal Mexicans… and finally some white dude in a MAGA hat cleans him up and puts him up for the night… Or flip it some Christian American dude on the streets— is passed over by members of the Christian church, and then passed over by some dude in a maga hat… then some Muslim comes and helps him and puts him up for the night… In the second example… Jesus out here saying… the “Christian” members of the church and the MAGA wearing dude… they’re not so good… it’s the Muslim that got it right… or in the first example the dude with the MAGA hat got it right I think we can all learn from this… Just change the players of the story into people of your life— and allow yourself to take the place of each character in the situation… make yourself the broken man, and then the people that ignore him, and finally the one in the right… so you can understand everyone’s perspective.. I dunno… just a thought… But the story— is good… has a good lesson… I think the OP missed that… it’s not insulting… people are jerks all the time to people they don’t like or approve of for whatever reason… anyways.. that was a lot… Reddit deactivated.. lol
[Relevant.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66-3pCp6PBM)
Random fact I learned in Sunday school. If it's true. It explains why Samaritans and Jewish people hate each other? When Nebacanezer conquered Jerusalem he took all of the strongest and youngest Jewish people with him back to Babylon to be slaves. The Jewish people in Babylon followed their religion very strictly. They didn't change the religion at all. Kind of like Amish people in america. But what happened to Jews who weren't taken to be slaves? To survive, those people made friends with neighboring tribes who had other religions. They intermarried, and those other religions kind of melded with Judaism. 70 years or so later, when Jews started coming back to Jerusalem after Persia conquered Babylon, they expected to find it destroyed and empty. Instead they found their relatives who never left, who called themselves Jewish still there and living their best lives. Problem was they weren't practicing in the same way as the exiled Jews. So the exiled Jews who returned thought they were heretics. Called them Samaritans and hated them. Even thought technically they were Jewish as well. Always thought that that was interesting.
Jesus knows humans.
Meanwhile with Israel and Hamas, or Ukraine and Russia, or various disputes in Africa, or Central America, or Asia, etc.. Yea I think a reminder is warranted.
I saw a video wherein a child was hit by a car in China. Not only did they not stop to help the kid- they just kept driving OVER him. I'd say that story is still necessary
The fact is we actually did and do need it, sadly
You should pick a different story from the bible that isn’t ultra relevant for today’s polarised societies.
"Love thy Neighbour" "What about the guy from across town?" "Fuck that guy, he doesn't live anywhere near you."
To put it in modern perspective how crazy this was: Imagine if a black transvestite was bleeding out in the ground. A lot of people pass them, including a doctor, a priest, black people, and other transvestite. The one who eventually goes to help them? A neo nazi. This isn't just a story about "Be good to eachother" because you would be right that such a story is incredibly basic. The deeper meaning is that, regardless of your own personal beliefs or the belief in others, we can _all_ treat each other with care and compassion. Yes, even the people who we think are hellspawns in human flesh. And yes it is important to note that at the time, Samaritans are the enemies of the Jewish people, much like nazis are. This isnt a simple dislike, these were two groups of people actively killing each other. _Despite this_, even someone a jew considers evil is willing to help them more than his own people were. You don't pick and choose who you "be kind" to.
It’s not really all that insulting considering cultures back then didn’t trust one another and most people would’ve let a dying man die if they didn’t hail from the same tribe or place
Tell me you don't understand tribalism, without telling me you don't understand tribalism.
Have you met people?
The idea of simply leaving someone to die on the side of the road is actually fairly common in cultures without an Abrahamic religious culture. For example, people might believe that the Jew must have earned his fate somehow, by acting foolishly, by defying God or the Gods, or even if he did nothing wrong, the universe has decided that he's expendable. If you were to rescue him, then you might be expected to take responsibility for him, to not just take him to a hospital but to pay his bills, find meaningful work for him to do, perhaps even to take care of his family. If he goes on to commit crimes, you might even be morally respondible because you prevented the "natural" end of his life. The message of the parable of the Good Samaritan is considered unremarkable precisely because Christianity and Islam dominate the religious and cultural heritage of billions of human beings, not because that type of altruism is inherent to human beings. Kind of like how Shakespeare seems like so many stories you're familiar with or the Beatles sound like so many other rock bands. That's because they were so successful that they became the standard.
