‘Religulous‘ is a satirical documentary produced by and starring Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The film follows Maher as he visits religious sites around the world, interviewing people about God and religion. I have not seen the film, and don’t know that I will. The content of this film isn’t the point of this post.
I recently listened to an interview with Maher and Charles on NPR’s Fresh Air (download as a podcast here or listen on NPR’s site here). After listening, I interpret the film’s basic premise to be this: all religion is ridiculous and irrational and possibly dangerous. Despite my disagreement, it was incredibly interesting to hear Maher & Charles’ impressions of religion generally, and the Bible specifically. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
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Terry Gross: Do you think in responding to religious extremism you’ve become like an anti-religious extremist?
Maher: I’m not an extremist at all. I believe in the doctrine of ‘I Don’t Know’ when it comes to the afterlife. And to say ‘I don’t know’ about the afterlife is really the only reasonable, and also humble, opinion you can hold. Anybody who believes in personal gods that are really the result of a long, 2000-year-old game of telephone–personal gods who you pray to and who perform miracles and fight with devils and so forth–that’s extremist…extremism. That’s extremely irrational. So I don’t think I’m the extremist, no.
TG: Did you read the old and the new testaments before making the movie?
Charles: Yes, actually, a number of times over the years. And again just before we made the movie. And we carried, of course, we carried all these holy books with us because we would cite things, cite quotes and so we were, we became pretty conversant in them..
Maher: I took a course in the Bible at Cornell when I was in undergrad….
TG: did you find anything in the old or new testaments that you thought, well this is actually beautifully written, or this is actually a really interesting thought that I should keep with me whether I practice religion or not?
Maher: The prescription against eating lobster, I think, is excellent. Because I don’t like lobster….
Charles: To me it reads like a Pynchon novel.
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You may or may not be having a reaction to these quotes. Again, there’s quite a bit more to be heard if you’d like to listen to it yourself (download or listen). I had a variety of reactions, ranging from sad to frustrated. But one of the final comments by Maher stopped me in my tracks. (Well… figuratively. I was on a elliptical machine at the time and, well, yeah…) This quote comes out of the continued conversation about impressions of the Bible:
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Maher: I mean, the New Testament is obviously different. The New Testament, if you strip away all the magic tricks and the bells and whistles and the nonsense, the message of Jesus is not only beautiful but revolutionary: the idea that the meek shall inherit the earth, and the poor and the powerless have just as much dignity as the powerful and the rich. That was a very new idea at the time, and it has not gone out of style, I might add. And It’s a wonderful message. It’s a shame it gets lost amidst all the other nonsense. (emphasis mine)
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Did you get that? A person who does not believe in God… who does not believe the Bible makes a case for needing a relationship with any kind of god… this person hears a nugget of truth in Jesus’ message. And wonders why the beauty of the message ‘gets lost amidst all the other nonsense’.
What’s the nonsense he’s referring to? Have we attached things to Jesus’ message that He never meant to proclaim?
What do YOU hear in the message of the New Testament?
What do YOU think is getting lost?
What do YOU think could be done about that?
