Homer the Heretic/References

References/Trivia

Season 4 Episode References

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"Homer the Heretic"

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Cultural references

When Homer skips church and watches T.V at home, he watches The Three Stooges (obvious due to a Curly-like cry coming from the TV).

Notice God has five fingers instead of four.
This episode marks the first appearance of God.
It is revealed that Apu is Hindu, and Moe is a Snakehandler.
Apu, Skinner, and Moe were all volunteer firefighters in this episode. They would later also be volunteer firefighters in "Crook and Ladder." And Apu, Moe, and Ned Flanders also were volunteer firefighters in "Brother's Little Helper". Luann van Houten was shown as being a member of the Volunteer Fire Department in this episode.
Some fans of The Simpsons have held parties on June 5 and calling it "The Feast of Maximum Occupancy", in reference of Homer's excuse to get out of work by making up a holiday by looking at the safety warning at Moe's Tavern, which read "Maximum Occupancy, 65". The June 5th party date is a reference to the digits 6 and 5.
At the end of the episode, God tells Homer the meaning of life, but the closing credits start before the audience can hear it.
God also mentions that Homer has to wait 6 months to know the meaning of life, because Homer will die. Homer later dies for a few seconds in "Homer's Triple Bypass", which aired approximately six months after this episode.
The chalkboard gag, "I will not defame New Orleans", is a reference to complaints the show received about the song about New Orleans in the previous episode, "A Streetcar Named Marge".

God is shown as having five fingers instead of the four which are the norm in the cartoon world. But at the end of the episode when God is telling Homer the meaning of life, he has four fingers and toes instead of five.
When Lisa is telling Homer that "this [the fire] is an act of God", Lisa's ear keeps disappearing and reappearing when she moves.