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Feedback archive → Feedback 2004
Archbishop James Ussher—blundered or brilliant?
Published: 19 March 2004(GMT+10)
Gentlemen,
I stumbled upon your website and noticed that you take Hugh Ross to task for the
way I chose to illustrate Bishop Ussher in the comic book I created with Hugh. Please
note that I am entirely responsible for the satrical [sic] look and feel
of that comic. (FYI Reasons To Believe actually asked me to pull back a bit on some
of my satire, which I did) I intentionally wanted to have the art be silly, goofy
and lampooning. As you may note, I didn’t spare Hugh from the same treatment
either. Also, Ussher’s cap was NOT suppose [sic] to resemble a dunce
cap … and my limitations as an cartoonist must have confused you. I know
that you guys have differences with Hugh on creation issues … but play nice!
I have known Hugh for years and know him to be humble, teachable, honest and with
a huge heart to see people know Christ. Also you guys need to put away the science
journals once in awhile and read some comics or take a course on satire. It might
help you lighten up a bit. Sheesh!
In His Grip
Rick Bundschuh
Author/illustrator, Pastor
US
Dear Rick
Thanks for your communication. If you care to look at our website, you will see
that cartooning is not the issue, and never has been. We make good use of cartooning.
But there is fair and reasonable use, and unfair and derogatory use.
Art, particularly cartooning, is very powerful. It has been used for propaganda
in wartime, and can engender powerfully prejudicial images in people’s minds.
The fact that you were intending it to be lampooning, as you say, is clear, and
is the heart of the problem. Bottom line—it is an RTB publication, and as
head of RTB, Dr Ross is responsible for things published in its name, and capable
of instantly withdrawing them if he thinks they are not reflecting his own position.
If a cartoon in an AiG publication were to be lampooning someone who held Hugh Ross’s
position as an idiot/goof, and who was in fact a great scholar (whether or not we
agreed with their position) we would be very unlikely to have approved it in the
first place. If it slipped under our radar screen, I would hope we would be very
keen to publicly dissociate ourselves from that lampooning and withdraw the publication.
I don’t think it would be reasonable to suggest that the treatment of Dr Ross
in that comic book depicts him as an idiot, despite your comment. Perhaps the prejudice
is unconscious on your part, because there is a strong social convention that sees
Ussher as a fool.
Regarding your comments about Dr Ross’s teachable heart, etc—that is
very encouraging to us. [Our] newly-released book
Refuting Compromise by Dr Jonathan Sarfati
(destined to become a classic) makes it crystal clear that anyone with a heart for
Christ and teachable will have no rational choice but to repent of (i.e. change
their mind about) Rossist teaching.
So your comments raise hope that Dr Ross might himself face up to honest exegesis
and turn from his current (inadvertent, I’m sure) serious liberties with/distortion
of the Word of God, including opposing the very beliefs of Christ Himself. What
a powerful thing that would be for the cause of Christ, if we could publicly join
hands on the question of the absolute authority of the Word of God! We could work
on fine-tuning the details, but the big picture is clear from Scripture—six
solar days, world Flood, recent creation.
Please feel free to let me know what you think of the Refuting Compromise
book in due course. It is not intended to deny your judgment of Dr Ross as a person,
but ultimately there are issues here that transcend personalities and individuals.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Dr Carl Wieland
Managing Director, CMI-Australia
Dear Rick,
As a cartoonist myself, I wanted to weigh in on the issue of the presentation of
Archbishop Ussher in the comic book you produced for RTB.
Click image to enlarge.
It is true that you draw wacky versions of both Archbishop Ussher and Hugh Ross
in your comic book, however, there is an important difference in how you present
them. The wackiness aspects of the Hugh Ross character are all clearly fun visual
puns, but it is never in doubt that Hugh is nothing short of brilliant and a sheer
genius. You show Hugh Ross at age seventeen looking the wrong way into his home-made
telescope, but then in the very next panel Hugh is wearing a crown that says ‘Royal
Astronomical Society’ and we learn he has become the director of Observations
for the Vancouver chapter of Canada’s Royal Astronomical Society. The telescope
gag obviously was not a swipe at Hugh’s brain power. (Why not have Hugh’s
crown say ‘Ask me about Amway’ as you do Ussher’s cap?)
