“You think you’re masculinity is inherently linked to the number of shoes you own”
“Your first instinct upon struggling in a class is to stop attending that class”
“You consistently mock and badger your girlfriend’s best friend and don’t think that’s gonna bite you in the ass”
Emily
Dammit “your”
TerribleName
But you believe in the Rapture
Knayt
The first two are easy shots from Joyce that she absolutely could take. The third one is just opening up another target, given that she constantly mocks and badgers her best friend’s boyfriend and doesn’t think that’s going to bite her in the ass. Plus, they’re both probably right – it’s friendly enough badgering.
Yeah, it took me a few tries to work out what was going on here.
I think the main issue is that the removed speech bubble is quite far away from the gap, so it’s hard to see the connection initially. Perhaps some lines an a cartoon dust cloud or something like that would help here?
I mean most of us tend to not be insufferably smug assholes so maybe not?
Airyu
Tbf Joyce can be pretty insufferable herself.
begbert2
Are you kidding? It’s almost insulting to her to *not* take advantage of a setup like that. When you don’t respond to what a person says it means you don’t think they and what they say are important.
LordHaw
TBH, that’s a darned if you do, darned if you don’t kind of situation if you ask me.
Long enough to hide in our iron-clad bunkers in the mountains under Arizona and hope for the aliens to come and take us away before Dorothy meets Mind-Dorothy and grapple with the power of Walky’s mind.
Since no one can prove that the Rapture definitively *IS* a thing until such time as it actually happens, it is by definition plausible — along with things like UFOs and intelligent life elsewhere in the universe — because you also cannot prove definitively that it is *NOT* a thing.
It’s the same thing with modern medicines. For the longest time everyone believed that there was no cure for syphilis. But then, in the 1940s, some guy named Fleming discovered penicillin — something that had always been there, of course — but we as a society just didn’t know about it.
Positron
UFOs definitely exist. I mean, surely you’ve seen an object that was flying and you didn’t know what it was before, right? It’s just that it’s almost always made by humans (e.g. planes, UFO hoaxes), and the rest of the time it’s meteors or what have you. Unidentified is an incredibly non specific term, after all.
N0083rP00F
You are so correct.
Afterwards they become IFOs.
Or it is determined that they are the result of the ingestion of any variety of psychotropic substances.
Mountain Dew as an example.
thejeff
Or sometimes they just remain UFOs. You never find out what they are.
Doesn’t mean there isn’t a reasonable non-alien space ship explanation. Just that you don’t know what it is.
3oranges
That’s…not how the word plausible works?
It’s not plausible that killer whales could devour the entire landmass of China and regurgitate it as animate cheese. And it doesn’t become plausible if I say that it won’t be possible until 2162, when the laws of physics will change to allow it, just because that’s me postulating something that hasn’t happened yet and so impossible to disprove.
Consider the rapture plausible or not at your discretion, but let’s not try drilling a whole in the word to slip it through.
Dana
Does that include the bits in the Himalayas that are claimed by multiple countries? Because that’s just silly.
Shade
Life on other planets isn’t just plausible, it’s a statistical probability based on the size of the universe and everything we know about the right conditions for life. It’s actually more unlikely we’re the only planet with or has ever had life in the entire universe.
Deathjavu
Given the size and age of the universe, and the fact that we’ve found a few hundred HUMAN habitable planets after looking at about 0.000000000001% of it, life elsewhere is a guarantee.
There is nothing special about life, it’s just a natural occurrence of the physical universe we inhabit.
foamy
We have not in fact found a few hundred human habitable planets. We’ve found, most generously, a few hundred planets which are approximately in the right positions, maybe, but are wildly unknown in every respect except estimates of mass (biased towards planets significantly larger than Earth, which is not great for living on) and position.
