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http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx/?news=332956

Has anyone heard of the movie Religulous? It's a comedy/documentary with Bill Mahar pretty much poking fun at the major religions.

I'm really bothered by it. I know everyone has the right to believe what they want, but I just wish people could make movies with messages of hope rather than poking fun at something that 96% of the world believes in. It bothers me that there are so many pompous people out there who tout the idea that if you believe in a supreme being, you must be stupid, violent and irrationally intolerant.

I'm not wanting to stir a debate with this post. Actually, what I'm asking is, what makes you believe in God during times of so much cynicism? How do you hold onto your faith?

Last edited by MrsZonie; 09/30/08 04:23 PM.

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Did he poke fun at Islam?


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


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Yes, he makes fun of Islam too:

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Maher, who has been picking on organized religion for years on his TV shows "Politically Incorrect" and "Real Time," zealously traveled the world for "Religulous," his documentary challenging the validity and value of Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths.


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Originally Posted by MrsZonie
I'm not wanting to stir a debate with this post. Actually, what I'm asking is, what makes you believe in God during times of so much cynicism? How do you hold onto your faith?

I just ignore it all. It doesn't bother me a bit. My faith has nothing to do with the opinions of others.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


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who cares what Bill Maher thinks? He's a douche bag of Biblical proportions!

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second on who cares what Maher thinks -

Eventually - If his opinion is correct - we will never know. If he is wrong - he will know.


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Bill Maher ROCKS!! And he's never going to get married. SMART man! And any smart woman won't date him, either!

His big beef with Christianity, and with Islam as well, is with those who take everything in the Bible literally.

He has a lot of diversity on his show with both political parties as well as the "other" parties. It's a smart show. Funny at times, too.

It's not going to bother me a bit or cause my faith to waiver and I'm going to watch the movie as soon as I get a chance.

Charlotte


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His big beef with Christianity, and with Islam as well, is with those who take everything in the Bible literally.

By "literally," do you mean that Jesus Christ literally IS God the Son, incarnate, who literally did die on the Cross to pay the required penalty for the sins of all humans who believe in Him as THE Messiah promised to us by God, or even that God actually exists?

Perhaps a more "literal understanding of things" you might prefer is that all life "literally" owes its existence to the "literal impossiblity" that spontaneous generation of life from non-life actually happened, in violation of all known physical laws?

If you want to be an apologist for that fruitcake Maher, that is your right.

But I wonder if perhaps Maher might a bit more reticent in his bashing if there were a "Fatwah" issued against him similar to to the Muslim fatwah against Rushdie?

Literally, blasphemy used to be handled with capital punishment, until Jesus intervened with the adulterous woman who was presented to Him for "judgment."

Now, just how "literally" should we take Jesus' teaching about forgiveness?


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Originally Posted by ForeverHers
[quote]
Literally, blasphemy used to be handled with capital punishment, until Jesus intervened with the adulterous woman who was presented to Him for "judgment."

Say what?

Blasphemy has been a capital offense here in America as recently as 1692, to say nothing of Europe in the middle ages. While I do believe that Maher is a jerk, and IMHO, not a particularly amusing one at that, Jesus did not put an end to the evil that men do in the name of religion - or, more accurately, power. He laid down an example of behavior that most mortals are unable to follow.

FWIW, I don't think much of Rushdie either. The Satanic Verses was a snooze, and like Maher, his personal life is a shambles.

IMHO, Jesus's teachings on forgiveness are not part of what I would call literal interpretation, although they truly are one of the fundaments of Christianity. Personally, when I speak of someone who is a fundamentalist Christian, as was my best friend growing up, I refer to someone who believes, for example, that the story of creation should be taken literally, verbatim, rather than interpreted as a parable that attempts to explain man's relationship to G-d.

I have known too many people of too many religions to dismiss or poke fun at anyone else's beliefs. To do so, IMHO, is to proclaim your own insecurity.

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Originally Posted by Dancing_Machine
Bill Maher ROCKS!! And he's never going to get married. SMART man! And any smart woman won't date him, either!

His big beef with Christianity, and with Islam as well, is with those who take everything in the Bible literally.

He has a lot of diversity on his show with both political parties as well as the "other" parties. It's a smart show. Funny at times, too.

It's not going to bother me a bit or cause my faith to waiver and I'm going to watch the movie as soon as I get a chance.

Charlotte

Spending your money on his movie is funding an enemy to the Christian faith.

Watching the filth is inviting the enemy into your life.


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Originally Posted by penaltykill
[quote=ForeverHers]
Quote
Literally, blasphemy used to be handled with capital punishment, until Jesus intervened with the adulterous woman who was presented to Him for "judgment."

Say what?

Blasphemy has been a capital offense here in America as recently as 1692, to say nothing of Europe in the middle ages. While I do believe that Maher is a jerk, and IMHO, not a particularly amusing one at that, Jesus did not put an end to the evil that men do in the name of religion - or, more accurately, power. He laid down an example of behavior that most mortals are unable to follow.