Click image to enlarge.
Later you show Hugh tripping over a Bible. Again this visual pun has nothing to
do with a lack of intelligence. Just a few panels later he is shown with his graduate’s
cap on and a diploma for his degree in physics and a Ph.D. in astronomy. (Why not
show Hugh counting his toes here, as you did Ussher?)
And finally Hugh gets hit in the head by a rake as it is explained that he really
doesn’t wear big thick glasses. A funny visual gag. Again this is not a jab
at any intellectual shortcoming because in the panels leading up to the rake gag,
Hugh grows to be a Christian leader who speaks on science and faith to the world.
Hugh is the hero.
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Click images to enlarge.
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On the other hand the visual puns used on Archbishop Ussher are aimed squarely at
his intelligence. He is the bad and dumb guy. The context is that Ussher is responsible
for misleading many in the church to wrongly believe that the earth was created
around 6000 years ago. He is shown busily counting his toes! Ussher is an idiot
and fool in comparison to the hero of Hugh Ross who corrects Ussher’s blunder
and leads us to the truth.
Your style of cartooning does have a very wacky quality about it and it is very
effective and funny. However, there is a difference between ‘laughing with’
and ‘laughing at’ someone. In my opinion, your comic version of Ussher
is a cheap shot and little more than visual name-calling. With no other information
about Ussher, the kids (and adults) that read your comic will disregard Ussher as
just an idiot from the past that should be ignored.
Below you will find a selection of text taken from a Creation magazine
article, The forgotten archbishop, on Archbishop Ussher.
In it you will find a listing of his remarkable achievements. This may help you
to see our sensitivity and concern for how he is portrayed and perceived by people,
especially in the church.
A scholar of honour and repute
James Ussher was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1581. As a young man, he resolved to
devote himself wholly to the work of the Church, and the Lord honoured him in his
resolve. At 18 he entered Dublin University, which was then one of the world’s
major universities. At 20 he was ordained a deacon and priest in the Anglican Church
at Dublin. At 26 he was appointed Chairman of the Department of Divinity at Dublin,
an honour accorded to very few who were that young. He was a professor from 1607
to 1621, and was twice appointed Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin.
From his early school days he excelled in history, and from the age of 20, for the
next two decades he read every history book he could find. He excelled in church
history and prepared several large authoritative works dealing with the Irish and
English churches from the times of the Apostles.
In 1625, he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, which was the highest position in
the Irish Anglican Church. An expert in Semitic languages, he argued for the reliability
of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and wrote widely on Christianity in Asia,
and other Bible-related topics.
In 1628, King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) appointed him to his Privy
Council in Ireland. He was critical of the rebellion against James’ successor,
Charles I. However, Oliver Cromwell, who led the rebellion, held Ussher in great
esteem. When Ussher died, Cromwell held a magnificent funeral for him and had him
buried in Westminster Abbey.
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Based on the article above, the thought struck me that I could draw a short comic
story about Ussher the way you did about Hugh Ross (see comic panels). I could show
what a brilliant man Ussher was and highlight his achievements at such a young age.
And towards the end of it I could show a comic version of Hugh Ross sitting in his
office counting his toes and the caption could say, ‘Much of the confusion
in the church today about the age of the earth being millions and billions of years
old can be credited to a man by the name of Hugh Ross. He is the leader of a ministry
called Reasons to Believe. Ross figured that the Bible really doesn’t mean
what it plainly says and since he is such a big wheel in the church, hardly anyone
questions his reasoning.’
Do you see how this would make Hugh Ross the idiot in this case? I don’t believe
this would be fair to Hugh Ross in the same way that it wasn’t fair to Ussher.
Please don’t think I’m saying you are a vicious person that loves to
insult anyone you disagree with. I just think it was an easy pun to do and it resulted
in Ussher appearing as an idiot. In my cartooning I try to avoid this type
of thing as I think of it as a visual cheap shot. If you ever see a cartoon of mine
that takes the same ‘cheap shot’ at someone, I am open to criticism
about it.
