Carson Grubaugh's Cerebus Re-Read: "Latter Days"

The first time I read Cerebus, Latter Days was actually one of my favorite volumes. Crazy, I know.

I was meeting Sim on the way out while he was on the way in with the whole monotheism thing. His commentaries on the Book of Genesis acknowledged a lot of the same oddities that had come to bother me over the years. (I was raised in a Non-Denominational, Evangelical, cookie-cutter, Born-Again, mega-church household.) Even more impressive/compelling, was how internally consistent his explanation for, and interpretation of, the apparent inconsistencies was. Sure, the thread is strained here and there, but overall Sim does a fantastic job at crafting a believable story out of the two different creation myths, the varied usage of 'God' and 'Lord', the ever renewing covenants, all of the twins stealing each other's birthrights, everyone fucking their relatives, the odd sacrificial demands, etc. He almost had me sold!

At some point in his essays Sim also criticizes the modern church's over-appraisal of the Apostle Paul, a topic I had harangued my family about for years.

There was a decidedly Gnostic flavor (something I was partial to at the time) to Sim's explication but it was interpretatively deeper than any Gnosticism I have ever seen. This was a huge plus for me, at the time.

I have since altered my views dramatically. I was never able to shake the philosophical belief that whatever religion calls 'God' is too big to be viewed as an active agent with a personality. If I ascribe even the most non-anthropomorphic idea of agency or person-hood to the thing then the whole concept becomes reprehensible. If there is such an entity, a Creator, conscious of its actions and aware of its creation then it is a despicable, selfish, pathetic, piece of shit... [Read the full review here...]

Cerebus Vol 16: The Last Day