Letter #18: To God from Margreet de Heer

"You might have foreseen that some of the things you wrote might be taken literally."

Jan 01, 2026

Cross-posted by Letters to Dead Authors & Artists

"Kelcey Ervick invited me to contribute to her excellent series 'Letters to Dead Authors and Artists' - and I chose to write a letter to God (who may or may not be dead). As the daughter of not one but TWO ministers in the Dutch Protestant Church, AND a theologian myself (graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 2000, the year I decided to become a cartoonist), I learned that only the best deities can stand being poked fun at, and that laughter is good for the Soul. If you are a creationist who takes the Bible literally, DON'T read this, for verily I say unto you: you will be offended. To all others I say: enjoy this theological side of me! 😃"

- Margreet de Heer

Welcome to the 18th installment of Letters to Dead Authors & Artists curated by me, Kelcey Ervick. We’re kicking off 2026 with a letter to none other than God—which immediately raises a couple of questions: Is God an author? Is God dead? (“Gott ist tot,” said Friedrich Nietzsche—aka F.N.) In this wonderful illustrated letter, the cartoonist Margreet de Heer has some theories—and some suggestions!

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Listen to Margreet de Heer read her letter.

About GOD a.k.a. JHWH a.k.a. THE LORD, ALMIGHTY, JEHOVAH, ALLAH etc.

JHWH started His impressive career as a storyteller when He whispered the first Great Epics to His amusing talking ape-monkeys, who promptly started repeating and translating the words and eventually wrote them down in bestsellers such as the Ramayana, the Torah, the Bible and the Koran. Not restricting Himself to one genre, He has written novels, books of law, cookbooks, poetry, sweeping family saga and a lot of DIY-manuals.

About Margreet de Heer

Margreet de Heer, whose last name translates as The Lord (in Dutch), was brought up in church, studied Theology and ended up becoming a cartoonist. She has written and drawn about philosophy, religion, science, world domination and love, among many other things.

Check out her Substack with lots of autobiographical comics:
margreetdeheer.substack.com

her Substack on Philosophy:
philosophycomics.substack.com

and her Substack with hilarious queer comics about Minnie & her girlfriends:
minniecomics.substack.com

Hello, dear Reader! Thank you for reading Letters to Dead Authors & Artists, a weekly newsletter curated by me, Kelcey Ervick. I’m the author of four award-winning books, an artist, creative writing professor, and a lover of letters. I publish my own handwritten, illustrated letters on Substack at The Habit of Art. This is a new venture where I’m thrilled to publish letters from the community. I’m open to pitches!

-Kelcey

A guest post by

Margreet de Heer

First Comic Artist Laureate of The Netherlands; now "just" comic artist, with a wide variety of work.