Bill Maher’s take on religion is very funny until the last 2 minutes when, depending on the degree one accepts his central thesis, it becomes somewhat nauseating. That is because his central thesis is that religious faith is a dangerous mental aberration that must be abandoned if the human race is to survive. He backs this up with the whole-hearted conviction of billions of people who believe they will be going to a better place after death, and that the end of the world, as described in the Bible, is a good thing. Coupled with our ability to actually bring about the end of the world, you get the idea where the nausea sets in.
But for the most part, Religulous is a funny ride through the fringes of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with significant forays into the mainstream cores of these faiths. Although I am an atheist, it is hard for me to imagine even the devout not laughing when Senator Mark Pryor (D, Arkansas) responds to Maher’s question about some of the ridiculous aspects of taking the Bible literally by plainly stating that no IQ test is required for membership in the Senate. The expression on his face right after he says that is worth the price of admission.
And, he exhorts those of us who are not religulous to come out of the closet. So here I am, out of the atheist closet.
I’m out of the closet with you, Dad.
I have to admit that it is hard to be out of the closet on a daily basis. One on my collegues (who is a delightful person to work with and who is a progressive democrat) was being pretty vehement at calling atheists as \
Do you mean that the ending is nauseating because Maher takes his thesis too far (i.e., he unfairly portrays all religion as a dangerous mental aberration), or nauseating because of the revelation that religious people are dangerous?
More just the reminder of all the destruction we are capable of, whether in the name of religion or not. There have been far too many examples of each.