1476 Vaguely Christian.

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Honestly, I can’t really get my thoughts together enough to wax poetic about religion down here. I don’t think there’d be much value in it anyway. I’ll let these two go over anything I might want to say as the conversation unfolds.

As far as me goes, I’m good on pages till Friday. I’ve been feeling shitty during the daylight hours, when I take my meds, then feeling normal-ish at night. So my days and nights are almost completely reversed now. I stopped taking the antidepressant because one moring I woke up in complete terror with visions of horror being displayed to me on the back of my eyelids. It lasted for several minutes and agitated me quite a lot. For the rest of the day it was like my old depression switch was turned back on. I was crying at random for no reason, had feelings of intense grief, and was having repetitious thoughts. I’m still not completely right. Little flashes of intense emotion keep washing over me at random. Hopefully I can right myself again in a day or so. It’s put me right off of medications though. I really don’t like my brain being a playground for experimentation.

It’s pretty fucking annoying because I was doing better before I went to the doctor and I wasn’t doing great then. In contrast though it feels like I’ve been set back months. If nothing else my foot seems to be staying the right color most of the time. Maybe the blood vessels are healing up. Hopefully I’m losing weight from the loss of appetite panic brings too. Silver linings and all that.

Anyway, I’ll see you guys back here on Xmas day, late if you come at all. Stay safe if you’re traveling. I don’t want any names to stop appearing in the comments this year. Believe it or not I do come to recognize usernames and notice when they stop appearing. No matter what you believe know that I appreciate your presence, and hope only the best for you and yours.

38 Comments

I’d rather be a friendly guy that doesn’t go to church than a self righteous religious bigot. (No offense to those that go to church regularly and don’t act all high and mighty because of that)

Good point. The actual purpose of church is to be able to be “right” without being self-righteous. As you’ve experienced, that’s a difficult task for most everybody.

Seems like there was some guy who said something about people who appeared pious on the outside, but were like moldering graves on the inside. Can’t recall who that was.

I haven’t been in church in ages, but that’s mainly cuz I have a grudge with God.

Could that grudge be due to the fact that he acts like he doesn’t exist?

Thank you for bringing that up. I’ve always wanted to know: if there was a God, what kinds of things would He/She do to let people know He/She exists?

Things a deity could theoretically do to prove his/her existence and status as the creator of all things:

I hope this exhaustive list has been helpful. This is, incidentally, the entire point of agnosticism. We happen to be in a case where most of us don’t experience attempted proofs of existence by some deity. But even if that were not the case, there is nothing that a deity could do to prove that they weren’t just some being with sufficiently advanced technology. I mean, a deity could, if they so chose, remove your free will and force you to believe. But so could a being with sufficiently advanced technology.

Yeah I’m Gnostic, so I don’t go to (insert place of worship here) as a general rule. That and I also have a grudge with the Christian god.

Merry Christmas! And may the new year be a happy one for you.

And once again, thank you for creating one of my favorite comics. You do a great job, week after week, and I really appreciate it.

I think of religion only as a way to keep one’s sense of perspective in order, but then astronomy does the same thing for me as well (it is a pretty amazing universe out there, after all, as compared to our Pale Blue Dot). It certainly is not a guide on how to be a decent human being (and the people who think it is, usually are not decent human beings at all, at least not to anyone outside of their congregation, and not to their faces at that).

Just keep well during the Christmas period. I would ease up on the meds a bit, and address the problems with the doctors when you are next available. People’s brain chemistry is still wildly unknown even to the professionals, and finding a combination that works for you is pretty much hit-and-miss. I hope things don’t get worse, but I do trust they will get better. Take care :)

It’s amusing that the comments on this page waffle between indicating a certain extent of non-religiousness, or wishing people the best on a religious holiday. Or both. Who am I to resist the siren call though.

I feel like “vaguely _____” is the best kind of religious to be, if you choose to be one. It tends to indicate being a believer without being a zealot, and having a generally open mind. It also avoids one of my major issues with people who believe that only one particular denomination of a religion is the absolute truth -> with so many religions out there, why is that one the only one that is correct? “Vaguely _____” seems like the way to go.

