2010-01-31
Explanation
This comic plays on the classic theological thought experiment known as the Paradox of the Stone (or Omnipotence Paradox): "Could God create a stone so heavy that even He couldn'''t lift it?" The caption below the panel reads: "Apparently Bobby didn'''t appreciate my explanation of the Paradox of the Stone." In the panel, a young boy (Bobby) eagerly asks an older man (perhaps a teacher or professor): "Wow! Second question. Could God make an argument so circular that even HE couldn'''t believe it?"
The humor works on multiple levels. First, Bobby has taken the structure of the Omnipotence Paradox and applied it to circular reasoning, creating a new absurd paradox about the logical limits of divine power. The implication from the caption is that the older man tried to explain the Paradox of the Stone to Bobby, who instead of being enlightened, was inspired to come up with his own equally maddening variation.
The votey panel shows the cartoonist (depicted as a frazzled character) thinking: "People are tired of clever observations! The public demands theology jokes!" This is a self-aware meta-joke about Zach Weinersmith'''s tendency to mine philosophy and theology for comedy, poking fun at his own recurring subject matter.