Issue 126- "Philosophy of Life, Part 7"

Written by: HPLL

Hullo, all. Welcome to an all-prose issue of Clerk's Cafe...I chose to give myself a break from pencilling after doing the special 125th issue yesterday. I didn't have time to pencil anything as Dad's birthday was today. Happy 60th, pops! Onward to Philosophy, which tonight I dig from my old Philosophy textbook. It is called 

Do Suffering and Evil Count against the existence of God?

Traditionally, two views of evil are taken into account: first is Moral Evil. Moral evil consists of bad actions and their repercussions caused or effected by morally responsible humans. Secondly, Natural Evil consists of suffering to humans and other creatures from natural disasters and the such. From these two forms of evil, four premises are derived:

1. God is perfectly good.

2. God is all-knowing.

3. God is all-powerful. 

4. Evil exists.

To produce a valid argument against God's existence, atheists add this fifth premise: 

5. If God exists and is a being who is good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, then there would be no evil in the world.

When we add this fifth premise to the others there is but one conclusion:

6. Therefore, God does not exist.

The argument is valid as stated.

Therefore, since it is impossible to declare the argument unsound without denying one of the premises, theologians have sought to rationalize God's permittance of evil upon Earth. This practice is known as Theodicy. 

In Theodicy, there are two central arguments: The Greater Goods defense and The Free Will defense. First, the Greater Goods argument says that evil is permitted to ensure some greater overall good. For example, needles hurt like Hell but children who suffer through them are vaccinated and thus better off than those who are not vaccinated against disease. Secondly, the Free Will defense says that God could not have truly created humans as totally free-thinking creatures if he had genetically or otherwise removed their propensity for violence and evil.

Well folks, that is your deep-thought-out Philosophy lesson for tonight. Lemme know where you fall on this argument, and why.

Love to you all...hope you are feeling better Sam, call me sometime and we'll chat ok?

Issue 125- "Philosophy of Life, Part 6"

Written, Pencilled and Photoshopped by: Heath Parker Lail

Happy Memorial Day, everybody. Remember those who died so that we may live free. 'Nuff Said.

Issue 124- "Philosophy of Life, Part 5"

Written by: HPLL Pencils by: Stephen Bissette and more Inks: John Totleben and more 

Alright guys and gals, here we go. Enough images, but these are some of the comics that have touched me personally over the years, and I'm gonna tell you why comics are not just for kids, but are very relevant for those who are in their mid-twenties and beyond.

The first image is the cover to Swamp Thing #50, by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and more. An ancient evil has been unleashed on the world, and Swamp Thing is set to play a pivotal role in stopping the plague that seeks to destroy mankind. The issue is written around the concept of darkness and light being the ultimate forces in life, and that our personal philosophies about right, wrong, life and death are somewhere integrated into these ideas that there is light and dark in the world. To use an example, multiple heroes are captured by the darkness and here is how the Spectre's Philosophical fight with the creature transpired:

Darkness: Shall my question be answered, or shall I snuff out the light, and be done with the anguish its presence causes me?

Spectre: NO! I forbid you, by the Voice that speaks in all things...

D: It DOES NOT speak in ME. In ME, there is only hateful nagging of insoluable query. Tell me, little thing: What is evil FOR?

S: Evil exists only to be avenged, so that others may see what ruin comes of opposing that Great Voice, and cleave more wholly to Its will, fearing It's retribution!

D: And what of the tortured eons I endured, unable to broach this maddening brilliance and quiet the pain It woke in me? Do they not demand retribution? Little thing, you have taught me only Vengeance...be gone, that I may savor it in solitude.

OK, is that not one of the greatest philosophical arguments you've ever heard? The Spectre is defeated, but the issue is so much more than that. I think everyone should pick it up and try it.

The final comic we cover tonight(Iwill cover the other two images, and the bigger picture tomorrow night) is the Spectre number 14 from about three years back.

In this issue, a character named Jonah is telling readers a tale of his life (and what came after). In searching for love, he was found by one whose hunger was of a different sort...a vampire. Jonah struggled against his new state of being, begging priests to kill him, to stop him from what he had become. Yet death eluded him, and he wandered the world distrught until he murdered an innocent woman. As she died, he saw her dreams die with her as the light began to fade from her eyes. He broke her neck that she would not become a vampire like him, and changed his life, gainig wealth and using that wealth to protect others from his curse. He built a tower of steel in which he imprisoned himself, forever keeping the bloodlust unsated but himself unable to harm others as well. It is a very touching story and the ending is not quite what you'd expect.

I hope these two examples show that comics can teach as well as harm or hold back. I hope to return tomorrow night to complete (for now) the lesson on why comics are important to storytelling, and society in general. G'night all...

