Garfism

The original 1979 Garfist manifesto, which is the most important document of Garfism.

Garfism is a sociopolitical and religious belief in the utmost superiority and godly powers of Garfield the Cat himself. The main document Garfists believe in is the 1979 manifesto Garfield published under the pen name "Jim Davis".

Garfism also includes the religious belief that Garfield is a (albeit imperfect) omnipotent god that came to earth in the form of a cat in a comic strip and Garfield comic strips are actually the new bible, with Jim Davis being the prophet.

The Garf Theory

The comic strip that prompted the creation of The Garf Theory

The Garf Theory is a long philosophical text written by Neil in the (former) #garferal channel that describes the religious Garfist beliefs in detail. The full text, along with timestamps is:

the joke is that

garfield jumped on the table

but

jon moved tbe table

perhaps he did it out of anger, in an attempt to stop garfield from jumping?

maybe it was merely an afterthought for jon who wanted to refresh his house a bit?

maybe he did it on purpose, to make garfield fall and hurt himself?

i believe jon did not do it to hurt garfield

or, did he?

jon has many reasons to secretly hate garfield

and this could be a showcase of that, jon using one of the rare opportunities to do something in return

the cat stole his pipe, years earlier

he ate his lasagna!

its nothing more than logical for jon to finally stand up against the evil garfield brings into his life

but also, why is jon so petty about this? instead of confronting his cat like a good owner he chooses to play a evil game with his pet cat

ive seen a theory, a theory in which garfield was the devil and jon was a representation of god

but i disagree. garfield represents evil but jons actions are morally gray at best

neither side has the moral advantage to the eye of the beholder

does a side with a moral advantage even exist?

yes, yes it does. and its been subject to mocking and ridicule for the whole 45 year old run of garfield

the pet dog, odie

constantly mocked by garfield and given less attention from jon

he never seeks revenge. he shows affection towards garfield, despite it rarely being returned

Garfield isnt fully evil, either

Many times in the series he shows affection towards pooky, jon, odie or even nermal

Garfield is as morally gray as jon, he just chose the darker shade

That brings me to the most evil and flawed character, the direct opposite of odie

The self centered, hateful and miserable being that is nermal

When odie loves, nermal hates

When odie is grateful, nermal desires more

Nermal serves as the anchor of evil in garfield

Every time garfield may seem despicable you look at nermal and think "this asshole isnt as bad as nermal"

But this brings me to another question- is nermal truly evil, too?

At first, it may seem like it. But the thing about nermal is- he is a young, inexperienced kitten. Maybe he rejects all the rules created by his surroundings in a desire to rebel against the world?

Of course, thats not a justification for nermals evil

He is morally dark, serves as the anchor of evil

But theyre not irredeemable

Nermal is the only character shown only in a negative light

He never shows affection, he is never grateful, he never loves

I believe the moral compass of garfield looks like this:

Odie, is at the top. He serves the role of the perfect animal. Loving, caring, helpful.

Jon is on the higher part of the morally gray area. His desires are good natured, but self centered. He wants garfield to act better, but not just for his own benefit but also for garfield's. He never complains about odie, showing how he is aware of the good odie gives to their lives. Jon often complains about garfield, but he is never shown to hate him. Jon provides for the lavish lifestyle of garfield.

Garfield is the lower part of the gray area. He is lazy, gluttonous, selfish, often treats odie and jon bad. But he doesn't hate, or even dislike them. Garfield often shows affection towards Jon and Odie, often giving them back the love he receives.

And at the end is nermal. Nermal may not be completely irredeemable as i said but he is definitely the antagonist for everyone in the show. He treats garfield, jon and odie with disdaint, constantly bringing garfield down. He thinks about noone but himself, his desire to break the rules may come from his young age, but the evil his causes cannot be explained as just rebellion

By the way, when i refer to a show i mean both the numerous tv shows, movies and mainly the comic strips

But what could have such a impact on nermal, to cause such a rot in his morality?

