The history of Christian theology can be a daunting, even forbidding field for the novice, who sees neither the need for nor pertinence of rummaging around dusty old texts. This people-friendly volume, a full-scale reader in the history of Christian theology, offers an easy, non-threatening, occasionally humorous yet quite thorough entry into Christianity's central texts from the Apostolic Fathers to Mary Daly. It is also enlivened by dozens of cartoons by Rich Diesslin.
 Highly accessible introductions to five periods precede brief introductions to and texts from more than fifty key thinkers. The texts highlight perennial themes and questions in Christian tradition, especially the meaning and importance of Jesus, challenges to the institutional church, tensions of faith and reason, spirituality, and the Christian quest for social justice. The new edition, half again as large as the original, adds significant work from the Cappadocian Fathers and the Christological controversialists, the Franciscan tradition, the Radical and English reforms, and deeper coverage of twentieth-century theologians. With learning aids, research-paper suggestions and guide, and glossary.

A Journey through Christian Theology: With Texts from the First to the Twenty-first Century

Religion & Spirituality

Diesslin, Richard L.

Anderson, William P.

Christian Books & Bibles

Fortress Press

The history of Christian theology can be a daunting field for college and seminary students, who see neither the need for -- nor the relevance of -- rummaging through Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, or Tillichs dry texts. Yet these theologians pose lively religious questions, and most religious colleges and seminaries require introductory courses on the Christian tradition. So how can you reach these students?  This entertaining CD can really spice up a class discussion or be used for personal enjoyment as a companion to The Journey Through Christian Theology (ISBN 0-8006-3220-6 from Augsburg Fortress, Inc.) - a full-scale reader in theological history. It offers a non-threatening, humorous entrance into central theological issues from the Apostolic Fathers to Mary Daly. 185 Cartoons help illustrate the ideas of these theologians: Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria, Arius, Athanasius, Augustine of Hippo, Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Erigena, Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Johannes Meister Eckhardt, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Thomas  Kempis, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, David Friedrich Strauss, Soren Kierkegaard, Albrecht Ritschl, Adolf von Harnack, Rudolf Otto, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Gustavo Gutirrez, Mary Daly, Letty Russell, and James Cone.

A Journey Through Christian Theology Color Cartoons

Religious Studies

Diesslin Press

This is the color cartoon version on CD-ROM of the popular paparback The Cartoon Gospel.  The Cartoon Gospel attempts to portray biblical characters as real people trying to know and follow God's will. It is all too easy to read the Bible and be left with the feeling that they are rigid, perfect, even superhuman characters instead of people with the same possibilities that we have. The cartoons are meant to be stimulating and humorous and are based on researched interpretation. Each one is “defensible” theologically (with the exception of minor cartoonist privilege now and then), even though the point is to assist the reader in his/her own analysis of the actual scripture passage.  Hopefully, the humor and challenge stand on their own merit. The Gospel scripture selections in volume I usually follow the Common Lectionary Readings for Year C (verses from Luke and John).

The Cartoon Gospel Color Cartoons CD

Comics & Graphic Novels

Comic Strips

This book, Out to Lunch - Cartoons with an Appetite for the Ridiculous by Rich Diesslin contains over 170 of his favorite Out to Lunch cartoons.   The idiom “Out to Lunch” (OTL) means crazy or out of touch with the reality, so that seemed a fitting strip name for Rich's single-panel general comic. OTL cartoons have been around for more than a decade in various forms and various media including newspapers, magazines, on the internet at the-cartoonist.com and on merchandise.  If you haven’t heard of them before, that’s not surprising since the plethora of media outlets still only reach a limited audience.  Hopefully you’ll see them more and more in the future and you can find them weekly at the-cartoonist.com.   Polly Keener, cartoonist and creator of the Hamster Alley cartoon strip sums it up this way: “Rich displays a quirky Gary Larson-esque sense of humor in lots of fun, often animal-centered, cartoons.  But, of course, there are funny people, humorous holidays and all manner of other toons, too.  In Out to Lunch, he makes the viewer think a bit.  Sometimes, his humor can be very subtle, but keep looking until you have that satisfying “Aha!” moment.  He manages to pack a lot into his drawings and keep the wording to a minimum – a real achievement.  Many cartoonists consider a “sight gag,” where all or most of the humor is purely visual, the most accomplished type of cartoon humor of all. Out to Lunch offers a whole smorgasbord of cartoons and all neatly classified in the Table of Contents (rare in cartoon books) so you can find your favorite topics fast.”  Rich is also the cartoonist of two other comic panels - a scout cartoon called Knots or Not and a biblical cartoon called the Cartoon Gospels.

