Last night, now that I'm just watching Fox News, I caught an interview Billy O'Reilly did with Bill Maher. I'll be honest, up to that point I really had no opinion of Mr. Maher other than being marginally aware that his take on things tilts to the left. The original reason Maher was appearing on Mr. O'Reilly's "The Factor" was to discuss Maher's canceled appearance on Katie Couric's CBS evening newscast. Couric apparently has a weekly session where people of public note are encouraged to speak freely on a topic of their choice. Edgy stuff no doubt. Maher's choice was religion, and the CBS folks suddenly weren't for free speech with quite the same zeal they probably enjoyed whilst brainstorming the concept in a room full of marketing and demographics wunderkinds.
At anyrate, Mr. O'Reilly gave Mr. Maher thirty seconds to make his (predictable) point. At this juncture we'll momentarily pause as you imagine what Maher's (cue the Jeopardy Do-Do-Do-Tum-De-Dum music) well nuanced cutting edge theory on religion and the world might possibly be.
After listening to his thirty second diatribe, and believe me that was plenty of time, I felt as if I knew Bill Maher.......thirty plus years ago in college. He may have actually stolen his idea from me, although I probably filtched it from a college professor in order to later impress a date with the size of my very big open educated sophmoric mind. At anyrate (drum roll please!), here it is courtesy of Mr. William Maher's big intellect......Religion is the cause of all the death and destruction in the world. Religion is mental illness. Well Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Hitler must be breathing a collective sigh of relief in the seventh level of Hell.......godless systems ARE the way to go after all. Herr Marx, your "opiate of the masses" concept lives on in the risen Maher!
He adroitly dodged a pointed rhetorical question posed by O'Reilly about the sanity of Mother Teresa, and to his credit, acknowledged Rosie O'Donnell's assertion on "The View" that American Christians are as dangerous as Islamic jihadists is patently absurd.
Now if we could just do something about those pesky volcanos, germs, stray asteroids and the incessant dictatorial demands of time and gravity....hey, maybe Mother Nature, just like Mother Teresa, just needs some quality time with a good shrink.
What I found most interesting about Mr. Maher was the fanaticsm of his belief......which, dare I say, reeked of religious fervor and a condescending smarter-than-thou elitist mentality. A mentality that perhaps has more to do with the failings and horrific transgressions of any worldview, philosophy or religion than the actual precepts of any such system. A very human failing every religion cautions against.......pride and it's wicked cousin, arrogance.
Whoa, time to climb down off this rapidly elevating soap-box. I am reminded by the angels of my better nature that those without sin should cast the first stone......and as at least one of my readers will surely counsel me....the kettle should not be calling the frying pan black. So, Mr. Maher, forgive me, I'm off on this beautiful Saturday to do my penance....two rolls of quarters and a couple weeks worth of laundry.
13 comments:
Unfortunately, I have to agree that religion does cause quite a bit of the world's problems. Christians, for example, get their eyes off what it means to actually be a Christian and instead focus on legislating other people's lives.
Shame on us. We should apologize to everyone as often as possible. Let's start acting like Christ, who wasn't judgmental and who loved everyone.
Dick, thanks, made the necessary editorial corrections.
Donny, Amen brother! Believe it or not, some of the most selfless Christ-like behavior I ever experienced has been in the field with brother and sister Marines. There's a little blurb being passed around the internet that makes the point that only two people have ever been willing to actually die for us...Jesus Christ and the American GI.
As one of those "dreaded" American Christians, I only want to say that most of the ones who get press DO NOT represent the majority of us.
I don't go around judging others and legislating for other people's lives. Give me a break . . .
I simply vote and do my part as an AMERICAN, just like other AMERICANS do. Yes, I vote according to my beliefs and values, but isn't that what we all do???
The difference is that I accept the things I cannot change and work to change the things I can. Sound advice for any American, Christian or not!
Yes! I love that blurb you referenced. And for those of us who've never actually "been there," all we have to do is watch a movie like "Flags of Our Fathers" to see true love and selfless, Christ-like behavior - displayed by our warriors. (And ohboy, does Mother Teresa have anything on a Corpsman?!?)
