Religulous

[Bonds_25]

Any one watched this film/documentary?

I'm assuming most people here do not like Bill Maher, but even if you don't like him I think it is worth a view.

Just curious as to what others who have seen the film think of it. Feel free to comment on any of the issues he raises in the film.

For me personally, I to an extent share his views on religion so I naturally found it interesting.

[OnePimpTiger]

I'm sure he makes some good points, he's an intelligent guy, but I can't stand him. To me, he is the liberal equivalent of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh...yes he makes some good points, but his main tactics are talking over people, cutting them off, misconstruing points, and just trying to belittle anyone who doesn't share his beliefs. I haven't seen Religulous, so he may not do that in this movie, but that's what usually happens in everything else I've seen of him.

[chljoe]

Not yet. I'm a big Bill Maher fan but I'm so far behind on movies and such it is ridiculous. I might get around to it this summer, hopefully.

[Star_Cards]

I must say that I'm not much of a fan of Mahr, but loved the movie. I'm sure it's partly because my religious beliefs are very similar to his. I never watched his TV show much, but in Religulous, I don't feel that he cuts people off. Of course some people get mad at some of his questions and beliefs, but that's expected when someone is questioning something that you base a lot of your life around.

Even if you are highly religious I would hope that you check out the film.

[Bonds_25]

He doesn't really cut people off in the movie, but he certainly cracks jokes at their responses. I think he tried to be as respectful as he could but as a comedian that was a difficult task for him to handle at times. Its difficult to let someone ramble on about something you believe is completely ridiculous but still, if he is serious about finding answers you have to find a way to respect them a little more. In some interviews he really did give them a fair shot, in others he got caught up with humor.

That said, he raises some excellent questions and points out several contradictions.

[OnePimpTiger]

Its difficult to let someone ramble on about something you believe is completely ridiculous

That's where I have a problem. Everyone's idea of what is completely ridiculous is different...intolerance and narrow-mindedness is the same no matter how it's presented and whether it's conservative or liberal. One of my pet peeves in this world is liberals saying they are open-minded and tolerant, while at the same time stereotyping and being intolerant.

[Bonds_25]

That's where I have a problem. Everyone's idea of what is completely ridiculous is different...intolerance and narrow-mindedness is the same no matter how it's presented and whether it's conservative or liberal. One of my pet peeves in this world is liberals saying they are open-minded and tolerant, while at the same time stereotyping and being intolerant.

Say for example, an individual was trying to explain to you that all children should be murdered. Would you sit and listen to their entire explanation?

In Bill's mind, religion is about as ridiculous as it gets so for HIM it is difficult to listen after a certain point. He does listen at first, it just eventually reaches a point where he no longer finds it useful. Granted, his patience with religion is limited compared to some of us.

[OnePimpTiger]

Say for example, an individual was trying to explain to you that all children should be murdered. Would you sit and listen to their entire explanation?

In Bill's mind, religion is about as ridiculous as it gets so for HIM it is difficult to listen after a certain point. He does listen at first, it just eventually reaches a point where he no longer finds it useful. Granted, his patience with religion is limited compared to some of us.

So religion is comparable to the belief that all children should be murdered?

[gatorboymike]

So religion is comparable to the belief that all children should be murdered?

"Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
-I Samuel 15:3

"He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of men and animals."
-Psalms 135:8

"...to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, His love endures forever."
-Psalms 136:10

"Happy shall be he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks."
-Psalms 137:8-9

"For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him."
-Leviticus 20:9

"And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son."
-II Kings 6:28-29

"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."
-Deuteronomy 21:18-21

"At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well."
-Exodus 12:29

"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."
-II Kings 2:23-24

"And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
-Leviticus 26:30

"Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished. See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children."
-Isaiah 13:15-18

"Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.'"
-Jeremiah 11:22-23

"In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives."
-Jeremiah 19:7-9

"Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the LORD's anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed."
-Lamentations 2:20-22

[Rockman]

I love religion.