Bill Maher’s Religulous
In what appears to be a high profile response to Ben Stein’s Expelled, Bill Maher is coming out with a documentary called Religulous. While I certainly dont agree with Bill Maher’s viewpoints regarding religion, I also dont blame him for spear-heading this reactionary movie. Christians have a habit of fighting the wrong battles, and the effort behind the Expelled movie was certainly one of them. Maher’s new movie is an example of what can happen when Christians are willing to die on a hill that in no way comes close to an essential of the faith. After all, there are many God-fearing evangelical men and women who dont mind evolution being taught in schools. My hope and prayer is that the Christian community’s response to this new video by Bill Maher is one of grace and humility, and not one that starts a whole new very vocal, very public battle of Christian vs. Atheist that serves no one’s best interest.
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Well, that is a good interview. He didnt bash, directly that is. Just pointed out a good “truth”. Who knows? Other than by your faith.
i like Bill in this interview. the only thing “atheists” can defeat is the fundamentalist view of Christianity. I’m less appalled by atheists than i am of fundies. Fundies take a beautiful religion and make it really, really stupid.
that being said, i see no divide between science and religion, asking questions and being Christian, and believing in evolution and taking the bible seriously.
here’s some posts on this topic: http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2008/08/teach-controversy.html
http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2008/08/evolution-and-indoctrination.html
I’ve only seen a couple parts of the movie, and unfortunately it contains only a comic interest. Sure, sometimes it’s fun to poke fun at the pinheads who cannot coherently talk about their faith or beliefs…
But what’s more problematic to me is the man who has the arrogance and pretense enough to act as if he has something intelligent to say after offering a definition of RELIGION scarcely suitable in a fifth grade classroom. With all due respect (which is saved for the more erudite and thoughtful atheists) Maher should have canned this idea along with his ego years back.
I welcome all who pose their petitions, their diverse opinions, their theological dilemmas - whatever they may be - into the arena of dialogue. But bombastic celebrities who know nothing of religion should take a few courses before they regurgitate the same old dehumanizing arguments one after the other.
Anyway, enough of this rant. We don’t have much to learn from Mr. Maher.
I welcome your challenge to be graceful and humble about Maher’s video - but the problem is that such deceit can only be met with silence. Maher’s type of propaganda serves only to scare people away from religious institutions and, more troubling, away from prayer, contemplation, the uphill battle of believing there is a God. Sweeping atheistic maxims and incredulous quotes from Maher and others are not ABOUT God, they are about the problems of humankind, bloodshed, ignorance.
We point our fingers at the Maker Who redeems us while holding a gun to our neighbor. So do we do away with the concept of God, or do we work on the concept of the gun?
I’ve just had enough of the shallowness…
Chris,
I dont necessarily disagree with anything you said, however my point is that I feel the tack he took in making the film was an intentional mirroring of the attitude and approach found in Expelled. I think his major point is that if we, as evangelical Christians, are frustrated and offended by this video, it is the exact same way that others have felt with regard to the Expelled movie.
So I just hope that we Christians understand the video as it is meant to be taken, and simply not fan the flame with reactionary talk that enables someone else to come along and make another movie. Does that make sense?
I see Maher asking the question about ‘logic’ and ‘knowing what you believe’. For the wise, Maher serves as a warning ‘to know what it is u believe’ and for the others - he is some ‘meddler’.
It is key people that claim to be Christians know what their texts are saying and how this can all be used. The problem in Christendom, which Maher will reveal without any real problem, is Christians are mixed up when it comes to understanding their own texts. Many Christians like to have an easy version of faith and not much more beyond that…
This is a problem in our faith - trying to make our brothers and sisters more knowledgeable (which in some strands of this faith is seen as ‘bad’). I think what Maher is doing can help build the church up - more than it tears it down…being exposed to the light is better than hiding in the dark.
I personally am not a fan of Bill Maher’s - I have heard some of the dumbest things come out of that guys mouth in recent years (concerning faith). But this time I think he is getting at something we can learn from…this getting to know your faith more intimately and not being scared to go full steam into the learning community.
Faith is about ‘how we act’ but it’s also nice to know ‘what you believe’ so you can build your actions on stronger foundational truths of life.
I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. Especially after seeing Expelled…that film was just an embarrassment. Even on a cinematic scale. Awful.
