Johnny Hart, the drawer of the distinct B.C. caveman cartoon is dead. Obviously, given all the lofty philosophy and religious conviction that came from the cartoon, Harts death seems like a transcendent moment. His wife said he died at his drawing table on Saturday from a stroke. He was 76.The cartoon, created in 1957, conjured ancient times when truth was more certain, more absolute. B.C. read a wealth of original thought from the books that he opened on top of boulders, including definitions never bound in Websters. In 1960, he was co-creator of The Wizard of Id cartoonThe strong religious themes in B.C. was unique. The bold Christian statements in his weekly and longer Sunday cartoons were often too direct, even offensive, for some. On occasion, he offended Jews and Muslims. The most famous controversy came in the days leading up to Easter of 2001 when he did his color cartoon for newspapers for the weekend when Christians would mark Christs resurrection. The outcry came from what he did with a Jewish menorah, the multi-candle stand that so symbolizes Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Jews and other were offended with his 10-panel cartoon that sought to draw many parallels with Christianity and Judaism. The cartoon started out noting that the Bible is a veritable Books of Sevens! He noted the seven seals, seven days, seven churches, seven loafs, seven trumpets, seven feasts, seven colors of the rainbow, seven notes in music, seven candle stands, seven candlesticks, plus the Seven Last Words of Jesus Next came seven panels showing a menorah, starting one with all seven flames burning. One flame went out in each panel. It started out saying, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. As the second to last flame of the menorah goes out, the words are Father, into thy hands, I command my spirit. The next panel stated, It is finished with a poof of smoke. Suddenly the middle candle went out and the menorah transformed into a cross. The last panel showed a distant cross with a zigzag trail leading to a cave with its door open and a glass of wine of the Eucharist on a stone, and the words, Do this in remembrance of me. Critics dubbed it replacement theology, where by Christianity came along to replace Judaism. A movement was launched to get newspapers to not allow the cartoon to be distributed. Many papers did articles on the controversy and printed disclaimers that the cartoon did not represent their editorial positions. At the time, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, said, This is insensitive and offensive because what it proclaims is that Judaism is finished and Christianity has taken over. He urged Jews to call their newspapers to have the cartoon removed. But that was impossible because comic sections are printed weeks in advance at distant printing plants and distributed to newspaper warehouses a week or more before they are inserted into Sunday newspapers. Hart would say afterwards that he was trying to show the commonality of the two religions and pay tribute to them, but said he hoped the flap increased interest and awareness in religion. In November 2003, a B.C. strip depicted an outhouse on a hill. It was nighttime and the crescent moon in the sky matched a crescent moon on the outhouse door. The word SLAM show vertically between the first and second of three panels. B.C. remains inside the toilet for the second. In the final panel, these word come from inside, Is it just me, or does it stink in here? That was a cryptic cartoon that left people wondering the point: Was he underscoring the obvious aroma of outhouses? Or was he all too obscurely drawing parallels with Islam. Muslim groups protested, but Hart said it was just an outhouse joke. However you looked at the cartoon, it was never funny.Biographies say Hart was interested in the Bible from an early age, but it was 1977 that religiosity showed up in his cartoons when he started attending an evangelical congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Nineveh, N. Y. For 30 years, B.C. was a favorite among Christians, with it clipped, posted and copied often. Apparently, he had created a computer archive of his drawings so that family members and others can keep B.C. and The Wizard of Id going on now that he is gone. For Easter Sunday 2007, his 10-panel cartoon shows the dialogue coming from an domed skool with a door and two windows. The teacher was giving a math question about Jesus. All but Johnny submitted the correct answer to the question of how old was Jesus when he was crucified 33. Johnny turned in an English composition instead, and explains he, too, had the right answer of 33 because that was the total number of words in four quotes that sum up the truth of the resurrection. They are: Jesus remember me when you come into the kingdom, Assuredly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise, It is finished and Truly this man was the son of God.