Calling those “human habitable” is like calling Venus or Mars or the Moon that.
begbert2
Yeah, I just want to second 3oranges here. “Plausible” is giving the rapture waaay too much credit. If something is plausible then belief in it being possible is at least somewhat justified. This is most definitely not the case for anything in religion – if that stuff was plausible nobody would need to fall back on faith to believe in it.
For the rapture to be at all possible there would need to be a god around who has been carefully lying in wait very secretly until he suddenly jumps out and goes “boo” and starts wrecking shit as if he’d been hiding behind the couch at a surprise party for someone he hated. If a person did that, I’d question whether they were insane. The kind of god required to carry out the rapture and the rest of the revelations fanfiction would be too mentally unstable to plausibly have waited this long before going nuts – and that’s not even factoring in that all god are implausible (or impossible) based on physics and the historical record.
So yeah. Possible, in the same sense that it’s theoretically possible that your left leg will suffer quantum instability and suddenly turn into a puppy, yes. Plausible? Not even a bit.
Sunny
I’d like to have a leg-puppy.
trlkly
Plausible and possible are not the same thing. Plausible means there is some defined way it could happen, based on past information.
Sure, to someone who believes in God and that particular interpretation of the Bible, it can seem plausible. But, to everyone else, it’s implausible. And it would remain so even if it did happen.
And that’s without any need to argue that religion is false or anything like that. Even the Bible doesn’t actually say there will be a Rapture like the one being described here. It only describes people who are still alive on Earth being taken to the final judgement along with those who are dead.
It’s stuff in Revelation that people interpret to mean that a Rapture will happen before, take people up, wait 3.5 to 7 years, and then Jesus comes back, then he reigns for 1000 years, and then he has a big battle with Satan and wins.
Point is, you do not have to believe in this sort of Rapture even as a Christian. Even the Biblical justification is weak. I’m not saying it won’t happen that way–I refuse to argue that unimportant parts of a religion are false–but I will say it’s not the most plausible option, even assuming the Bible is 100% accurate.
193 thoughts on “Rapture”
Ana Chronistic
“well, you asked” also works
Ana Chronistic
now I’m envisioning Puppy-Dorothy in a little Kraft Macaroni & Cheese doggie jacket
THANKS WILLIS
factorsofx
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/2c/7c/5a/2c7c5a068c52382c5627cb9110addb30.jpg
AnvilPro
To be fair, Joyce was walking right into that one.
factorsofx
Would’ve been hilarious to see her reaction
Emily
“You think you’re masculinity is inherently linked to the number of shoes you own”
“Your first instinct upon struggling in a class is to stop attending that class”
“You consistently mock and badger your girlfriend’s best friend and don’t think that’s gonna bite you in the ass”
Emily
Dammit “your”
TerribleName
But you believe in the Rapture
Knayt
The first two are easy shots from Joyce that she absolutely could take. The third one is just opening up another target, given that she constantly mocks and badgers her best friend’s boyfriend and doesn’t think that’s going to bite her in the ass. Plus, they’re both probably right – it’s friendly enough badgering.
Doctor_Who
Yeah, that was right over the plate.
Sageress
Joyce didn’t really walk in to having her religious beliefs mocked…
thejeff
Really, she did. Not this particular instance, but overall she does. And Walky’s been gentler about it than some. Like Dina.
Mostly she walked into it by using her beliefs like a cudgel early on.
Danni
if walky values his femurs, he wont answer
Deanatay
That’s Ruth. Joyce would probably just punch him.
Inspector Hound
Joyce has learned many things from her fellow residents. Femur extraction could be one of them.
Yotomoe
http://imgur.com/a/iG7gt
I found top secret footage of Dina being sexually intimidating.
lia47
:0
Ana Chronistic
OMG PUT SOME NSFW TAGS ON THAT
(Not Safe For the Weak)
Danni
so, everyone?
Doctor_Who
Not safe for Becky’s immortal soul.
a4lbi
I AM WEEAAAAAAK
John
Warning: Contains drawings of topless Dina!
(And by “topless”, I of course mean “hatless”.)