Chris, I don’t understand that definition of religion you mentioned. Having seen the film and listened to Bill Maher talk about religion quite a lot, I’m not sure what you are talking about. I’d be interested to know what he’s said that I’ve missed.
You are so right on, Mike.
The Christian majority in this nation have some crazy monopoly on getting offended. There’s a lot of bad mouthing from a lot of Christians who are a terrible example of Christian philosophy. And I think it’s worse here than in other parts of the world. I wonder why.
Kyle,
The definition I have seen offered in multiple interviews by Maher is that religion is that which serves to save one’s butt from Hell to get to Heaven. The latest on Larry King.
No atheist would tolerate me belittling their philosophy a la Bill O’Reilly by saying, “So, you guys just don’t believe in anything, huh?”
Nor would an atheist feel represented by an interview conducted with someone who cannot adequately describe the worldview, the philosophy, etc.
So I have to wonder why Maher couldn’t make a film with say, Ravi Zacharias, or John Polkinghorne, or anyone qualified to give an educated response to the questions he’s asking about religion, science, or both!
If I were to make a film - an open dialogue between atheist scholars and Christians - would you prefer me elect Sam Harris to square off against Kirk Cameron?
This is the burden of Michael Moore filmmaking. A good documentary will give you both sides.
Don’t get me wrong - and I apologize if I’ve been all too intolerant of Maher - religion poses huge problems in our world. To address them, I believe we need constructive, educated proposals. I’m sure there is room for comedy - but I think that much of this type of comedy is toxic. One of my best friends in the world is a very strong atheist, a brilliant and loving guy, and one who can eruditely vocalize his opinions and critiques of religion. He isn’t void of appreciation for Christianity or any other religion, but he is insightful about both horrors and strengths.
Yet in our conversations sometimes he has a tendency to become cynical. He is blessed with a creative and unbelievable sense of humor - but sometimes it sends him down the path of pessimism and cynical judgment. And frankly, he hates it. He tells me frequently in our conversations (almost daily) that it isn’t right. And, from an atheist, a supporter of the likes of Sam Harris, my friend is anything but a supporter of Maher and his agenda.
“I think what Maher is doing can help build the church up - more than it tears it down…being exposed to the light is better than hiding in the dark.” (SocietyVs)
I think that’s an optimistic thought. You know, I really hope so. But the spirit of cynicism I see laced in a lot of these interviews and similar media is haughty, and sadly, attractive to many young minds in a destructive way.
And again, the enemy is pretense. Maher says in his interview with the senator that pretty much the whole entire scientific community agrees on evolution. Really?
This is the type of “factoid” that any high school senior can pick up quickly and spit out - neglecting to mention to specifics.
Certainly, some type of evolution - some mechanism, some basic outlay, is agreed on by many scientists. But what does that mean? Is it cause for scoffing?
I think this portion of the film is really interesting, because at once I really like the fact that Maher is bringing us up close to the reality that our own elected members of Congress and the Senate are sometimes poorly equipped to answer hot questions in the science and religion debate. On the other hand, what I have contemplated for a little while ever since seeing this, is what bothers me. And quite simply again, it is the sense of depression it breeds - the message that this dumb ox of our Senate doesn’t even know anything about evolutionary theory and thus our government is run by Christian imbeciles.
Alright, I’ll shut up until I see the rest of the film. Sorry if I’ve offended anyone - I just mean in earnest that being uncritical and waif about atheism can leave us incapable of getting at a truly worthwhile conversation about the meaning of life. If we leave it to the sociological problems of religion without getting at the real roots of faith, it just feels a bit flaky, no?
My only point here is that you’re talking about Bill Maher. He’s a satirist and comedian. This is like when (to hearken to what Mike said) Ben Stein made expelled. I thought it was an awful film, but I wasn’t deeply offended. It was Ben Stein.
these people are hardly experts, and, beyond entertainment value, they aren’t here to supply much.
Re: the trailer
The monkeys are cute and goes well with Suburban’s trunk monkey concept (recall the “heresy” parody).
If he creates doubt regarding Jewish tradition, Catholic (RC) tradition and the origins of Islam - he may have a point.
How long was it before the various oral versions of the Qur’an turned into writing (a point James White brings out)?
God save the Bill! Has Bill read the Bible?
Jay (ice-j, NOA)
Bill Maher needs prayer.