The words unintended consequences are heard more often these days, and thats good. People are beginning to recognize that reckless marches into fixing things without pre-thought are causing untold havoc, calamity sometimes not found out until later. For all the best intentions, the results can be fraught with trouble, followed by the refrain, If we had only knownWeve long known about disasters of introducing animals into new habitats, or wanting wonderful shrubs and trees around mountain cabins until the fires come. We saddle ourselves with do-all technology, then groan about the repair costs for the sophisticated components. Bells and whistles can sidetrack trains when they dont work. Legislation probably deliver the most unintended consequences. Launching wars invariably create unexpected bedlam and chaos that can never be righted.Houses of worships are not doing people many favors with their telephone systems. Some parishioners suspect the fancy phone programs with all their mail boxes, message-taking arts and forwarding ease are really the perfect plan for staff to take the afternoon off. No one fills out message pads any more; calls go right into staff voice mails, if you can negotiate intricate steps like remembering the first three letters of a staff persons last name when youve only known her as Jill. Even when there are employees at churches, a caller often has to first listen to the churchs spiel before the options are offered and one finally realized a life body comes with hitting O.My wife fell victim Sunday to our churchs automated phone system and is still steaming. I leave for church two hours early each Sunday because of a batch of campus duties and choir practice. Last Sunday, I mistakenly put my own set of keys into my pockets, then grabbed hers on a second passing of a counter, before leaving. Two hours later and just 10 minutes before church started, a church member stopped me and said my wife had called her at home and wondered if I had her keys. I reached into my pockets and found both sets. (Oddly, I had used my own keys numerous times that morning to unlock church doors, never once discovering the other keys.). While she had other car/house keys, but we dont have a third remote car starting key that prevents theft.) While my wife carries a cell-phone, I dont. I called her immediately on the church phone to apologize. She was to have picked up a 90-year-old church member from her senior home and take to church. But she found someone else to do it at the last minute.I called the church 10 times and no one answered, she complained. All she got was the answering machine after the first couple rings. I quickly drove the 2 miles home in my choir robe, turned over the keys and profusely apologized, then reversed the trip in five minutes and still marched into the sanctuary as part of the Palm Sunday procession. The traffic lights cooperated in the same way the Red Sea had parted for Moses. I suspect some church members were within earshot of the phone when my wife repeatedly called, but presumably they figured the system will handle it. And some folks know that if the phone is not picked up on the first two rings, its too late because the answering machine takes over. Since the incident, its been suggested a volunteer pull Sunday morning phone duty, especially taking the routine calls of inquiries on time of services. (I personally can recall taking some important calls on Sunday morning there, including one from a man wanting to talk to the pastor (who was preaching); the man then took family members hostage. Another time, it was word about the sudden death a beloved woman, who was the veritable matriarch of the church. Moments later, the sad news could be shared to the whole congregation.)It shouldnt be so hard to get reach people by telephone at church.

To its sound credit, the Tribune has supported giving reasonable newspaper space to cover the world of religion and spirituality. Since the early 1980s under the direction of the late Executive Editor Max Jennings and former publisher Charles Wahlheim, there has been a recognition that a part of the paper should be dedicated weekly to faith issues. It has long been four pages each Saturday, first labeled, Religion, and Spiritual Life since July 1999.In two stints, 1987 to 1994 and since 1998, I have been spiritual life editor. Its right at 16 years of focus on faith-writing for me. As a member of the Religion Newswriters Association, made up of writers and editors in North America, I have followed the issues that impact this specialized corner of newspapering. Religion-writing has always been an endangered species. Among the reasons, of course are these: 1) faith is amorphous, inexact, even private; 2) religion is just about take-it or leave-it beliefs, kind of fluff and woo-woo; 3) newspaper managers are often marginally religious and often afford low importance to the religion section; and 4) the faith community traditionally is not a large, lucrative source of advertising revenue for newspapers.Over the years, newspapers have run hot and cold in whether to give readers a dedicated religion section. Newspapers that had sections have eliminated them, often because houses of worship could not (or would not) buy enough ads to make it pay. In staff cutbacks, religion writers have been deemed expendable. In many papers, the person who writes about religion splits time with other beats.On Tuesday, the Associated Baptist Press published a disturbing article: Not just for Sundays anymore: Papers rethink religion section. It points out the extraordinary irony that the world and nation are deeply split and warring, with religion driving much of it, yet media companies are not assigning people and resources to covering it. The article by Hannah Elliott (http://www.abpnews.com/1954.article) notes how The Dallas Morning News, on March 24, received its 10th award in 11 years from the Religion Communicators Council for having the nations best religion section. But in January, the newspaper discontinued the section, citing economic concerns.Thats been the pattern elsewhere. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution merged its coverage of religion with its living section. U.S. news and World Report and the Wichita Eagle cut out religion editors and downsized the beat. Some of us can remember when the Arizona Republic had a stand-alone religion section, then three pages inside a section, then one page with a Billy Graham column and now news of religion just sprinkled in the news sections all week long.Some experts believe the decline in newspaper circulation is directly related to the growth of online editions and blogs, Elliott writes. Convenience and the ability to sift news in a topic-specific medium have caused previously devoted print subscribers to substitute the Internet for their daily paper. And when you lose print readers, you lose the seed money that funds special sections.Martin Marty, the University of Chicago religion historian and scholar, a keen observer of the landscape, notes that its not like theres no religion news these days. Instead, its peoples habits, where they go for information, a lack of advertising and that notion of religion sections being fluff. The article notes that religion is a hot topic for the Internet and people go there for it.Elliott talked to Brad Owens, a journalism professor at Baylor University. I think religion is a type [of news] where special websites and blogs kind of feed peoples interest more than the traditional model of journalism would, Owens said. People of faith are heavy, heavy users of the Internet.Another point is made that a worthy story on a religious matter will always get into the paper, and that religion news and religious sections should not be confused. But the huge casualty is smaller and complementary religious community news and listings that typically wont find a place to fall at all in the paper. Advertisers seem to continue to support our newspapers Spiritual Life section, yet the Tribune has taken the Internet to heart by posting our section features on the web (under the EV Life link, then Spiritual Life), with my columns posted with the column writers and this blog, Beyond Belief, soon to mark its first anniversary with 178 posted commentaries, to date.

