Reddit mentions: The best religious graphic novels

Well I haven't read it, but if it's anything like "The Universe is a Dream" it must be pretty good.

TUIAD, and this new book, are written in comic book format. They present ideas from the course, and cross-references them with pop culture stuff. Although it doesn't tell you at first that the ideas are from the course itself; to a casual reader it's just mind blowing concepts.

He uses symbols consistently to explain things like the Holy Spirit, the ego, true forgiveness and so on. Check out a "glossary of symbols" of The Universe is a Dream: http://www.alexandermarchand.com/symbols

I personally thought it was a lot of fun to read (and see!). It's a very good refresher, and to a newbie, a good introduction to the course.

I also read the first book of his "The Undreaming Chronicles" series: Revelations from the Holy Planet. It's about an alien taking Alex to her planet, in which ideas from the course are second nature. I found it kind of boring at first but then picks up and is really cool. This book continues to use the symbols presented in The Universe is a Dream, so it reinforces the concepts even more. For instance, the steps of "the separation" are explained really well, and there's an analogy of "the two pictures". Alex actually draws the two pictures, using the symbols, they're pretty neat.

So overall I enjoyed his books, and expect this one to be just as enjoyable as the others.

Edit: Check out the author's post about this book.

Great advice!

To OP: Just remember that psychedelics are a tool to find answers within yourself, and that the answers are always just sitting there waiting to be found. There are many, many means. Meditation is one of the best. Also remember that the ultimate answer is actually very, very simple. Cool feelies and awesome fractal-vision are awesome, sure, I get it. But if you seek answers first and foremost (which it seems you may), make sure to remember that the answer is still there, and it's internal, and nowhere else. You don't have to put "Gnosis" on hold, just because the chemicals are.

I would take that out a step further and suggest "channeling" as well, namely of your own consciousness operating on other levels (vs. outside entities). It (your "higher self" as it's often referred to as) tends to be very open to chatting, doncha know.

Also write down your dreams, and learn to lucid dream! Some crazy shit out there to find on that level, and now you can put more energy into it.

Read a ton of books. I'd suggest the great comic book I recently found called The Universe is Virtual, which speaks to the philosophy I have largely come to through decades of exploration (the majority of which had nothing to do with psychedelics). https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Virtual-Consciousness-Reincarnation-Forgiveness/dp/0982923082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466458833&sr=8-1&keywords=the+universe+is+virtual

There is a series of graphic guides to some of the political ideologies that I enjoyed. You can buy the titles as part of a broader set or individually.

Marxism - available free on Kindle. Or a bigger guide.

Capitalism - currently free on Kindle. Or a bigger guide.

Fascism - free on Kindle.

There is also a free sampler available for free on Kindle ATM.

Get books then and read them together. The ones in our sidebar are pretty good and the best part is Amazon has a little carousel of related books so you can quite easily end up finding a whole shelf full of potential content.

One particularly good book to promote skepticism is Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide for Young Skeptics

The page says its for older children but if you read the reviews you'll find it's just fine for kids your daughter's age as well.

There is also the Awkward Moments Children's Bible, Vol. 1

Which says it isn't for children and I'm going to hee and haw about that as I feel the Bible itself is inappropriate for Children and I further feel it is dishonest that many children's Bible's gloss over some bad parts in order to only sew a dishonest sense of good feelings in children through cherry picking which I would challenge most people to distinguish from indoctrination, brainwashing, whatever you want to call it -- they're weaponized books and the authors often carefully study child psychology to maximize indoctrination potential. If you get it maybe read over it yourself before deciding if it's appropriate, I'd definitely give it to a teenager without reservation but younger children it depends on how mature they are and what you want them exposed to.

Anyways best of luck!

Honestly, probably none of them... My list was definitely designed for 14+. However, the Grandmother Fish book is really cute. I would just recommend concentrating on general literacy and learning skills at that age. That way you increase the odds they will be able to understand more complex works later. For a laugh check out the Awkward Moments Children's Bible. Its for adults... not kids - or at least not 8 and under.

American Jews actually "invented" the modern comic book/super hero industry as we know it. Back in the day, comic books were seen as a "low class" pursuit for artists and Jews were still being pushed out of various high-societal pursuits. There are actually a lot of Jeiwsh paradigms/themes threaded into the stories of major super heroes. It was a match made in heaven. ;)

Book on the subject if anyone is interested.

