What’s the joke?
The joke is that Einstein calls God a genius, for planning all this stuff, when God didn’t plan anything - he did it on a whim. It relies partially on the characterisation, as across Um Sábado Qualquer’s comics, God is often represented as petty, clueless and/or dumb. Like this:
It makes way more sense in the context of this comic.
Flat Earth confirmed.
God just threw the universe together, but Einstein took the time to understand it.
Alternatively, the Bible has an extremely naive (and often counterfactual) understanding of natural science. If the world really was created by an all-knowing God and His word revealed in “inerrant” holy scripture, you’d expect it to be a whole lot better at matching the science.
Oooh, I like your alternative take a lot. The whole idea of the Bible being written as a result of “hearing the voice of God” or being divinely inspired is always a fun topic because it’s impossible to define.
Evidently when John Nash (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash_Jr.) was asked how a logical and smart person like him could believe that he was being recruited by aliens from outer space to save the world he replied “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me in the same way that my mathematical ideas did. So I took them seriously.”
I always thought people who were “hearing the voice of God” were experiencing the same thing. Something irrational happens but you interpret it in a way that just feels true to you as an individual, and it’s so impactful that you choose to believe and test it.
While I do like this interpretation, the comic, Um Sábado Qualquer, depitcs gods as kinda clueless/clumsy, leading me to interpret the comic as: god just kinda did it without noticing what he was doing, than someone came and understood what was happening. (but attributing the complexity and geniousness to god)
BUT, in real life, what you said is a pretty solid argument
Checkmate you several thousands years old scripture !
Not so much a dunk on historical texts as it is on people who believe that something written thousands of years ago is somehow infallible.
I think the joke is that God is capable of creating something without fully understanding it. But the comic seems to indicate that God wasn’t aware of his ability to do that, which I think is a bit odd. Even humans are aware that we can confuse ourselves by creating complex systems that not even we understand. I assume God would also be aware that he’s smart enough to trick himself, but who knows?
But in what way is it supposed to be funny?
This just seems to comment on religion, but it doesn’t do so in a way that makes any sense.
It seems to poke fun at god… But it does it with literally zero teeth.
There are much more valid paradoxes to point out in the imaginary idea of a god, an “omnipotent all-powerful force for good” cannot exist in a world where evil exists, or that force is either not good, not omnipotent, or not all-powerful.
Good question. I don’t think it’s actually funny so I don’t have an answer for that. I agree with your take.
This answer was even more confusing.
It’s just my personal speculation. What’s your interpretation of the joke?
Einstein smart! God dumb!
I assumed it was mocking Einstein for overthinking since God looks sad at the end.
Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that not even he could eat it?
Of course. Why do you ask?
My baseline take is that none of that stuff mattered when God was working. Humanity over-analyzed the fuck out of reality and came up with modern science, and God just… never having thought about gravity too deeply? The last panel gave me “DM when they realize their party comes up with an actual Peasant Railgun.” You say later on that it feels like a lame critique of religion. I think you’re closer to the author’s original intent, but I think I’m funnier /j
“We” are focusing on the wrong aspects of creation. God meant you to look at the sky and the trees, by overanalyzing what he built you are missing the point.
It’s meant to make you think in a goofy way, humour is not always meant to have you rolling to the ground in tears.
…
How the fuck is looking closer at whatever part of the universe you find most appealing “missing the point”?
I find your interpretation even more offensive than the lack of one.
You seem to believe I do poorly drawn comics that tries to fill the market gap for nerdy teologicians.
I do not and frankly, my dear, I’m not invested in your emotional reaction either.
why does god have invisible hair
it is the fabric of space-time
Carlos Ruas is a beast.
Einstein was a good Christian.
Ah yes, as if a god would know less about the universe it created than Einstein. This is some weird sciencier than thou comic and this sort of sentiment does nothing but drive wedges between people, best to avoid that
Actually, it is religion which drives that wedge, not science. Science creates no wedges at all and is purely inclusive; the religious people who deny repeatable and verifiable fact-based evidence are willingly excluding themselves, not being wedged away.
Science is waiting and ready to receive any repeatable and verifiable factual evidence that supports religious claims.
EDIT: lol would the downvoters like to explain what they believe is wrong with my comment?
To paraphrase Bruce Schneier, any idiot can create a universe that he himself doesn’t understand.
Eh, I have no problem characterizing “god” as a sort of Willy Wonka-esque maniac who might not necessarily"do things" or design systems based on an expected outcome.
The “why not?” or “just because” philosophy feels appropriate for “divine” characters like Loki and Sheogorath. They’re playing by their own rules, and they’re comfortable doing that because theoretically they are both the unstoppable force and the immovable object.
Could God create a puzzle so difficult that not even he can solve it? Who knows! But I think if I were God I’d want to try and see what happens.
Huh, I figured it was someone who was mocking Einstein for overthinking things when God was just trying to show him the neat thing he made. Don’t recognize the artist to know either way.
…dumb me was translating the comics by hand, without realising that the original artist had an English version of them.
I especially like this one 😄
why would they draw god as though his brain had been scooped out by a big spoon