Issue 123- "Philosophy of Life, Part 4"

Written by: HPLL Pencils: Gil Kane, Inks: John Romita Sr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oddly enough, this issue is not about death...it is coming up sometime later. Instead, it is about first loves. Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's first love, the first one to make him feel as though he was special to someone, and the first girl he truly loved. Early in the series, Peter and Gwen were not romantically linked at all, but instead barely spoke to each other, Gwen seeing Peter as a nerd, and Pete not really making moves on any women because he was shy. When they got to know each other, they REALLY clicked, and they were practically inseparable. Peter was going to confide in Gwen his secret identity when her father, police Captain George Stacy, was killed by a chunk of falling masonry during a fight between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus. After this, Gwen developed a hatred of Spider-Man, claiming he was to blame for her father's death, and Peter chose to not tell her for good reason. At this point in the book, Gwen has just returned from a European trip, and she and Peter seem to be reconnecting. As seen above, Gwen is killed during a battle between Spidey and the Green Goblin. These days, Peter is happily married (as much so as an imaginary character can be, I suppose) to supermodel Mary Jane Watson-Parker, but he has never forgotten his first love. Why is that? I don't know...it seems as thoughsome people just 'click' with those of the opposite sex, and once that bond grows a little, it tends to spread like wildfire. Usually, people only have a max of one or two people like this in their lifetime, and if things do not work out romantically between these two, they still feel as though they are intimately connected, and may look you up after years of silence, or become your number one confidant throughout life. The most important thing to remember is to treat this person/people with the utmost respect, or else that deep connection can cause deep damage to your relationship if things sour. For instance, if you repeatedly hurt this person, you may be truly sorry, but they will find it quite difficult to be as close as before, and almost never will they give you a romantic chance if one has never been explored. Let me tell you, this experience of moving away is the most painful thing I've ever felt. I have someone like this in my life, and I have done almost irrepairable damage to our relationship...it felt like there was a small chance for romance once, but now that fire has not just gone out, but it seems put out by that flame foam stuff. The situation that was inflammatory has been put away, but the damage has already been done, and she finds it very hard to trust me, with good reason. Every night I ask God to let her trust me again one day, and I pray that she finds happiness in life, and never feels the hurt I put her through again. Friends, I was a fool...I wasted almost four years of my life, and now have nothing to show for it but being lonely and the shadow of a once-strong friendship haunts me, telling me I was an idiot to hurt that relationship. Reminding me that she was always there for me, no matter the consequence, but I let her down repeatedly and lied to her unmercifully at times. I can't even...I can't talk about it anymore. I'm sorry for everything, Samantha. I know you say it is water under the bridge, but for me it isn't. You mean more to me than I can say, and I hope you can learn to trust me as you once did. Without your friendship and advice I really feel lost. Before I go, I just wanna say this-- I feel better, no, cleaner around you. That hangup of mine you know about? It doesn't come around when I'm around you. I really do wish you the best with the Seth situation, and I hope you find happiness, cause I realize I had my chance and I blew it. I always wanted just one more chance but I kept blowing those too. I was driving around Memphis today, and I realized something...people have to live...truly live their lives in order for their actions to be worth a damn thing. Don't worry about what others think...do what you want, and what your heart tells you to do. G'night...please don't be mad Samantha...I spoke my heart for once.

Issue 122- "Fill-In"

written, pencilled, inked by: Heath

hey guys...this is me. I'm in the library getting ready to take this thing for extra credit. I hijacked a computer long enough to say hi...I have a great topic but it'll have to wait until tomorrow night because of these papers I have due tomorrow. I promise this will be the only fill-in issue between Philosophy of Life issues. More later...love to u all...

H

 

Issue 121- "Philosophy of Life, Part 3"

Written by: HPLL, Pencils/Inks: Jack "The King" Kirby

I've returned...been kinda busy right now, but I will NOT fall behind on my promise to deliver each issue of Philosophy of Life in a reasonable amount of time. The Bible quotes will return around issue 124 I believe. Well, onward and upward...

What makes a man "good"? This issue of Fantastic Four deals with Ben Grimm, the Thing! As you may or may not know, each of the FF was granted special abilities when doused with cosmic radiation in space. Benjamin Grimm was turned into a rocky pile of mass with amazing brute strength. He considers himself a freak, a loner. People are frightened by him, but he is a big smoothy inside. If only he could get people to see that. Well, one night he is taking a stroll outside when a mysterious stranger invites him in for a drink. The stranger is a rival of Ben's teammate Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, and he drugs Ben, cures Ben's rocky condition, and seeks to infiltrate the FF to destroy Richards posing as their friend. When Richards has to travel to another dimension, "Ben" is given the task of holding the cord to retrieve Reed, but the guy can not bring himself to destroy Mr. Fantastic because he sees that the other three love Ben for who he is, and that Grimm would endanger himself in order to keep his friends safe from harm. In the end, he sacrifices himself to save Mr. Fantastic, proving that inside every man, there is a hero. Every person wants to be a hero, if only to be revered in the public's eyes. But would every man go the distance to prove his worth? I think not. Some do not seek to truly be "good", while others, when presented with a situation in which they could shine, would crack under the pressure. We must love everyone for who they are, not what they look like on the outside. Love eminates from the heart, not from body organs or lips or hands. Inside is where we must look for the good in people...we must search it out in some, while others shine with love. It has been said that there is at least five people in your life that love you, but for whatever reason, you'll never know. I hope you all find love, and that once you do, you are treated with love and respect by that person, so that both of you maximize the good that can be done , received, and shown. I,too, am searching for love...true love that will never leave me or hurt me, or make me feel bad for things not done. Happy hunting, folks.

In closing, I did not take that exam tonight. I decided to come home and write my Philosophy paper, which is due Thursday. I am taking off work tomorrow to take the exam tomorrow night at 7. If I get time, perhaps I can give you a special issue from Ole Miss tomorrow night. Love to you all, including you Sam:)