2012-04-14
Explanation
This comic satirizes the religious narrative that everything happens for a reason as part of God'''s plan. A Sunday school teacher tells a parable about a man who had a terrible day: he slept through his alarm, his wife got pneumonia, and his car broke down. God then explains each misfortune was actually a hidden blessing. Sleeping in prevented him from catching his wife'''s pneumonia. His wife'''s illness rekindled their love and prevented a divorce six months later. His car breaking down saved him from being hit by a drunk driver a block up the street.
The story seems like a standard inspirational Sunday school tale until a child in the class asks the obvious follow-up question: "Wait. Why did God put the drunk driver there in the first place?" This question exposes the logical flaw in the "everything happens for a reason" framework -- if God is orchestrating all events, then He is also responsible for creating the dangers He is supposedly protecting people from. The teacher, unable to answer, physically tackles the child to silence him, and in the next panels appears to smother the child in a cloud (possibly dust or divine intervention), suggesting the question is so threatening to the narrative that it must be suppressed by force.
The final panel shows the child in bed reflecting, "See, this is why people hate Sunday school." The comic addresses the problem of theodicy -- why a supposedly benevolent, omnipotent God would allow evil and suffering -- through the lens of a child'''s innocent but devastating logical thinking. The votey panel has a child saying "This and Veggie Tales," adding the Christian children'''s show to the list of reasons kids dislike Sunday school.