web comic | The Creation Effect

Bear Hands 🐾

The biblical story of David killing a lion is only two verses long, but it always captivated me, and stirred up so many questions in my head. What kind of lions lived in ancient Israel? Was it a male lion? How does one kill a lion with their hands? Does it feel good to kill a lion? Why haven’t I killed a lion? These important questions led me to do some light research… I quickly found the conventional talking points of the story… The wilderness was the young shepherd’s traini

Noel Powell

Aug 61 min read

Web comic showing a group of rabbis in a 1st-century pub. One rabbi tells a Cain and Abel joke, and the other rabbis find it hilarious. The caption reads "1st-century rabbinic humor".

Rabbinic Humor 🍺

Why was God pleased with Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s? Does God like lamb more than veggies? Did God like Abel more than Cain? The answer isn’t obvious. But like all Bible stories, the picture becomes clearer when you look a little deeper. First, look at the text… Abel offered the “fat portions” from the “firstborn of his flock.” Cain offered “some of the fruits of the soil.” Abel gave the best of his best, but it appears that Cain may have just whipped something up. S

Noel Powell

Jul 281 min read

A single-panel comic strip showing a little boy and his mom sitting in the pews at church during a sermon, surrounded by other church-goers. The mom angrily swipes a phone from the boy’s hands, which are left suspended in texting position. The caption reads, “Caleb, gimme that phone – we’re at church! Now you sit there and draw a picture like kids have done for hundreds of years!”

Draw a Picture ✏️

What do you do when your kids are being kids at church? Yell at them? Challenge them? Or let them be?

Noel Powell

Jul 201 min read

Single-frame comic strip showing Abraham from the bible, putting his cereal bowl by a sink full of dirty dishes. The caption reads, “Abraham’s faith was legendary, so one could forgive him for believing God was doing his dishes. After all, he always left them in the sink, and they’d somehow end up clean in the cupboard.” In the background behind Abraham, we see Sarah hard at work, scrubbing the floors.

Legendary Faith 🍽️

What makes Abraham the undisputed heavyweight champion of faith? Let’s break it down. God spoke to Abram (a pagan) and told him to leave his home, family, and security to travel to an unknown destination. He did this without question. God promised a 75-year-old Abraham that he would be a father of a nation. After 24 years of waiting, God specified that his wife Sarah (who was barren and now 89 years old) would bear a child. Abraham trusted God over the reality of their bodies

Noel Powell

Jul 201 min read

Single-panel comic strip colored in watercolors, featuring a depiction of the feed of the 5,000 from the Bible. The little boy, whose fish and bread were taken by the disciples, sits alone and sad, with his fishing pole and empty basket, while thousands of people feast and celebrate in the background.

Zero Loaves and Zero Fish 🥖🐟

You were probably taught that the little boy was a generous and willing participant in the feeding of the five thousand. That’s what is taught in Sunday School, and I think there's a high probably that's what happened... but it’s not in the bible. If you read all four accounts of the story, and consider the historical context, another plausible narrative is that the disciples found him, commandeered his lunch, and then brought it to Jesus. Children had no social status, and i

Noel Powell

Jun 202 min read

Hand-drawn single-panel comic strip featuring a church worship team playing in front of a congregation of mostly older people in pews, holding hymnals. The team’s guitar player is wearing all black leather. He’s shredding on the guitar, playing behind his head, and kicking over a speaker, while everyone else watches in non-judgmental shock. The caption reads “Without warning, the new guitarist broke out into what the elderly congregation could only assume was the musical equivalent of speaking in tongues.

Rockin' in Tongues 🎸

Growing up in the 90s in my conservative home, there was good music (e.g.,Perry Como) and evil music (everything recorded after 1970)… I was always nervous listening to anything with an electric guitar. When my Vanilla Ice cassette tape was discovered, I thought my life was over. But the bible encourages the creation of new music (Psalm 33:3), and using a variety of instruments (Psalm 150:3-5) in our worship. As with everything, it’s not about appearance or style, but what’s

Noel Powell

Jun 141 min read

A hand-drawn, single-panel comic strip colored in watercolors, featuring Noah on the deck of the ark. He looks around to see if anyone is watching. Pairs of squirrels, zebras and giraffes are all doing their own thing. He prepares to flick one of two small insects into the sea. The caption reads “No one was looking… and it would be so easy. Just one little “accident”, and Noah could end tick season… forever.”

Tick Season 𖢥

Only one man had the opportunity to wipe out ticks from the face of the earth.

Noel Powell

Jun 111 min read

Hand drawn single-panel comic with Moses and Aaron in Egypt, pyramids in the background. Moses calls Aaron and idiot and tells him they're supposed to bring the Egyptians ten plagues. Aaron had just opened a box of shiny gold plaques, and is showing one that says "Locusts" to Moses.

Plagues! 🦗

The ten plagues (not to be confused with plaques) weren’t random acts of destruction. Each one exposed the powerlessness of Egypt’s false gods and showed that the Lord alone rules over creation. The final plague was the death of the firstborn. This lead to the Passover – where the blood of a lamb (foreshadowing Jesus), painted on the Israelites’ doorposts (an act of faith), spared the Israelites from judgement. It‘s a picture of how Christ’s blood saves all who trust in Him!

Noel Powell

Jun 101 min read

Hand-drawn, single-panel comic strip showing a huge number of Israelites walking through towering walls of the parted Red Sea. A small fish in the background is poking its head out of the wall of water with a surprised expression.

Surprise! 👀

👀 Two million Israelites crossing through walls of water must have been a sight to behold. When we think there is no way, God makes a way. Exodus 14:13,14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Noel Powell

Jun 101 min read

Hand-drawn single-panel comic strip from The Creation Effect featuring a woman trying to steal her husbands ribs at a BBQ restaurant. The caption reads “Honey, c’mon! Let me have one of your ribs – it’s biblical.“

It's Biblical 🍖

No one but God can take my ribs 🍖

Noel Powell

Jun 81 min read

A hand drawn, single-panel comic strip featuring two preachers by the Jordan River in Judea. One is wearing camel hair, the other in a black suit. A man in the audience is letting another man know that's he's at the John the Southern Baptist's sermon, not John the Baptist's.

The Southern Baptist 📖

Given the massive crowd sizes and his... let's say, "unique condition"... John the Baptist, armed with the Holy Spirit, must have been a mic-dropping legend. Matthew 3: 4-6 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Noel Powell

Jun 61 min read

Hand-drawn single-panel comic strip showing two dinosaurs arriving late staring despondently at the departing Noah's ark. Bags packed, Mr. T-Rex put his tiny arm around a sad Mrs. T-Rex's shoulder as the rain pours down and the ark floats away.

Missed The Boat 🦖

Which position do you take on dinosaurs and the Flood?

Noel Powell

Jun 31 min read