Arizona is the original Golden Rule State. It came about by a resolution by the Arizona Legislature in 2003. Now it is producing recognition of some exemplary people doing remarkable things for others. You can nominate someone to be an Arizona Golden Rule Citizen. The program recognizes those who treat others the way you would like to be treated and who make a difference in Arizona. Nominations can be done through the office of Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer. http://www.azsos.gov/Info/golden_rule.htm During the 46th Legislature four years ago, lawmakers passed a resolution to put the process in motion. They noted that the Golden Rule proclaims that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated, that variations of the Golden Rule are embraced by every belief system; and application of the Golden Rule may be able to reduce, and even eliminate prejudice, hate, bigotry and racial intolerance. It calls for leaders, parents, schools, organizations and others to recognize, teach and practice the Golden Rule.It was the late Mesa civic leader Darl Andersen, an interfaith dynamo who tirelessly worked for government endorsement of the Golden Rule. I met with Andersen a number of times for articles about his cause, and he sent me off with Golden Rule bumper stickers. He worked hard for interfaith understanding and tolerance. It was after his death that lawmakers approved the resolution to start the program to recognize good deeds.On April 19, Arizona InterFaith Movement will hold its annual Golden Rule Banquet at Phoenix Convention Centers South Ballroom. There, businessman and philanthropist Ira A. Fulton will be presented the Darl Andersen Award, the programs highest honor. Fulton, like Andersen, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the CEO of Fulton Homes. He has given more than $50 million to Brigham Young University in Utah and more than $100 million to Arizona State University.There will be other award winners at the event that begins with a Faith Fair and 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Retired veteran ABC-TV personality Hugh Downs, now year-round Valley resident, will get the Media Award. The journalist, scientist, gerontologist and pilot has used his career to advance his fellow man and lift up the human spirit, its noted. Downs and his wife, Ruth, have been generous donors of Valley causes, including support for his namesake, the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU. Other winners are Dr. Earl Baker, a retired physician who volunteers for St. Vincent de Paul Society; and the Rev. Benjamin Thomas Sr., who heads Tanner Chapel in Phoenix, a church that has built homes for low-income families. Salt River Project will be honored for its corporate commitment in the spirit of the Golden Rule. The Wellness Community, a cancer support group, is a nonprofit recipient for its good works with those struggling with cancer. In the education category, the winner is ASUs Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, which has quickly become a force for bringing people together to understand and resolve issues that divide. Finally, we must mention award-winner Hadley Nielsen, a 9-year-old Valley girl. Arizona InterFaith Movement executive director the Rev. Paul Eppinger explains that Hadley attended the 2006 banquet with her parents. She watched everything attentively that night. On the way home, she said to her mom, Ive got it! Ive got it! Eppinger said. Her parents asked her what she was talking about. Ive got it! Were all children of the Heavenly Father. That night, he said, she had seen people of a wide realm of faiths that were new to her, including Sikhs and Buddhists. And she came to understand the fabric of humankind and the commonality people share. Hadley, who suffers from an eye ailment, got her friends together and they organized a carnival, which generated $8,000. With that money, she was able to find eight children in Mexico with the same eye ailment that she suffers from, Eppinger said. Her donations were able to provide surgery or medical care for eight Mexican children and improve their eyesight.Tickets for the banquet are $60 and can be ordered by calling (602) 277-2484 or www.InterfaithArizona.org.