I would agree though, that religion HAS caused a whole heck of a lot of the world's problems; but true Christianity is not a religion. Christ came offering something, not imposing anything onerous. Christ offers freedom FROM "religion," and the affects of sin, which I would argue is the true cause of all the world's problems.
Semper Fi! from a Sheepdog breeder ;)
Amen, Countrygirl!
You know, after some thought, I do think Donny is right. Sorry for my harsh "Christian" words. :)
I guess I get defensive about Christians. But you're right -- there are a LOT of them causing problems.
I'm going to focus on me and my problems for now . . . if I can change myself for the better at least I've done something. . .
The artist's wife said "I guess I get defensive about Christians. But you're right -- there are a LOT of them causing problems."
I would put forth the argument that those "Christians" you mentioned as causing "alot" of problems aren't true Christians.
donny said . . .
"Christians, for example, get their eyes off what it means to actually be a Christian and instead focus on legislating other people's lives."
The Jews turned the other cheek in Nazi Germany. They gave in at every turn to Hitler and his goons. 6 million died because of it.
The left has taken (legislated) Christmas and Easter out of our schools. We call them Winter and Vernal break now. We are not allowed to display the Nativity in the town square - not because a majority doesn't want it - but, because a few atheists demand it. Ah, and then it gets "legistated" by the left.
Let's talk abortion. Millions of babies (just in case you didn't know, fetus in Latin means baby) are murdered because the left "legislated" it. Before, Christians had not legislated anything. It was just common decency and a moral obligation that Americans possessed that kept them from becoming butchers. It is the left who decided to pass a law allowing women to destroy what is the most precious gift a woman can be given.
Christians have just stood quietly by and let it happen.
Jesus may have not have been "judgmental", but he was not a relativist, you can be sure. He believed in right and wrong -absolutes- He was kind to the sinner so they could see and experience His love.
Christians have let the relativists take over and now we have been forced to "legislate" in order to get America back to the place the Founding Fathers intended it to be.
Maher's assertion that relgion is cause of the world's death and destruction is as insightful as "water is the greatest cause of drowning".
I would argue that man's baser instincts (greed, envy,etc) or tendencies is the cause of destruction and unecessary death. I would also offer most of the world's major religions recognise in some manner humanity's imperfections and strive to construct a moral framework (e.g. the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, the Mosaic code, etc) within which a society can thrive.
The challenge in an open, free society is how to apply such a moral framework to day to problems (abortion, murder, robbery, fraud, perjury, etc). The constitional framework whereby the people, through their elected representatives, debate, decide and / or compromise these issues (great and small) is genius of the Founding Fathers.
So true, "anonymous." So true. . . I wish my comments were better thought out like that, and better stated, too!
it may be that various countries try to legislate religion to the edges of society, after the lessons of Iraq, and the US, but there is simply no other alternative for the moral compas we all need in our lives, or on the outside to prop up our lives.
Religion needs to be renewed, otherwise it becomes stale. The renewal cannot come from within the structure. It has to come from without, because no enlighened minister or priest has the authority to do so, no matter how saintly his followers claim him to be. That authority can only come from the Sargent upstairs, way upstairs.
And He has spoken. He has already acted on the stage of mankind. The answer is already out there to see.
Sorry I have to go anon. on this directory of my computer,
Edo River rising
Edo gets religion and faith confused. Faith in Jesus Christ never gets stale.
Yeah, lets let the Muslims take over our country so we become a country ruled by their faith. . . .
Yeah, that will make things exciting for us all . . . Then it won't be so stale. Great idea.
What seems to have been lost in our cultural knowledge and debate is that ALL LAW IS MORALITY FLESHED OUT-- it is our mores chiseled in stone.
The ironic thing is that the Left has enshrined Secular Humanism into our Laws so deeply that we take it as "gospel" and never question it...
Instead of every religion having equal access to the public square, we've come to say NO religion gets public access (except the dogma of secular humanism and naturalism).
Ironically, we violate both the Free Exercise clause AND the Establishment clause of the First Amendment by excluding all traditional religions, and enshrining Secular Humanism as the only proper public morality!
Craziness!
Perhaps those who judicated abortion into a law of the land without giving opportuntiy for a single vote to be cast should apoligize to everyone as often as possible. Shame on them for using justice to impose their own laws upon people's lives.
Christ is what I consider a real defender of female human rights; and was the first.
Susan
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