I haven’t bought it yet, but plan to tonight, looks like it will go nice with my other bible-esque books my family isn’t happy about.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin

For further reading. Interesting guy. I also came across a graphic novel about him called Overkill that had pretty good reviews.

Edit: Found a link to an ebook of Overkill.

https://www.amazon.com/Overkill-Vatican-Pierre-Teilhard-Chardin-ebook/dp/B00KKU104U

I think this book would be great!

The illustrations are very cute and I think they relate well with teenagers and children:

http://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413315953&sr=8-1&keywords=bible+atheist+cartoon+book

I can suggest some books that are really helpful in filling in the blanks.

For a basic overview of Islam's history and the reality of Islamic countries in the modern world I'd recommend "Introducing Islam."

For a seriously compelling look at the Sunni/Shia split and the conflict between the two sects I highly recommend "After the Prophet". Not only is this good history, it's a very well written.

And for a really excellent look at the misconceptions westerners have about Islam, and the ways in which those misconceptions are transmitted and perpetuated, you can't beat the works of Edward Said. He wrote three books on the subject that he considered a trilogy. They are:

Orientalism

The Question of Palestine

and

Covering Islam

Also, here's a documentary that is largely an interview with Said on the topic of Orientalism.

And a documentary called "Reel Bad Arabs" that examines the way the middle east is portrayed by western media.

Yes. The Bhagavad Gita is a chapter in the Mahabaratha. It takes place immediately before a major battle. It is such a pivotal moment in the story though that it has been studied and expounded upon heavily, so it might be worth it to get a separate unabridged version. It uses some of its impact of you don't have all the context of the larger story going in though.

The theory is that it was added into the work as a later addition to sort of summarize the ethical and philosophical aims of the religion.

The epics are definitely worth reading in full though. I'd save the comics for the ancillary myths and stories. The comics are also a little Western influenced and aimed at children so they gloss over a lot of the darker themes of violence and sexuality present in some myths, particularly about Kali.

As for the comic-book nature I think you might have the relationship backwards. It is human nature to yearn for these sorts of larger than life symbols and moral ideals. So in a culture without a strong tradition of native mythology, comic books took form to fill that void. (None of these are original thoughts of mine BTW).

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Thanks much - this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for and once I look at this on Amazon it leads me to a lot of other things. :-) I just read this (which is what made me realize how little I knew): http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Islam-Graphic-Ziauddin-Sardar/dp/1848310846 It wasn't bad (woke me up a little) but was pretty comic-book cursory.

I don't know how basic you're looking for, but I'd recommend Introducing Islam: A Graphic Guide.. It's a nice primer on a variety of topics.

The [Awkward Moments (Not Found in Your Average) Children's Bible] (https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X) series is great, although rather short (but contrary what the title might suggest, not for children, much like the bible as well).

Great stuff, if you don't already know about it you may like the Awkward Moments Children's Bible

Reminds me of this book that mentioned it was when some clerics wanted to control interpretation of the holy text, that later gave rise to some other clerics that want to maintain their “rank” in a “hierarchy”. Is that true? A class struggle among faithful followers?

My favorite (mock) children's bible stories book by far. Gets pretty good reviews, too.

So this asshole wrote a book. Good lord, check out the description...

Fire and Brimstone Christians read the KJV. Casuals read NIV. "Scholars" read NASB or ESV.

I would recommend also reading Thomas Jefferson's Bible (public domain). It's the gospel condensed and without all the miracles. Or the Awkward Moments Children's Bible which is hilarious.

Religion: A Discovery in Comics by Margreet de Heer,
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/156163994X

It's a graphic novel about the author trying to understand how people view different religions.

I think the page about atheists is a little misleading (it depicts them as fanatical and arguing all the time), and, if I remember right, the Buddhism section is closer to new-age religions than traditional Buddhism (I think she even mentions this) but, in general, it gives a good, neutral overview of major world religions.

Sample pages here: http://margreetdeheer.com/eng/religion.html

https://www.amazon.com/Kingstone-Bible-Trilogy-Art-Ayris/dp/1613281943/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538401795&sr=8-2&keywords=graphic+novel+bible

This looks awesome, but I don't think I could be persuaded to spend the money.

