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ERASING JESUS FROM EASTER
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JOHNNY HART AND THE EASTER CONTROVERSY
For those of you who do not know Johnny Hart and what took place on Easter 2001, let me bring you up to speed. First let me know introduce you to cartoonist Johnny Hart -the most widely read writer on earth..

1931 Johnny Hart born
1950 Joined the Air Force
1952 Married Bobby Jane
1954 Sold first cartoon to Saturday Evening Post
1957 Sold the first BC cartoon
1958 BC appeared nationally
1960 Created Wizard of Id
1964 Wizard of Id appeared with Brant Parker as artist. Interests: The Bible, piano, drums, tennis, golf, fishing, teaching Sunday School

"He is the most widely read writer on earth."
--Washington Post April 4, 1999

"He is the most widely read cartoonist on the planet."
-- World Magazine April 8, 2000

"Hart, whose combined work on B.C. and Wizard of Id makes him the earth's most syndicated comic author..."
- Time Magazine April 19, 1999

On Palm Sunday 2001 the BC cartoon portrayed God speaking. Not too controversial.

However, for Easter 2001 Johnny Hart wanted to do something very different and special. He states, "I noticed one day that the center section of the Menorah -- the sacred symbol of Judaism, bore the shape of the cross. I wanted everyone to see the cross in the Menorah. It was a revelation to me, that tied God's chosen people to their spiritual next of kin -- the disciples of the Risen Christ."

This is the cartoon that came out of that revelation:

On Easter Sunday 2001 this cartoon appeared featuring the seven last words of Christ on the cross with the Menorah. There had been an effort to get newspapers not to run it. To some it suggested "replacement theology." And so it was several papers did not carry B.C. on Easter.

Johnny Hart responded, "It seems my Jewish brethren are determined to believe that I am an advocate of Replacement Theology. I read about it a few years back and dismissed it as hogwash. To help put all of this to rest, I offer the following:

"I believe that Replacement Theology is the stuff of lunatics and self deluded fools. There is no foundation for it in scripture and there is no room for it in responsible society. For all of my Jewish brethren, who were quick to condemn me on the word of their overzealous protectors, please know this: for as much as it hurt you to think I had betrayed you to idiot theology, that much more did it hurt me -- that you believe me capable of it.

"Comic strips are printed one or two weeks in advance, and somebody who objected to the strip alerted hundreds of newspapers a week before publication, falsely claiming that it was anti-Jewish. The Jewish Defense League held a press conference urging newspapers not to run the comic strip.

"There is something afoot here. For all during the week preceding Easter, phones have been ringing off the hook and E-mails by the hundreds have been pouring in, inquiring and objecting to a comic strip that hadn't been published yet.

"Now, if you see censorship as I do, i.e., the blotting out or prevention of ideas from being seen or heard -- this is an across-the-board classic violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Namely, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion."

Jewish response:

Jolkovsky is the editor in chief of the daily webzine JewishWorldReview.com and a former contributing editor of the national Jewish weekly, Forward. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest and New York magazine.

Jolkovsky stated, "As a Sabbath-observant Jew, rabbinical school alumnus and publisher of the most-accessed Jewish website, I see absolutely nothing wrong with Hart's message."

"Yes, folks, it's that "r-word" again. No, not the horrid "racism." Not even the nearly as terrible "recession." I refer to the other "r-word," religion.

"Yes, religion.

"Or, more specifically, the intolerant who -- with little comment or action from those normally found shrieking about bigotry, both imagined and real -- are allowing people of faith to suffer merely because they are, well, people of faith.

"Across the length and breadth of this nation, public displays of faith are under attack -- whether it be a candidate for attorney general, dusty Ten Commandments plaques that have been fixtures at courthouses for decades or, as was recently the case in Ohio, a mere state motto with the very generic words, "With God all things are possible."

"And now, the crusade for more secularism is making its way to the funny pages. Yes, the funny pages. And it's no joke! Johnny Hart, a believing Christian whom the Guinness Book of World Records recognizes as the most syndicated cartoonist alive, is being crucified by no doubt well-meaning, but thoroughly clueless, comic strip aficionados for -- Heaven help us! -- an Easter-themed cartoon that actually focuses on the spirituality of Easter and ignores chocolate eggs and big, purple bunnies.

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CARTOONIST WHO WERE NOT AFRAID
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Although no body out did Johnny Hart in the 2001 Easter comic pages, there where several other cartoonist that expressed their personal religious views.

Bill Keane in 'Family Circus' expressed a belief in heaven and a promise of future reunion.

Lynn Johnston in 'For Better Or For Worse' expressed the deeper meaning of Easter in the context of a family attending an Easter worship service.

Jack Elrod in 'Mark Trail' uses the legend of the passion flower to point to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He features an amazingly large picture of Jesus on the cross.

Oh and lest I forget there was 'The Wizard of Id" by none other than Johnny Hart proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Also: Johnny Hart and BC

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CBS DID NOT RESTORE MISSING PARTS
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More censorship. During Easter week 2001 CBS ran the Jesus Mini Series again. I was glad to see it. But, again certain scenes remained omitted.

• The voice of God at the baptism of Jesus was again omitted.
  
• Jesus dancing in the street was cut down.
  
• The violence of the crucifixion was reduced (example: the nail going into Jesus' wrist, etc.)
  
• The famous ending of Jesus in modern day with all the children of the world -gone.

Click here to view all the missing part in RealVideo

For a review of The Jesus Mini Series Click here

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Also: Johnny Hart and BC