Ask the Patriarch 193
Have you seen Religulous?
from: Justin MacGregor
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I recently saw the movie Religulous by Bill Maher. I thought it was informative,bold and funny as it pointed out the contradictions, irony, corruption and fallacies of traditional religions.
This movie is what prompted me to seek out web sites such as this one. I was wondering if you are familiar with the movie and, if so, what your take on it is.
Personally, I lean towards the idea that there is a supreme being or an entity of some kind that created the universe but I do not pretend to comprehend the nature of this entity nor do I understand to what extent he or she has concern or ambivalence towards us humans on earth.........
Justin
The Patriarch replies:
Justin:
Thanks for writing.
I have not seen this movie yet, though I intend to - probably when it comes out on DVD. It's not playing on a cinema near me.*
What I can say is that I have yet to read a negative review on it, and I've probably read a dozen in various magazines and newspapers. Quite different from Ben Stein's propaganda effort from the other side for which I did not see a positive review. That's probably because I have no subscription to the Fundamentalist End Times News. The reviews for Religulous have all been glowing.
For those who are not familiar with the film, there is a commentary in the current The Atlantic** which is quite good. Just a few quotations from the article....
- Religulous takes the form of a travelogue, a grand tour of human folly; if the video camera had existed when Mencken was reporting on the Scopes trial, this is how he would have covered it.
- Religulous should make the faithful wince. The average Christian - as if we needed reminding - makes a piss-poor apologist for his own faith. One might expect a doctrine as insolently extraordinary in its claims as Christianity to have produced some tip-top debaters, but oh dear, Maher has them on the ropes in seconds.
- I like Maher best when he's bringing his own brand of acidulous biblical witness to bear. Reminding the glossily appareled Jeremiah Cummings, the head of the Worldwide International Campaign for Christ, that St. Paul traveled with only the shirt on his back, he asks, "Should I assume this is the only $2,000 suit you own?"
It's a good article, well worth reading. And it looks like the movie is well worth while too. And if anyone reading this wants to submit a full-fledged review for publication, I would appreciate it.
Best wishes
Footnotes:
* Small town - the owner of local multiplex must feel there is no market for it.
** An Atheist walks into a bar... Bill Maher's spiritual journey by James Parker, The Atlantic, November 2008 p48