Bagge
No… no hat!? Lewd!
Deanatay
Lascivious full-cranial nudity!
Needfuldoer
Yotoart, now with twice as much Dina as the next leading brand!
trlkly
So she had to clone herself a sexually aggressive version. Got it!
Mr. Mendo
By Walky’s standards, this is a big step…
DarkoNeko
The bearded guy behind is trying really hard at poker face
John
He has some amazingly flat hair.
motorfirebox
But wait, why is the last part lined through
Deanatay
The last panel is in Walky’s head.
Aninhumer
Yeah, it took me a few tries to work out what was going on here.
I think the main issue is that the removed speech bubble is quite far away from the gap, so it’s hard to see the connection initially. Perhaps some lines an a cartoon dust cloud or something like that would help here?
aeromechanicalace
Walky is a better man than I. I consider myself pretty good at adulting, and I’d have still said it.
factorsofx
I think most of us would’ve
Reltzik
Not me.
I mean, there’s like six easy zingers. Why go for the most obvious one?
“Stupid enough to ask me an easy set-up question like that.”
Rukduk
Ding ding ding. We have a winner!! (Read in corny old-style Carny voice)
Passchendaele
“I totally underestimated you. You’ve fallen for the piles of clothing trick at least once, right?”
Emily
I mean most of us tend to not be insufferably smug assholes so maybe not?
Airyu
Tbf Joyce can be pretty insufferable herself.
begbert2
Are you kidding? It’s almost insulting to her to *not* take advantage of a setup like that. When you don’t respond to what a person says it means you don’t think they and what they say are important.
LordHaw
TBH, that’s a darned if you do, darned if you don’t kind of situation if you ask me.
Maveric1984
Alright, I need to comment on the Fuck Zone pic this week…
Absolutely brilliant. My favorite of the series. And I thought nothing would top the last two weeks.
Pablo360
Walky’s mental image of Dorothy has gained sentience. We are all doomed.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Not until it breaks out into the real world. There is still time. Not much, but some.
Passchendaele
Long enough to hide in our iron-clad bunkers in the mountains under Arizona and hope for the aliens to come and take us away before Dorothy meets Mind-Dorothy and grapple with the power of Walky’s mind.
MatthewTheLucky
What if someone broke out of a hypothetical situation into the comment section right now?
Flakky
If MindDorothy gained sentience, it would be bogged down with “fixing up” Walky.
The first battlefield would be math, next might be clothes, but the war would rage eternally. So I think we’d be quite safe.
caesaria82
I am also happy you are no longer a puppy, mind!Dotty.
StClair
yes, very.
phildog
Amazing.
Kris
Hey the rapture could potentially happen! It’s….plausible.
Reltzik
…. wait.
Are you saying that it’s plausible?
Or are you saying that it’s …. plausible?
Kris
……..plausible?
Leorale
……….theatre.
Bicycle Bill
Since no one can prove that the Rapture definitively *IS* a thing until such time as it actually happens, it is by definition plausible — along with things like UFOs and intelligent life elsewhere in the universe — because you also cannot prove definitively that it is *NOT* a thing.
It’s the same thing with modern medicines. For the longest time everyone believed that there was no cure for syphilis. But then, in the 1940s, some guy named Fleming discovered penicillin — something that had always been there, of course — but we as a society just didn’t know about it.
Positron
UFOs definitely exist. I mean, surely you’ve seen an object that was flying and you didn’t know what it was before, right? It’s just that it’s almost always made by humans (e.g. planes, UFO hoaxes), and the rest of the time it’s meteors or what have you. Unidentified is an incredibly non specific term, after all.
N0083rP00F
You are so correct.
Afterwards they become IFOs.
Or it is determined that they are the result of the ingestion of any variety of psychotropic substances.
Mountain Dew as an example.
thejeff
Or sometimes they just remain UFOs. You never find out what they are.