Out to Lunch: Cartoons with an Appetite for the Ridiculous

Graphic Novels

Out to Lunch (OTL) Animal Cartoons takes an exclusive look at the OTL cartoons featuring animals. This collection contains over 155 cartoons, including some bonus cartoons from some of Rich's other projects. The idiom "Out to Lunch" (OTL) means crazy or out of touch with the reality, so that seemed a fitting strip name for my single-panel general comic. OTL cartoons have been around for more than a decade in various forms and various media including newspapers, magazines, on the internet at the-cartoonist.com and on merchandise. If you haven't heard of them before, that's not surprising since the plethora of media outlets still only reach a limited audience. Hopefully you'll see them more and more in the future and you can find them weekly at the-cartoonist.com. Out to Lunch cartoons are now syndicated and appear in Funnies Extra papers across the country as well as in more and more newspapers, so hopefully you'll have a chance to see them in their native habitat. Here are some burning questions about animals you might find answered in this book ... -What's an aardvark worth on the black market? -Is there a vampire generation gap? -Can vampires use their cell phones in flight? -Do bear bags really work? -If the early bird gets the worm, what does the late bird get? -Do beavers have bad days? -What's the Trace Adkin's Diet? -What happens if the Coyote sued ACME? -How do bugs celebrate Mother's Day? -Do buzzards like greenbean casserole and pizza? -Do animals like car rides? -What's the real inspiration for bagpipes? -Do cats go to heaven? -Can a cat hibernate? -Do cats like privacy? -What is a cow's favorite winter Olympic event? -What can your order at McBessies? -Can you milk a bull? -Why don't people like cow pies? -What game do cows like to play? -Do crocodiles really rock? -What do alligators eat for dinner? -Do dogs have access to answering machines? -Can Lassie help Timmy in rehab? -What are some of the problems with discounted airfares? -Can you teach a dog to fetch Pizza? -Why don't elephants like computers? -Do fish ever graduate? -If a princess kisses a frog will it really turn into a handsome prince? -Do lions like Father's Day? -How smart do you need to be to track an elephant? -Why don't ostriches like eating at fancy restaurants? -... and much, much more .....

Out to Lunch Animal Cartoons

Richard L. Diesslin

This commentary explores Old Testament scripture passages from the common lectionary through the use of cartoons and musings. The passages are in biblical order by book, chapter and verse, rather than lectionary order.  Reading through the Old Testament can be tedious and daunting at times, but this cartoon-based commentary is fun, entertaining and informative. Here are just a few of the things you'll learn from this book:  Is Elijah overly concerned with cakes?  Does Ruth have a foot fetish?  Was Joseph a spoiled brat?  Did Jonah have a bad attitude?  Does David prove Samuel correct about kings? Just how tall was Ezekiel?  What kind of truck does Jacob drive?  Did God design the first interstate highway?  Can sheep really use calculators?  What's Job's problem?  Was Zephaniah in a rock 'n' roll band?  How many animals went with Noah on the ark? Does Isaac like camping?  What is Moses' favorite kind of water?  Was creation really God's 3rd grade science fair project? Also Available as a Kindle Book

The Cartoon Old Testament: Cartoons and Commentary on the Old Testament

The base of operations for KNOTS cartoons is Kamp Knots and it has young scouts (Jr. Knots Scouts), older scouts (Knots Scouts), leaders and more. Jr. Knots Scouts, Knots Scouts, Kamp Knots, and the rest, are all fictitious creations used to illustrate the fun, values and adventures of the worldwide scouting movement. There is no affiliation with any actual scouting organization of any kind. Any similarities to existing scouting or other organizations are merely coincidental. If you would like your son or daughter to have a great time, learn great values and have some great adventures, then encourage them to join scouts!The original concept was to create funny situations that you would not do or not find in scouting (sort of humorous opposites). Very quickly it evolved into a more general cartoon format, sometimes a "nots" cartoon and other times just a fun scout related cartoon. This second KNOTS book is a collection of over 165 cartoons in one place for your viewing pleasure. The first book, KNOTS CARTOONS Celebrating the Fun in Scouting, spans monthly cartoons from June of 1999 to September of 2010. This book goes from October 2010 to December of 2021.

KNOTS Scout Cartoons II: All Tied Up in Knots!

T-Rex Goes Out to Lunch

Independently published

Sharks and Other Sea Creatures go Out to Lunch

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