There has to be “one that is the truth” because that’s the nature of Truth, according to the logical Law of Non-contradiction. All religions can certainly be false, but since they each make truth-claims that contradict the others, only one can actually be true.

Merry Christmas!

I don’t know what they gave you, but it sounds evil. Hopefully it wears off soon. I’d probably be drinking water like a mother trying to run it out of my system, even though in actuality it probably wouldn’t help me xP.

Just when I think one character is me on page, another one goes aND pulls something out of my internal journal. I get the sense Thomas is still connected to his faith as a source of strength and purpose, but is jaded on the idea of Church as community. There’s way more tearing down going on (in my experience) than the building up and sharpening of one another the Bible directs. That, and how it’s increasingly antagonistic to anyone “not in the family.”

Put a bunch of broken, sinful individuals together and it’s not surprising that sin and brokenness comes out.

BTW, how are you doing at bringing light into the darkness?

Merry Christmas :)

I know in regards to drugs that finding the right ones is huge (especially for the whole messing around in someone’s brain thing). If you think it isn’t right for you, well, it isn’t right for you.

Hope you feel better soon!

Now that I’ve done my Christian bit of sowing discord among the hoi-polloi, I’d like to wish everyone — especially Jackie and the Teen — a joyous, peaceful and restful [mid-winter festival of your choice].

Given that most antidepressants have suicidal thoughts and increased depression as possible side effects, what happened to you is understandable. Not acceptable mind you, but understandable. Perhaps you could try taking 5HTP or GABA as an alternative? Hugs to you Jackie.

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of brain meds can have the opposite of their intended effect for a subset of people, and you won’t know until you try it which SUCKS. If your depression increases and you start experiencing (increased, possibly) suicidal ideation, stopping that particular medication is a very good idea.

…? Your advice is questionable. Firstly, the reason why suicidal ideation and impulses as well as depression go up is because most anti-depressants tend to be a stimulate. Your body suddenly has energy and you have the means to get things done, but your brain just can’t change gears that fast. It has to adjust, thats why there is usually about a 2 week period of adjusting and seeing as how the meds go. Stopping a medication cold turkey is never a good idea unless you’re have an actual physical allergic reaction. Medication usually works best when accompanied with therapy since the therapist gives you time to reflect and you get time to allow your brain to “adjust” to this new energy it has. Whether to stop or continue a medication should be left to a psychiatrist, they can and will adjust medication as needed to help you.

Jackie man I hope things get better for you soon. I know that things will change, just not when and not how, but they will change. So here’s me hoping that the dice roll ends up with a nice natural 20 instead of a whiff of a 1.

I don’t know you, but you have a story to tell and I identify with pretty much everything in your work, so my life would be absolutely lessened if I couldn’t read your comic anymore for any reason. That isn’t much, I know, but at least it means I’m genuine when I say I hope you get better sooner rather than later.

And Merry Christmas. Hope it’s a good one for you.

As others have said, have a good Christmas, enjoy the season as much as you can, and hopefully you can get the medical things sorted finally.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family. I hope the new year brings you all well being and happiness.

Heh, I side with both your characters on this page my faith is my foundation but I’m not a fan of church. I’m of the belief that religion is personal, just like a lot of other beliefs, and isn’t ment to be forced on anyone. Also, a lot of the Bible has contradictions to Jesuses teachings. Though I love when people quote the old treatment; which, if I remember correctly, is only there only because of the roman empires laws.

Meds that affect brain chemistry are really just guesses based on what they think should work. You normally can just call your doctor and they should be able to prescribe a new combination without a visit. Most doctors have a few combinations to try and there’s no point in wasting your time with a visit.

Still a faithful reader! I must admit I’m quite curious to see how this topic plays out! Happy holidays to you and hope you start seeing some progress with your health. These things can take time, and we are with you all the way!

Hey Jackie-
Whatever your degree of religiosity it is abundantly clear that you are a unique voice for good in our world. My prayers and good wishes go out for you and all my fellow readers. Thanks so much for all you do.

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