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I first saw Religulous when it came out last fall, and I just recently saw it again on DVD. I searched the internet for Bill Maher's long, drawn out diatribe at the end of the documentary, and, unable to find it, I transcribed it directly from the DVD onto digital paper. You all may think that this is an astounding waste of time, but I found his words to be so moving and meaningful, that I just had to reiterate them.
(Excerpt from "Religulous" by Bill Maher)
“The plain fact is religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people, by irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state, not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of chicken. George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq, but he didn't learn a lot about it. ‘Faith’ means making a virtue out of not thinking. It’s nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith and enable and elevate it are our intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction.
“Religion is dangerous, because it allows human beings, who don’t have all the answers, to think that they do. Most people would think it’s wonderful when someone says ‘I’m willing lord. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.’ Except, that since there are no gods actually talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know - they just know - what happens when you die, I promise you, you don’t. How can I be so sure? Because I don’t know. And you do not possess mental powers that I do not. The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the ‘big questions’ is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that’s what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting shit dead wrong.
“This is why rational people, anti-religion-ists, must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who consider themselves only ‘moderately religious’ really need to look in the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings you actually comes at a terrible price. If you belonged to a political party or a social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, violence and sheer ignorance as religion is, you’d resign and protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, with the true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the billions of their fellow travelers. If the world does come to an end here or wherever, or if it limps into the future, decimated by the effects of a religion-inspired nuclear terrorism, let’s remember what the real problem was: that we learned how to precipitate mass-death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it. That’s it. Grow up or die.”
-Bill Maher
(EDIT: Please note that while I agree in a large part with Bill Maher's statements, I am not disagreeing with the existence of God. My disagreement is that human beings are capable of knowing anything about the existence of God, and that literally interpreting religious texts is detrimental to one's grasp of God and man. Turning to religion for the purpose of morale guidance and support is good. Turning to religion for answers as to the origin of man and earth, and the answer to what happens after we die, is less favorable in my opinion, but it gives potentially false hope. Again, this is simply how I choose to live my life. You are all welcome to live your lives how you choose to. Bottom line: "People will generally believe whatever makes living easiest. Who are we to take that away?" - Anonymous.)
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