You may like this or this.

I like this one:

Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X

Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Found-Average-Childrens/dp/0692264981

it’s on amazon
It’s actually a book on amazon

This book would've been better for children.

Awkward Moments Children's Bible, Vol. 1

http://amzn.com/149217744X

Well here's the book he wrote

For real. Gimme a minute and I'll see if I can find a link...

The Bible 2: Hail to the King of the Jews, Baby! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VP8XTQ3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XvYFDbGD4TF09

This essay explains the foreskin dowry incident in a lot more detail: What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence.

^ This image is from a book called Awkward Moments Children's Bible*, a book of weird incidents in the Bible presented as if for children as a joke.

Awkward moments not found in your average children's bible

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X

um...

The Golden Plates: Premium Edition: Six Issue Collection https://www.amazon.com/dp/1973106396/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6AgADbX27RVHS

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Amazon or I would imagine you can at least order it at any secular book store.

Awkward Moments Children's Bible

Awkward Moments (Not Found In Your Average) Children's Bible - Vol. 2

Bedtime Bible Stories - Explcit!

Awkward Moments Children's Bible

The Big Book of the Unexplained

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1563892545/qid=1109128986/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-1189046-4583955?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Circumcised that url for you:
https://www.amazon.ca/Awkward-Moments-Found-Average-Childrens/dp/149217744X

Awkward Moments (not found in your average) Children's Bible has bears portrayed as 2 hairy-chested gay men.

Have you seen these books? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692264981/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0692264981&linkCode=as2&tag=oly06e-20&linkId=P6R2ZCZW6S3CMGOM

It’s not for children. It’s a tongue in cheek book like the book “Go the Fuck to Sleep” It is real bible stories though. Here’s the amazon link from Canada; it’s got a decent-sized description. https://www.amazon.ca/Awkward-Moments-Found-Average-Childrens/dp/149217744X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=61491124739&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgIyb2amB5AIVj_5kCh2I6QTsEAAYASAAEgK2r_D_BwE&hvadid=310045490054&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9001437&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9070493728104206002&hvtargid=kwd-299479425298&hydadcr=8740_9621873&keywords=awkward+moments+children%27s+bible&qid=1565750114&s=gateway&sr=8-1

It's from Awkward Moments Children's Bible. It's kind of a satirical book, but not really, since it simply depicts what's written in the Bible.

https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X/

Just leave this on your coffee table

Awkward Moments Children's Bible, Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/149217744X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VrARAbRK4FXR0

Try these:

Awkward Moments Children's Bible, Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/149217744X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tUASzb4PB44RZ

Awkward Moments (Not Found In Your Average) Children's Bible - Vol. 2: Don't blame us - it's in the Bible! (Volume 2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692264981/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JUASzb06TWH87

As a couple of others have said, The Brick Bible is a LEGO^® version of biblical stories. The Awkward Moments Children's Bible Vol 1, and Vol 2 are great, but geared for slightly younger children. The two books (Cannonical and Apocrphal) in God is Disappointed in You rewrite bible stories in a more modern vernacular.

Please oh please consider these (but probably only for yourself, not a 9 year old). Awkward Moments Children's Bible Vols. I and II. They take the terrible stories from the bible and depict them just as they read. Like Noah's ark floating in the water and surrounded by dead people, etc. They show how terrible the stories in the bible actually are.

www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X

www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692264981/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687762&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=149217744X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1N0GH36K048F8W8NTZMB

Fight fire with fire: https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Moments-Childrens-Bible-Vol/dp/149217744X

IMHO yes, it's real... but to a certain point. The whole Universe is like a huge virtual simulation, and guess what? we created it with our unconscious mind, there is deep guilt buried into our mind, so to escape the guilt we (as a collective consciousness) projected this whole Universe of duality and separation, appear to enter a body, and forgot that we made this projection. When we are stricken with sickness we are unconsciously punishing ourselves for our guilt, because we thought we killed God and stole his power, but that's not possible, so we are really punishing ourselves for nothing. When the body dies our consciousness continues, and for some time we appear to be happy, but then we remember the guilt and enter another body and we are born again and we forget our previous lifes.

If you want to know more about this take a look at this book The Universe Is Virtual. by Alexander Marchand.