Posted on 10/25/2004 5:37:38 AM PDT by jaydubya2
In person, Bill Maher the man is just like Bill Maher the TV character. Just as snarky, just as opinionated, just as curmudgeonly. Perpetually perturbed.
Few things, though, seem to get his dander up like religious folks.
"One of the many things that annoys me about religion is that it's arrogance masquerading as humility," he says. It's a sentiment he'll repeat on his HBO show a few weeks later. "How arrogant to think you know what happens to you after you die? You don't. That's your guess.
"It's arrogant to think that, if there is a force in the universe, this force, whom most people refer to as 'Him,' has the time and inclination to listen to your stupid, petty laundry list of what you want in this life. Prayer. That's another, silly Santa Claus notion. Pray to Santa, and he'll give you what you want. It's so silly. It's so childish. And so much of the world is getting over this," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Maher pauses and produces a stack of those blue TV note cards, like the kind Dave Letterman reads his top 10 list off of each night. Maher's blue cards contain factoids and statistics about religious beliefs and practices. He's searching for one particular statistic and, after a few moments of shuffling and flipping, he finds it.
In 1990, about 7 percent of the American population said they had "no religion," and in 2000, that number had doubled to 14 percent, he says.
"So, in 10 years, we've doubled the amount of people who say they don't have a religion," he says. "I find that incredibly encouraging."
The world would be much more "sane" without religion, Maher argues.
"So many of these born-agains, these evangelicals, when you hear them speaking, no matter what the question is, they can't leave Jesus out of it for two seconds," he says, his voice rising. "It's OK when you're a child. Children have an imaginary friend. When you get to be an adult, no more imaginary friends. But Jesus is their imaginary friend. Everywhere they go, everything they do, Jesus is along. Oh, Christ."
He thought that playmate was interested in him, and then he was all happy because he had the privilege of dumping a playmate. Whatever. It was his wad she liked, cash wad that is. He's a sniveling little turd who I can't bear to watch.
Yep, but they sure don't have a problem peppering all of their conversations with HIS name over and over again.
If Bill is an example of what it is like to be "sane" oh man we are in deep doo doo!!
I saw a breakdown on FR once of the number of people that were killed as a direct result of socialism---at least more than 50 million!
I saw a breakdown on FR once of the number of people that were killed as a direct result of socialism---at least more than 50 million!
"How arrogant to think you know what happens to you after you die? You don't. That's your guess."
Is it just Christianity he's attacking? Or should he go tell the terrorists to forget about the virgins?
Sorry, I'm too busy burning heretics to really care about transient popular figures.
One time Howard Stern had some Playboy chick on his show who read a letter that Maher had written to her in a pathetic attempt to score. It was incredibly embarrassing. Obviously, he blames God for the fact he's human waste with nothing to live for except his b-list "celebrity" and a couple sweaty-palmed visits to Hefner's "paradise."
Satan rules on earth. There is a reason why we pray "Thy Will be done on Earth as in Heaven" - His will isn't always done. We were left with the Holy Spirit until He comes back, and this is also for a reason.
Satan offered Jesus dominion over all the earth as he tempted Him in the desert. He had the power to make that offer.
We are sheep left to wolves. This is why becoming a Christian requires almost nothing but faith. Not money or talent or brains - just faith, yet for most accepting Jesus is the hardest thing in the world. Probably because it goes against everything the world asks of us.
A little man gaining speed on the down side of the curve.
How does he know that we don't know what happens after death? He doesn't --and we do know. He's simply expressing his erroneous opinion founded in ignorance and arrogance.
When a jackass like Maher starts to lecture about "arrogance" I turn the channel.
This boy needs to look like Satan.
>>One of the many things that annoys me about religion is that it's arrogance masquerading as humility<<<
He does not want anything making him feel guilty for his cocaine use and whore chasing.
Even more pathetic is his belief that anyone really listens to or cares what he has to say. Madalyn Murray O'Hair learned she couldn't singlehandedly destroy Christianity, and neither can Bill Maher.
Excellent post!!!
"It's been that way since the French Revolution."
Sadly, I think you're right, it is so true. Historical Criticism showed up soon after and it really caused the rise of religious Darwinism and even today's French/German/Europe prideful cynical selfishness.
I'd appreciate a link to that thread.
That is my understanding also.
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