My answer, which completely shifts the moral compass is this: Garfield

Garfields attitude caused nermal to think "I dont want to be this cat. This cat is ugly, fat, lazy and despicable"

And so, he formed a new personality

But is it truly that different from garfield

They may seem like polar opposites, but they're both selfish.

What if, the selfishness and self centeredness is the only thing keeping them apart? What if theyre so in love with themselves, it distracts them from their similiarities?

Truly, if you think about it. The only difference between nermal and garfield is their attitude.

Garfield is lazy and open about his feelings. Nermal is energetic, full of life and yet the only emotion he can express is hatered.

And that's the fault of garfield, who caused nermal to change.

I dont believe garfield is the evil, after all he didnt cause nermals demise on purpose

But Nermal and Garfield definitely orbit around eachother, unaware of how close they truly are

This brings me to Jon

FIRST ENCOUNTER OF NERMAL AND GARFIELD

Who caused them to be exposed to eachother in the first place.

Garfields attitude never changed, but nermal. He seemed excited to meet garfield at first, a cat full of knowledge and stories. But his attitude made him realise how cruel the cat life can be

And who is responsible for it? Jon, aware of the impact garfield could have on such a young innocent kitten exposed him to the mind of garfield

Which may seem positive to a more matured person

But nermal, a young kitten, sees only the negatives

But also, its impossible for nermal to do all of this purely out of rebellion and spite. He had to be predisposed to evil beforehand, unlike garfield.

Garfield never hurt anyone for nothing more than wanting to make them feel bad

Well, maybe except everything he says to Jon

But both Jon is aware Garfield doesnt hate him, because he doesn't.

Garfield's desires are mostly selfish but also unclear. It's impossible to answer the question "Is garfield a good cat, or a bad cat?"

They all impact eachother, Jon, Nermal, Garfield. They push eachother back and forth into good or bad things.

But odie? odie, despite being strongly involved in their shenanigans doesnt change at all. He doesnt allow his environment to harm or change him at all

This leads me into the main negative trait in the garfield universe, the cause of all flaws.

That trait is selfishness

Jon is selfish, garfield is selfish, nermal is selfish

Their self centeredness leads them to not seeing their flaws, or at least not considering them to be flaws

The perfect trait in the garfield universe would be striving to be like odie.

But they're not, because they cant see through odie's facade

He presents himself as nothing more than a dumb dog with no greater goal. But his goal is clear to the reader, Odie wants happiness and peace for everyone. He wants to have fun, to feel good. For everyone to feel good

Jon wants himself to be happy and successful, Garfield has no goal because he pretty much lives his perfect life already, nermal wants to be famous and beloved by everyone

THE MAP OF MORALITY DYNAMICS BETWEEN JON GARFIELD ODIE AND NERMAL

Only odie has a goal beyond his own happiness

Nermal jon and garfield coexist in a (unequal) triangle, where they all impact eachother in some way

Odie, being the morality anchor impacts all of them, in a positive way while staying out of the triangle and not letting them impact him

My final question is- Why?

Did Jim Davis intend on all of this?

At first, it may seem like a very fortunate coincidence coming from the character dynamics. But that is a wrong assumption

The more i look into Jim Davis the more i realise- he is not just a cartoonist, but a true genius.

He is capable of putting years of his life towards things so approachable, yet so deep. So friendly, yet so hard to understand. The script for the movie Garfield Gets Real, which i consider to be Jim's magnum opus

He worked on the script for 11 years

And that's why i believe that Jim Davis, back in 1976, when garfield first appeared publicly had it all planned already.

Jim Davis dedicated his life to Garfield, and it shows. He put in way more effort than many realise.

But why did he do it this way? Why isn't Garfield, the protagonist the morally positive character despite being by far the most likeable and prominent?

Because he thinks about the comics beyond just cartoons. He thinks of the characters as real people.

Odie is what we all want to be, the vision of a perfect human that we will never achieve in some except just some.

