Yesterday, I went to the movie theater to see Bill Maher's new movie,
Religulous. I've been a fan of Maher's for a while, and sincerely admire his ability to take on taboo subjects unabashedly, though I'll be the first to admit he's often abrasive.
Religulous deals primarily with the absurdities of the Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There's the fact that all religions require beliefs that make no logical sense--miracles. There is the hypocrisy evident in enormous and wealthy clergy when religions advocate thrift and charity. And there are the disconnects between religion and science as well as religion and nationalism. There's also a bit of attention paid to newer religions, namely Scientology and Mormonism, though to the detriment of the movie and the audience's understanding, nobody of those faiths is represented.
Clearly this is a bit much to go into here, but I would like to get at one central point of Maher's movie. A driving question of the movie is why faith is inherently good. And I feel that ultimately, he answers his own question by saying that he does understand that when all else is gone, when you're alone in prison, a loved one's died, or you struggle with addiction, faith can be the only thing you have left. He acknowledges moments of what he might refer to as his own weakness, making a deal with God to quit smoking at age 40.
Maher refers to himself as an agnostic, rather than as an atheist, because atheism reflects something of the certainty of the religions that he just can't swallow. But in the closing scene, filmed where, according to Maher, Christians believe the world will come to an end, he does say (and I'm paraphrasing) that no God will come to save us.
Some interesting parallels are made by Maher as a mythologist. He points out the numerous similarities of Jesus to other gods of older religions, such as Krishna (also the product of a virgin birth according to some Hindu sources) and the ancient Egyptian god Horus (some sources cite Horus as the product of a virgin birth, and the movie relates a story wherein Horus resurrects a person with a name translated as "Lazarus").
Perhaps most alarming about this movie are not the questions Maher asks but the unwillingness of some people he talks to to engage him in critical conversation. If anything, the movie makes painfully obvious the need for religious eductation, particularly for those vocal about their beliefs.
Below, there are some videos of Maher's interview with Jon Stewart. What do you think about his stances towards belief? Should people with abiding faith be able to answer questions so harshly critical of belief itself?
Photo by david_shankboneUsed under the CC Attribution License
Not long after my last blog post I was sitting in my car listening to NPR with my little sister. A piece came on discussing neuroscience, religion, and the link between the two. It was part of a series of reports by Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR's Religion correspondent, and a former colleague of mine. Barbara is a wonderful reporter and her new book, out on many of the same topics as the book I just reviewed, is out now. She also did a week-long series of reports, which are pretty fantastic. I haven't read the book just yet, but I am eager to find out about what her website describes as " a small moment as an adult" which "triggered a revaluation of her beliefs, which in turn led her to a new way of thinking about God and faith."
