Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for January 06, 2022

I guess “the fighting young priest who can talk to the kids” from the 60’s doesn’t have that much fight in him in the 90’s.

Alcohol was one way to reach nirvana.

Oh, my. I long for the days when the worst kind of ads on web sites were liquor ads. I guess this was before the days of targeted advertising.

The name of the site is: https://www.godthealmighty.org

GenX’rs described as “young” – sigh.

Large chat hall? How many GB?

Ironically, new congregations for atheists have been popping up. Those attending don’t believe in any god but find ritual both grounding and inspiring. They also provide space for discussions of morals and ethics in current society.

Isn’t it possible that a little something called Covid-19 caused this loss of faith??

Any church that cannot both condemn sin and tolerate the sinners will not gather many sinners to tolerate. That’s bad for business. Gotta keep the roof up you know.

Unchurched! Excellent coinage.

Deuteronomy 14:26 “… buy an ox, a sheep, some wine, or some strong drink, to feast there before the Lord your God, and to rejoice with your household.”

Pretty soon they will consolidate their webiste with an ecumenical group which will include Zorasterists, General Motors, Satanists, etc.

What about the escort ads?

Why fight it? Liquor is a great aid to theodicy: “And malt does more than Milton can/ To justify God’s ways to man.”

TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE INNOCENT TOURISTS

WHO WENT AROUND SCREAMING “HANG ALL THE JURISTS!”

AND AS WE CURSE THE DAY OF THE ORANGE FOOL’S BIRTH

REMEMBER THAT IF WE OWED THE BANKS WHAT HE OWES

WE’D BE DOING 10 TO 12 IN LEAVENWORTH.

AND AS TRUMP’S THIRD WIFE TAKES HIM TO RENO

HOW THE HELL DO YOU GO BROKE RUNNING A CASINO?

Alongside the freeway near Palm Springs, a billboard: “Are you seeking a church that promotes Jesus instead of Vaccines?”

I’m so old I remember when Gen X was considered young. Or put another way, I remember my youth.

A Gallup poll from 2021 puts some numbers behind that “declining church membership” overview:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx

Interestingly, the rise of “the nones” (no, not “the nuns”, much beloved by Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, but rather people who, when asked for their religious preference, check “none”) seems to have been mainly at the expense of mainstream Protestants and to a lesser extent at the expense of Catholics. The percentage of the population that identifies as evangelical Protestants has been holding remarkably steady at around 25%.

The reason Gen-X is so ignored is that marketers have never known how to reach us…it’s very simple: show an über-tired mom/dad (we’re that age now) staring blankly into the void of sweet, sweet nonbeing, consuming the product you’re trying to sell.

Prototypes: Clint Barton from the latest Hawkeye miniseries and Neo/Thomas or Trinity/Tiffany from Matrix Resurrections

He could have just turned water into wine, and rejected other ‘spirits.’

I worked at an Italian restaurant and I never did get over the shock of seeing the priests come in on the regular to sit at the bar and throw back a few cocktails.

Protestant roots.

I liked your “Sodomy’s Swell!” sign.