Jon is what we may become, but we don't want to. Overworked, burnt out, lonely. He is a failed human, but not a bad one.

Garfield is what many of us are. His exaggerated character traits are relatable for everyone. He loves food, sleeping and hates mondays! These traits, while negative also are the closest to most readers. Because humans arent perfect, and Jim Davis knows it. He knows what to make and what to do, to create the by far best work of fiction ever that is Garfield

There is also Nermal, who represents what we (propably) won't become and what we hate. Nermal represents the person we hate, the person we never want to meet.

But, just like in the case of Garfield- their character traits are all exaggerated

Together: Jon, Garfield, Nermal and Odie with their bits of character form what is the vision of a human by Jim Davis

And what is perfect about it, is that the traits are separated between characters. We subconsciously place ourselves on the garfield character trait and morality compass

YOUR POSITION ON THE MAP OF MORAL DYNAMICS BETWEEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF GARFIELD - THE POLAR AND THE CLOSE OPPOSITES

And that is the true genius of Jim Davis

The whole morality compass, it was not only planned but also existed ever since the first comic strip

Why would Jim Davis, a man who is indeed the definition of a genius dedicate his life to something as shallow as a daily newspaper comic strip?

He wouldn't, and he didn't

Most people dont understand his genius, not looking at garfield as anything a funny cat comic strip. But they're mistaken

The impression garfield leaves makes them blind to all the genius put into the comic strip

Blind to all the impact it has on them

Some even brush it off as unfunny and overdone

But how wrong they are

Garfield may as well be the greatest work of art ever

If you think about it, everyone can be put somewhere on the scale

THE PERSONALITY SCALE OF GARFIELD

Both the scale of personality and morality

The yellow point is the point of perfect balance between garfield, odie and jon.

This is what i believe to be the morality compass of garfield. Again, i think everyone can place themselves somewhere on the lines

THE MORALITY COMPASS OF THE DYNAMICS BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS OF GARFIELD

And i strongly believe this is not a theory and that Jim Davis had this in mind ever since the conception of Garfield

[REDACTED: THIS PART IS NOT RELATED TO GARFISM, BUT TO WALLYISM (stegmanism)]

Going back to the concept of the Moral compass

I believe all of the characters except odie represent the 7 deadly sins:

Garfield: Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath

Nermal: Pride, Greed, Lust

Jon: Envy

What does this lead to?

Odie is not just a good dog. Odie is something more

A sinless being, that is humanly impossible

I believe Odie is an allegory for Jesus Christ

Nermal is an allegory for Satan

Jon and Garfield are sinners, but they're not evil. Gluttony and Sloth are arguably the tamer deadly sins.

Why did Jim Davis do that? Maybe he wants us to know something?

Jim Davis is a member of the protestant church (Not sure what denomination). Spreading the Teachings of Jesus Christ would be in his interest.

But why is the facade of odie so stupid then? What if Jim Davis is trying to tell us more?

Odie doesn't only represent Jesus, but also a prophet. A prophet who's teachings are turned down, he is potrayed as a crazy person.

But we know Odie is right, we know he has the moral advantage and serves as the perfect being in the Garfield world

But i don't think Jim Davis is using Garfield as a way to make people christians, it can't be this shallow.

Maybe my comparison to Jesus Christ was flawed?

Odie may just represent a god, a loving but unspecified god.

And nermal is the evil spirit

I still stand by my comparison to the 7 deadly sins.

Odie is ice, Nermal is fire The polar opposites.

Odie is the prophet, Nermal rejects the teachings.

I once went to the gas station and heard a man say "My parents are on a week's vacation, im going to baby-sit for their kitten" through the phone. I saw another fat, orange tabby cat and a blonde dog in his car. I couldn't help but throw the phone out of his hand and scream "No! Dont let that evil spirit into your home! It will corrupt your pets! Just like in Garfield!"

