One of the best documentaries I have seen this year, Bill Maher's Religulous takes on the current state of world religions. Below I transcribed the monologue he gives in the last 10 minutes of the movie, which I thought was brilliant. Enjoy!
"The irony of religion is, that because of its powers to divert man to destructive courses, the world actually could come to an end. The plain fact is that religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very late to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people; by irrationalists; by those who would steer the ship of fate not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken.
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 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 is wonderful when someone says, “I’m willing lord! I will do what ever you want me to do”. Except that since there really are no gods talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions, limitations, and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die; I promise you that you don’t. How can I be so sure? Because I don’t know, and you do not posses 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-religionists, 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 would resign in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife for 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 religion inspired nuclear terrorism, lets 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."
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 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 is wonderful when someone says, “I’m willing lord! I will do what ever you want me to do”. Except that since there really are no gods talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions, limitations, and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die; I promise you that you don’t. How can I be so sure? Because I don’t know, and you do not posses 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-religionists, 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 would resign in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife for 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 religion inspired nuclear terrorism, lets 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."
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