RELIGULOUS--Bill Maher

[boagie]

Hi Y'all!!

Religulous, has anyone seem the movie yet, Bill Maher vs the talking snake. If no one has seen it yet this will keep until enough people have. Should be great fun!!

Bill Maher vs. the "talking snake" - Beyond the Multiplex - Salon.com



It seems like your major target in this movie are the religious extremists, those who belong to the fundamentalist camps of various different religions.
That’s not really true, that’s not really true. I mean, take Sen. Pryor — I don’t think he’d consider himself a fundamentalist. I think he’s like a majority of Americans. I mean, 60 percent of Americans believe the Noah’s ark story to be literally true. To me, that’s mainstream. When people say, “You’re going after extremists,” I say, well, to be religious at all is to be an extremist. It’s to be extremely irrational. Not that everybody believes in Noah’s ark, or the guy who lived to be 900 years old. But even to believe the central story of Christianity — a lot of people would say, “I’m not like those kooks out in Kansas who believe the Earth is 5,000 years old. But I do believe God has a son, who he sent down to earth on a suicide mission, and he said, ‘Hey, Jesus, I’m sending you on this suicide mission, but don’t worry, they can’t kill you because you’re really me.’ I, God the father — wink, wink — let’s split up the work! OK? Because there’s two of us, but not really! I’ll go down to Earth first and I’ll see if I can’t impregnate a Palestinian woman so she can give birth to you.” It’s just as silly a story. We’re just used to it.


BILL MAHER

[NeitherExtreme]

Frankly, I'm tired of anyone who is an intentional antagonist in the Religion Vs. Atheism culture war, no matter which side they're on.

I heard an interview about this movie with Bill Maher on NPR, and it seems pretty clear that Religulous is aimed at widening the culture gap in any way possible and promoting an angry environment in which to have discussion, if he wants any discussion to happen at all.

In short... Not helpful.

[boagie]

Ain't democracy great!! would you like to swing on a star, carry moon beams home in a jar!! I think he is just saying it is a Walt Disney production, and I agree!!!

[ariciunervos]

You can't blame the guy for trying to talk some sense into people, though I don't know if ridiculing their beliefs is the best method. Wait, appealing to reason and common sense doesn't work ...

[boagie]

Humor is the only defense against a moronic majority.

[Didymos Thomas]

I am a regular viewer of Real Time with Bill Maher; his political show is one of the best on TV.

However, I do tire of the puerile treatment of religion. Even the renown scientist Richard Dawkins seems incapable of discussing religion in a mature fashion.

Bill Maher is obviously poorly educated on religion. If someone believes the Ark story as literally true, the person is a fundamentalist, even if Bill doesn't think so. What Bill fails to grasp is that he is correct to call the Bible mythology; if he understood this point, the rest of his criticisms would fall away and he could only criticize people with silly views about the Bible. John Stewart called Bill on some of his overextended arguments. Kudos to John.

[boagie]

Originally Posted by Didymos Thomas

I am a regular viewer of Real Time with Bill Maher; his political show is one of the best on TV.

However, I do tire of the puerile treatment of religion. Even the renown scientist Richard Dawkins seems incapable of discussing religion in a mature fashion.

Bill Maher is obviously poorly educated on religion. If someone believes the Ark story as literally true, the person is a fundamentalist, even if Bill doesn't think so. What Bill fails to grasp is that he is correct to call the Bible mythology; if he understood this point, the rest of his criticisms would fall away and he could only criticize people with silly views about the Bible. John Stewart called Bill on some of his overextended arguments. Kudos to John.

Didymos Thomas,

Generally speaking people understand the other guys religion as mythology, but their own as their religion and truth, the majority of Christians do believe the absurd, it is quite frightening to a rationalist, even a poor rationalist like myself. Lets just call silly silly where we find it, thats all the man is really doing.

[ariciunervos]

A whole lot of people take the bible literally so I guess he aimed for the easy shot at them ? Aren't those the most ... how can I put it ... moronic ?

[boagie]

Originally Posted by ariciunervos

A whole lot of people take the bible literally so I guess he aimed for the easy shot at them ? Aren't those the most ... how can I put it ... moronic ?

ariciunervos,

One cannot take shots easily at a person who has a mature spiritual belief, one that does not insist on a concreate interpretation of metaphor, and so the absurd. At anyrate this thread was aimed at those who have seen the movie. All the Christians are coming out of the woodwork to try and challenge the right to post the topic really-----like I said ain't democracy great!!! Would you like to swing on a star, carry moom beams home in jar---------lol!!

[NeitherExtreme]

Originally Posted by boagie

would you like to swing on a star, carry moon beams home in a jar!!

Boagie, it's this kind of sarcastic attack that doesn't help anyone. How was that even a response to my post? I simply gave my thoughts on the movie based on the info I have. My comment was issue-neutral.

We've had some good conversations in the past that I've enjoyed and learned from. You have the right to post your feelings about religion. I just wish we could move past the sarcasm.