The man didnt listen to me, he picked up the phone and walked away. I never saw him again, propably for a good reason

Another time, i saw a tiny gray kitten and a big orange cat approaching it. I knew what it would cause, i picked the kitten up and ran as fast as possible. I had to save them both

The cat scrathed my hands, i was covered in blood from it. But i knew i did a good thing

Garfield has been going on for much, much longer than 1976. Jim Davis is simply continuing, he made us open your eyes!

The old testament, its all clear. Yahweh was Odie, the people of Israel were represented garfield.

The evil spirit. It's nermal

I believe many important events in the world can be traced back to it. Was the dinosaur extinction gods plan? Garfield and Odie (Did i mention theyre great friends despite allcthe differences) love dinosaurs, so it seems silly.

Nermal planned the extinction of dinosaurs, he caused the black plague, he caused the world wars.

Of course this happened in the Garfield universe, not ours

And Odie? Odie is a prophet, not a god. He could only watch what evildoing Nermal is up to

I believe Garfield has a biblical prominence despite not being on either side of this conflict.

Garfield may be the flawed prophet, spreading the word of Odie but rarely applying it.

Cats have often shown up in history

Ancient Egypt, for example

What if that god is imperfect, but aware of it?

Odie being the moral anchor makes sense, but odie lacks interest

Garfield, however

What im suggesting is: Garfield is the god, not Odie

It makes sense considering his prominence. His importance

Why else would odie be friends with him? The reason is simple- Garfield is the god

The old testament- Yahweh is Garfield

The Quran- Allah is garfield

The new testament- Jesus Christ is Odie

Who is Jon, then?

THE DEPICTION OF THE TRUE HOLY TRINITY

I believe Jon serves the role of Virgin Mary

This is what Jim Davis tried to tell us all along.

The subliminal messaging of garfield is clear- There is a god. And he hates mondays

"Garfield: You've been unhappy because you've desired things that cannot be. Nermal: That's what desire IS. The need for what we can't have. The need for what's readily available is called greed."

Garfield is the creator of all that there is. He is the most real thing, the only eternal thing. Our hearts will stop beating, our eyes will close, the mountains may someday crumble, the trees will wither away, but Garfield will always be.

Nermal is the desire, Garfield is the fullfillment It may seem like Garfield is lazy, gluttonous, spiteful. But the truth is, Garfield is content. This very thing is what makes him THE god. Garfield achieved his goals

Nermal desires more for himself, He is the devil Odie desires more for everyone, which truly is merely a desire.

Exodus 3:14

God (Garfield) said to Moses (Odie), “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (edited)

Exodus 3:15

God (Garfield) also said to Moses (Odie), “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

Nermal, the devil, the Lucifer, the Judas. His cute facade is there to deceive you. He wants to be loved, but his desires are dirty. He is greedy, lustful, gluttonous

But does all of that change the moral compass? No

Garfield is a immoral god. He is not a perfect god

Jim Davis wanted this clear

[FOLLOWING WRITING THIS, NEIL WAS ATTACKED BY A SWARM OF ORANGE CATS AND BARELY MADE IT OUT ALIVE]

Garfism applied in Garfcord

THE BOARD OF TRUTH NEIL MADE TO SHOW ALL OF HIS POINTS IN ONE IMAGE. THE BOARD IS STILL IN HIS ROOM TO REFLECT THE FACT HE BELIEVES IN THE TRUTH

Neil, the main proponent of the Garfist ideology being the admin of Garfcord allows for great progress in applying the GARFIST IDEOLOGY. THE ONLY TRUTH THERE IS. THE ONE AND ONLY BELIEF IN WHAT IS TRUE IN LIFE THE TEACHINGS OF JIM DAVIS AND GARFIELD THE CAT. THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESFUL. THE PEOPLE OF GARFCORD ACCEPT THE MESSAGE! THEY WORSHIP GARFIELD! THEY READ THE GARFPOSTS! ITS A WIN! A WIN FOR SOCIETY!