You know, I always love to go off on religion; I think it’s one of those most deleterious things ever to come down the pike in human history. I think it has caused more misery. I think it stops people from thinking. Just think of the wasted energy. What could be done if people would channel the energy that they waste towards silly, superstitious pursuits?[1]
Now I think Maher is involved in silly superstitious pursuits himself, because in reality nothing could be farther from the truth. Ultimately, what is blind and bigoted is the erection of an imaginary dichotomy between faith and reason.
Speaking to followers of Christ, you might recall that the Apostle Peter says: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). The Bible not only claims that it’s God Word and thus true, but God cannot lie or contradict that which corresponds to reality. Therefore, the Bible presupposes the validity of reason.
Not only so but biblical faith is never blind faith, but rather faith placed in history and evidence. Put another way, the Bible makes many factual claims about reality and offers reasons or evidences in support of such truth claims. For example, the apostle Paul sets forth a list of people who saw Jesus Christ alive again for three day after His Death by crucifixion to remind the Corinthians that the resurrection was a testable and proven fact of history (1 Cor. 15:3-8)
In stark contrast to people like Bill Maher, the Bible promotes open-minded reasoning. Far from letting the facts lead where ever they may, Maher closes his mind to the possibly of supernaturalism and blindly places faith in philosophical naturalism, even when it’s tenets fly directly in the face of reason and evidence. He demonstrates a unique brand of idiosyncratic fundamentalism, because he begins with anti-supernatural bias and thus rejects God a priori. In place of reason and evidential substance, he traffics in rhetoric and emotional stereotypes as he did in Religulous.
Thankfully, God often uses evidence and sound reasoning, through the witness of reasonable Christians, to break through the blind faith of skeptics in order to turn them towards open-mined contemplation. Truly, the hearer can only fully rejoice in what the mind comprehends.
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[1] Bill Maher, CNN: Larry King Live, January 28, 2004.
3 comments:
Bill Maher is one of the most arrogant and condescending people on TV. It's simply amazing he winds up on serious political talk shows debating serious issues with the likes of George Will.
Yet it remains true that we must answer even the most aggravating individual with grace and humility. May God grant Christians in the public square gentleness and wisdom when engaged with the Bill Maher's of the world.
Hank -
I find it hard to believe that Paul's supposed list of people "seeing" Jesus in resurrected form could count as evidence of any substantial weight. This amounts to nothing more than mere hearsay and involves the circular reasoning of taking the account to be trustworthy and then using it as evidence of its trustworthiness.
Furthermore, your post seems to be an instance of the pot calling the kettle black. Although you claim to have been an atheist in the past, you are presently committed to the truth of Christianity in such a way that you are closed to where evidence might lead; that is, if it is away from the faith.
Bill Maher is hardly the critic you should be focused on. Rather, it would be more worth while to answer heavy hitters like Quintin Smith, Stephen Hawking and other more thoughtful skeptics.
It's easy to see through these types. It is plainly apparent that these folks are compelled to scoff by personal lifestyle, the combination of which is not mere coincidence (but common). They find cause through hiding behind silly 'cherry picked' red herring human arguments. By attacking one aspect of scripture, they find justification contrary to a God-given conscience. God cannot be mocked-- consequences will ensue (in their generation and/or the next). They know better than to argue other (condemning) aspects of their behavior detailed in Scripture cf. 2 Peter 2, 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:1-9.
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