Thank you for expressing your concerns to our ministry.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Dan Lietha
Cartoonist/Illustrator, AiG-US
Dan,
Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate you taking your time to respond in detail.
I can understand your vantage point but the truth is that as I was drawing each
panel I kept looking for some way to have fun with the character ... and since I
only had a couple of panels on Ussher, that’s what seemed funny at the time.
I honestly had no intention of suggesting that Ussher was not a brilliant man and
I think he would be such regardless if his view on creation days is right or wrong.
(The cracks about Amway have nothing to do with anything. I was just looking for
something silly to fill the space and perhaps give all the Amway distributors a
bit of a nudge) But, I do admit, that in two panels Ussher is not given a real fair
shake for all his intellect.
Also, please note that my buddy Tom actually did the hatchet job on Hugh …
and he is much nicer than I am … and you are right about one thing, we did
want Hugh to be the hero in that context. I have worked on staff with him (way before
RTB) and think what he is doing is pretty heroic.
What I am trying to communicate is that one shouldn’t read too much into these
panels. I really am trying to be an equal opportunity offender (even to poor Adam,
who comes off quite randy) and especially that Hugh did not put me up to this bit
of lampooning in any way. Does the comic have a spin—sure. Do I support Hugh’s
viewpoint—sure. Do I think that anyone who believes in a six day creation
is a knucklehead—nope. Do I resent suggestions by some young earth guys that
I have compromised my faith by not buying that way of thinking—you bet.
Thanks again for your input.
In His Grip,
Rick
Rick,
Thanks for your explanation of the Ussher cartoon.
I know being a Christian cartoonist, no matter what one’s positions are
on biblical topics, it has its share of ‘commentary’ from the viewing
audience. I’ve had plenty of it myself. A lot of it has been helpful and I
am grateful for it as it keeps me on my toes and has caught the occasional error.
Other times, the input from readers has been anywhere from silly (one guy wrote
me to say I had made Adam’s nose too big and this was an insult to God) to
just plain maddening. Mine was intended to be more of a ‘keep the cartoonist
on his toes’ email.
While we’re on the subject of keeping on our toes, we have a powerful
new book out which I’m very excited about and I’d like to send a couple
copies to you. I think it will put a new perspective on your understanding of why
we feel so passionately about these biblical issues. I would challenge you read
it with an open mind and of course, a desire to truly honor God’s word.
It’s quite an amazing piece of work. The book is called Refuting Compromise. I believe
the author is one of the most brilliant Christian apologists of our time, and I
don’t say that lightly.
If you and your friend Tom would be open to read it, please let me know and email
me your snail mail addresses. I’ll pop a couple copies in the mail for you.
Sadly, there’s only one little piece of my artwork in it. On the other hand,
maybe that’s a good thing! I’ll get fewer of those complaint emails
from readers! ;-)
Thanks again for your side of the Ussher cartoon.
In His service,
Dan Lietha
‘Eager to expose false teaching’
I want to continue to thank [you] for its support of a literal view of creation.
I was always fascinated with Noah’s Flood when I was a little boy, but rejected
it when I got into the “public school” system. Thankfully, the Lord
opened my eyes to the “real scientific evidence”, and my faith has been
so strong in the past 6 years. At 25, I am all the more eager to expose false teaching
whether it deal with the Benny Hinn’s or Mormons. I am most passionate about
creation, and I certainly believe that Hugh Ross has deceived himself, and his own
pride will lead to his downfall, for it will be difficult for Him to repent of his
errant teachings. Even so, do not be discouraged my brothers in Christ, for God
is still sovereign. We must only go forth and teach the truth with boldness; it
is the Holy Spirit who convicts and teaches. Though our hearts may become grieved
(just as was the case with the Apostle Paul in many of his letters), we still press
on towards the prize! Just as they distorted what Paul said during His time, so
they will distort what we say. Again, God is sovereign, and His will be done! Amen!
I used to become discouraged at the false teachings, but now I do not, for I will
not allow them to steal my peace and joy when I speak the truth and know it to be
true. Therefore, fight the good fight until the Lord calls us home! Amen!
Jeramy Anderson
US
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