Tonight some friends came over (Jon and Anna Eshleman, and Phil Harnsberger) to watch this quazi-documentary, Religulous. This film has gained some momentum recently so we thought it would be helpful for us to watch it and discuss it afterwards. Bill Maher, who I am merely familiar with, is an agnostic with a strong agenda to portray all religions as intellectually in-credible and basically foolish. Although I am not going to give a full review of the film here, I thought I’d reflect a little bit. This documentary would fall into the category of entertainment education. Like Michael Moore films, the documentary has a clear, one-sided agenda, and Maher goes all out to make his argument without any intention of seeking to learn or hear anything that might contradict his view on religion. I do have to say at the outset that the film was pretty hilarious, and mildly creative.
Maher’s argument is that religion is based on superstition with no intellectual credibility. He travelled all over the world and interviewed people, asking them questions, seeking to control the conversations, and arranging a film that would make anyone who considers themselves part of a religion, quite stupid. The best interview, in my opinion, was with one Orthodox Jewish Rabbi who would not allow Maher to continuously interrupt him and control the conversation, because the rabbi was very intelligent and sharp. When Maher realized he was up against a bright and thoughtful person who was giving adequate answers to Maher’s questions, Maher left.
In order to make his case, he mostly interviewed narrow groups of fundamentalists and other simple-minded folks who would not be able to stand their ground against his over-confident, combative interviewing techniques. Yet, there were no interviews with folks like N.T. Wright or Tim Keller or anyone of thousands who could easily defend their beliefs with enormous credibility and intellectual genius. He is right, there are a lot of religious wacko fanatics in the world, but that’s old news. We all can watch the news and see that.
Maher showed how people from major religions of the world are largely responsible for the violence and injustice of our day. This is true, embarrassing, and sad. Jon brought up the point that he did not interview any of the thousands upon thousands of Christians and others who give their lives to building wells and hospitals, or fighting AIDS in the name of God. He did not interview anyone who volunteers at the local food shelter every Friday night, or any person who passes out blankets on Skid Row for homeless people.
Maher said that the Bible teaches that the world is going to end soon, and that Christians will be responsible for its destruction because of the way they treat people. Sure, there are people who believe this and there are Christians who do more harm than good. But thoughtful Christians know that the Bible teaches that God will restore the world, and that God’s children are invited to participate in that restoration process (the new heavens and the new earth). And many do.
Maher pointed the finger at Christians and other religious groups throughout the film with strong determination, arguing that religion is the cause of evil and suffering in the world. Yet he did not mention the many atheists who are equally responsible for injustice. I could go on to argue why belief in God is the only way to truly find motivation for giving one’s life to work for justice and peace, whereas atheism and agnosticism give no reason to do good to another. In fact, humanity’s desire for social justice gives reason for the existence of God, whereas atheism leads to a ’survival of the fittest’ approach to life.
The film has caused me to be concerned for those are easily persuaded by Hollywood who might watch it. Not that I would suggest not watching it, but simply to watch it and then test his arguments with your own study. He asked some thoughtful questions, and it would be helpful for any Christian or skeptic to continue along the quest to find answers to the questions, rather than being duped by his persuasive entertainment. If his argument is that people should not accept any system of beliefs blindly, than I would suggest applying that principle to his system of beliefs too. It seemed to me, through the film, that Maher was hoping to make blind converts (why, I am not sure) to his anti-religion club. For Bill Maher, not only is religion stupid, but respect for religion is stupid.
A warning for Christians or any person of religious faith: even though it may feel like he is yelling at you or calling you stupid, try not to get defensive. Listen to his arguments, find his nuggets of truth, and then do your own study to seek answers to the questions raised within you. Ask yourself if you have been guilty of any of the “crimes” he is bringing to light in many religious folk. You could be stronger and more humble in the end.
If you’re looking for a good resource that gives thoughtful and respectful answers to many of Maher’s questions, check out Reason For God, by Tim Keller
Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. -from Mere Christianity