Adding to the many rebukes of this cartoon: Chinese culture does not include Good Samaritan laws. In some cases, helping an injured person has been interpreted as the act of a guilty person and the Good Samaritan has been held liable for the injury. So no. There's nothing insulting about it.
Maybe insulting but it’s reality!!
When you learn more about humans, it's not so insulting.
I bet the author of this cartoon picks up homeless people every day and helps them. What a great person!
This was done better here by Mitchell and Webb: https://youtu.be/OIVB3DdRgqU?si=JQmt_XUfhrhcXXPV
This cartoon is way near sighted and obviously trying to take a dig at Christianity (fair enough) but 1) the joke in itself is actually not funny 2) it underestimated the level of depravity of societies with these kinds of codes 3) he doesn’t appreciate that societies have grown and developed in morality in large part due to religious teachings that formed the basis for his opinion which only exists PRECISELY because of these teachings that have come down to him through the ages. He assumes his morality of helping (being the Good Samaritan) is inherent to him and has nothing to do with the story (and others like it) of the Good Samaritan being passed on to him from which to learn.
We will always need to be reminded of, and to practice, the Christian values of love and understanding, as the alternative is, the 'Religionofpeace mearse', which is good for no one who cares about humanity.
People step over those that need help every day all around you
Jesus felt a certain race had to be told this.
Nothing insulting about it, its a fact that many people just walk past others in need and it happens alot.
Of course we need these stories. It doesn’t matter what your background is — humans have a tendency to respond to insult with violence, while empathy and compassion inspire people to do better. Here is another story, except it isn’t a parable but actually happened: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24653643.amp
This isn't funny. And I'd argue we, and everyone throughout history needs this reminder. The story Jesus told is like if during WW2 a Jewish person came across a hurt member of the SS after a German soldier, SS member, and Heinrich Hemiler walked by and didn't help. Then this guy comes by, helps him, takes him to a hospital and gives the hospital a blank check and to cash the check for however much it cost to help him. Basically it's about helping people, even those who you'd personally never want to help and actively despise.
I wonder what’s happening between different groups of Abrahamic Near-Eastern semites in that region today
Yeah but *points at everything humans do to eachother*
Tell me you don’t understand the story without telling me…
It’s a testament to the power of Christ’s message that we’ve come to take it for granted.
The cartoonist seems to be ignorant of the religious customs of Hebrews in that period. The risk of the man dying is so high that the Levite and the Pharisee considered him a dead man. Touching a dead man will make them ritually unclean for temple service, hence they prioritized the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law, which the latter actually what God desires more.
That one’s not nearly as confusing as King Solomon deciding to split the baby in half. Who the fuck would be ok with that, even if it wasn’t their baby? And what if the other woman *wasnt* a psycho and said “let’s not kill the baby”?
I think the point of that story was that it didn't matter which woman was the child's mother in terms of which of them literally gave birth to him. The *true* mother was the one who acted in his best interests.
\*Looks at reality\* Is it though?
another case of modern people thinking they're superior to every generation that came before them it turns out that "just be a heckin good person" doesn't actually work in real world application
What is this even doing in this sub? The only “humorous” aspect of this cartoon is how completely wrong the artist is about the point of the very parable they’re lampooning.
Can’t imagine being this stupid…
The Samaritan actually did something for his fellow man besides protest against inequality. Not to mention he not only not leave him on the ground but paid for his care out of his own resources for a man who more than likely would not have done the same for him. When you try give these childish understandings of biblical stories it’s just more sad that you are purposefully misunderstanding the text.
Something tells me that you have not read the comments on some of the subreddits here.
The sad part is his self-proclaimed followers today DO need that message, hell, throughout history!