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Religulously Speaking; The God Battle Royale

Hmm. Alright, I'm not really sure how to start this one. I went to see Bill Maher's Religulous last night. I'm sure that has already alienated a few people, and as long as I'm confessing here, I will add, in the interest of full disclosure, that I do in fact like Bill Maher, I'm a fan of his show, and while I don't always agree with his opinions, I do enjoy hearing them.

Now, if anyone is left, I will say that in the first few minutes of the film I got the sinking feeling that I wasn't going to like it. Early on Maher stops at a Trucker's Chapel, and quickly he is at the front of the small congregation, asking very direct questions about Bible passages and whether or not they actually believe these things literally. This seems to be Maher's measuring stick, people who take the stories in the Bible as fact rather than lesson. One member is instantly offended by the line of questions and storms out angrily. The others seem to be a little more tolerant of Maher's skepticism, and they eventually hit a stalemate: as strongly as he doubts, they believe, and it's unlikely either side will budge the other.

The segment ended with Maher in a circle as the members prayed for God to answer all of Bill's questions. It seemed to end on an amicable note, now for all I know they cursed him to hell as soon as the camera crew left, but even Maher, the great cynic, seemed to at least appreciate that these people were genuine in their beliefs, and commented, to paraphrase, that it was sickening to see how people who genuinely believe often are prey for others who twist and pervert the concepts of religion, (televangelists, religious hierarchies, fundamentalists, etc.).

This is his strongest point: people are so anxious to believe in something, especially the down-trodden, that they are easy pickings for slick talking, flag waving, nationalists, who have their own agenda which has nothing to do with the hereafter. And he doesn't limit it to Christianity; the Jewish and Muslim participants are questioned with equal ferocity.

The movie overall offers some good insights on things like the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation, with some evidence that it was in fact quite the opposite. There is also an interesting segment on the growing Muslim population in places like Amsterdam.

But so what? Was it a good movie? Well, yeah, it was entertaining, which is a movie's job above all else isn't it? Of course there are plenty of cries to get it banned, or at least asking to boycott it, which is fine. I can't endorse the logic in condemning something you haven't seen but if for some reason people think a film is going to send you straight to hell, then who am I to argue?

To me, with a film like this there is no shock going in which side the information is slanted towards, so I don't see what a person who claims to have strong faith gains in by calling for a movie to banned or boycotted, if they have genuine faith, something like this isn't going to sway them. And if they're worried about God being criticized, you know like in a cartoon or something, I would hope someone's version of an Almighty Deity would be able to shrug off something as delicate as an opposing viewpoint.

But maybe that goes back to Maher's main thesis: the large group of people who think the End Times are coming in our lifetime, that foretold battle between Good and Evil (the sides change depending on which book you're reading) and among those people, the ones who have access to armies, weapons, and nuclear bombs, you know the things that could nudge us towards the end of the world.

So, ultimately I think having a movie, or a book, or just something that gets a conversation going, as opposed to an armed conflict, that offers opposing viewpoints, instead of forcing them, can't be a bad thing. Or maybe, I'm way off and the End Days will soon be upon us and the Earth will soon be no more. Hopefully I'll be seeing a movie at the time.