FWIW, I don't think much of Rushdie either. The Satanic Verses was a snooze, and like Maher, his personal life is a shambles.

IMHO, Jesus's teachings on forgiveness are not part of what I would call literal interpretation, although they truly are one of the fundaments of Christianity. Personally, when I speak of someone who is a fundamentalist Christian, as was my best friend growing up, I refer to someone who believes, for example, that the story of creation should be taken literally, verbatim, rather than interpreted as a parable that attempts to explain man's relationship to G-d.

I have known too many people of too many religions to dismiss or poke fun at anyone else's beliefs. To do so, IMHO, is to proclaim your own insecurity.


More horrors have been committed in the name of God than anything else.

I disagree that when it comes to violence that Christ set an example that man was "unable" to follow. I believe they were "unwilling" to follow.

Quote
I have known too many people of too many religions to dismiss or poke fun at anyone else's beliefs. To do so, IMHO, is to proclaim your own insecurity.

While I believe this is true in many cases...there are some where the dismissal is entirely within reason. Scientology anyone??? We might as well have formed a religion called the Wrath of Khan.

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Originally Posted by medc
While I believe this is true in many cases...there are some where the dismissal is entirely within reason. Scientology anyone??? We might as well have formed a religion called the Wrath of Khan.

Wouldn't that be the Wrath of Xenu?

WRT being "unable" vs "unwilling", I believe that if you accept that Jesus is the son of G-d, that he is divine, you are automatically unable to emulate his teachings entirely - after all, you're made of mortal stuff. That is not to say that you should not keep trying, even if you miss the mark.

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I disagree that when it comes to violence that Christ set an example that man was "unable" to follow. I believe they were "unwilling" to follow.

Precisely.

Often difficult enough for those who believe in Christ, but in Maher's case....enough said to simply say that to those who are not believers in Christ it is all "foolishness." Not to say that they have any "better way" either, they just think they do because that's what they "will."

It's sort of like those who question why pro-life people don't go around killing abortion doctors and blowing up abortion clinics as a "rule," since they consider abortion to be the deliberate murdering of a child. They just don't get that the directive from Christ is "be angry (righteous anger), but in your anger do not also sin" in response.


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WRT being "unable" vs "unwilling", I believe that if you accept that Jesus is the son of G-d, that he is divine, you are automatically unable to emulate his teachings entirely - after all, you're made of mortal stuff. That is not to say that you should not keep trying, even if you miss the mark.

True.

But I don't think you have to be Christian to realize this. That was the whole point of the Old Testament, that we are incapable of "being perfect" and saving ourselves. That was, for example, the purpose of the 10 Commandments, to show not only what, according to God, SHOULD be done, but that no one is capable of keeping the Law perfectly, all the time, and that we are all guilty of sin and under the judgment of God for sin.

But in relation to the question raised here, and to your response, I have often wondered how and why the Jews (who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah) do not seem to also be following the Laws of the Torah. Additionally, if after all, we are all made of mortal stuff and DO "miss the mark" of perfection, and there is no longer any sacrifice by the Priests, how do the Jews currently gain forgiveness of sins?


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The movie should be highly entertaining.

Any flick that causes psycho fundamentalists to protest deserves to be seen.

As with most movies, you are not qualified to comment on it until you have seen it.


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Originally Posted by ForeverHers
It's sort of like those who question why pro-life people don't go around killing abortion doctors and blowing up abortion clinics as a "rule," since they consider abortion to be the deliberate murdering of a child. They just don't get that the directive from Christ is "be angry (righteous anger), but in your anger do not also sin" in response.

They aren't worried about sinning....they're more worried about being fresh meat in a prison than saving innocent babies.


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as usual, you have no clue as to what you are talking about.




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Originally Posted by medc
as usual, you have no clue as to what you are talking about.

I invite you to prove that I "don't know what I'm talking about".


YOU are the one commenting on a movie you haven't seen.


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Originally Posted by Krazy71
Originally Posted by ForeverHers
It's sort of like those who question why pro-life people don't go around killing abortion doctors and blowing up abortion clinics as a "rule," since they consider abortion to be the deliberate murdering of a child. They just don't get that the directive from Christ is "be angry (righteous anger), but in your anger do not also sin" in response.

They aren't worried about sinning....they're more worried about being fresh meat in a prison than saving innocent babies.

I am sure that you also were not all that concerned about your wife having sex with the OM when you walked in on them...you were more concerned about the possible stains on the couch. If you were really upset at what your wife did...wouldn't you have killed the OM?

HMMM...sound reasonable...nah....but you continue to dismiss others faith and use your less than intelligent arguments to support your theory...and to call pro life people liars.

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YOU are the one commenting on a movie you haven't seen.

I haven't critiqued the movie at all. I commented on Bill Maher.

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