Doesn’t mean there isn’t a reasonable non-alien space ship explanation. Just that you don’t know what it is.
3oranges
That’s…not how the word plausible works?
It’s not plausible that killer whales could devour the entire landmass of China and regurgitate it as animate cheese. And it doesn’t become plausible if I say that it won’t be possible until 2162, when the laws of physics will change to allow it, just because that’s me postulating something that hasn’t happened yet and so impossible to disprove.
Consider the rapture plausible or not at your discretion, but let’s not try drilling a whole in the word to slip it through.
Dana
Does that include the bits in the Himalayas that are claimed by multiple countries? Because that’s just silly.
Shade
Life on other planets isn’t just plausible, it’s a statistical probability based on the size of the universe and everything we know about the right conditions for life. It’s actually more unlikely we’re the only planet with or has ever had life in the entire universe.
Deathjavu
Given the size and age of the universe, and the fact that we’ve found a few hundred HUMAN habitable planets after looking at about 0.000000000001% of it, life elsewhere is a guarantee.
There is nothing special about life, it’s just a natural occurrence of the physical universe we inhabit.
foamy
We have not in fact found a few hundred human habitable planets. We’ve found, most generously, a few hundred planets which are approximately in the right positions, maybe, but are wildly unknown in every respect except estimates of mass (biased towards planets significantly larger than Earth, which is not great for living on) and position.
Calling those “human habitable” is like calling Venus or Mars or the Moon that.
begbert2
Yeah, I just want to second 3oranges here. “Plausible” is giving the rapture waaay too much credit. If something is plausible then belief in it being possible is at least somewhat justified. This is most definitely not the case for anything in religion – if that stuff was plausible nobody would need to fall back on faith to believe in it.
For the rapture to be at all possible there would need to be a god around who has been carefully lying in wait very secretly until he suddenly jumps out and goes “boo” and starts wrecking shit as if he’d been hiding behind the couch at a surprise party for someone he hated. If a person did that, I’d question whether they were insane. The kind of god required to carry out the rapture and the rest of the revelations fanfiction would be too mentally unstable to plausibly have waited this long before going nuts – and that’s not even factoring in that all god are implausible (or impossible) based on physics and the historical record.
So yeah. Possible, in the same sense that it’s theoretically possible that your left leg will suffer quantum instability and suddenly turn into a puppy, yes. Plausible? Not even a bit.
Sunny
I’d like to have a leg-puppy.
trlkly
Plausible and possible are not the same thing. Plausible means there is some defined way it could happen, based on past information.
Sure, to someone who believes in God and that particular interpretation of the Bible, it can seem plausible. But, to everyone else, it’s implausible. And it would remain so even if it did happen.
And that’s without any need to argue that religion is false or anything like that. Even the Bible doesn’t actually say there will be a Rapture like the one being described here. It only describes people who are still alive on Earth being taken to the final judgement along with those who are dead.
It’s stuff in Revelation that people interpret to mean that a Rapture will happen before, take people up, wait 3.5 to 7 years, and then Jesus comes back, then he reigns for 1000 years, and then he has a big battle with Satan and wins.
Point is, you do not have to believe in this sort of Rapture even as a Christian. Even the Biblical justification is weak. I’m not saying it won’t happen that way–I refuse to argue that unimportant parts of a religion are false–but I will say it’s not the most plausible option, even assuming the Bible is 100% accurate.
CJ
I wondered for a moment, if plausible was a false friend…
CJ
Appropriate avatar, lets try for a better one.
Kit M. Harding
“And one of these days it will actually be the Rapture and you’ll have been the boy who cried wolf!”
(I don’t think Joyce is quite quick enough on her feet to say that, though.)
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Obligatory Blondie link.
Passchendaele
I mean, he did say time slowed to a halt in that class, so clearly it’s a thousand years of tribulation in one boring lecture. 😛
(I request walky/puppy dorothy, makes want to erase our minds, Willis)
Stephen Bierce