Is Religulous Worth Watching?

[Greg Bernhardt]

I am really excited to see this movie, it looks like a riot. However, it does seem like it's done in the same annoying style as a Michael Moore movie and bill mahr sounds a bit like a creep. Anyone seen it yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB8fPJ6zds8

 

[Cyrus]

I can't wait. I love Bill Maher, he's hilarious.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I love Bill Maher and will surely watch this. But, in the promo clips shown on TV, just as with many of George Carlins jokes, anyone with some training in mainstream Christian theology can answer the questions posed as punch lines. These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

yeah I saw in an interview he defined it as a comedy, so he himself is not taking it too seriously.

 

[CaptainQuasar]

I love Bill Maher and will surely watch this. But, in the promo clips shown on TV, just as with many of George Carlins jokes, anyone with some training in mainstream Christian theology can answer the questions posed as punch lines. These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

But hearing the theology behind speaking in tongues, for example, doesn't make it seem any less silly when you actually see someone doing it. And also, my experience has been that Christians frequently do not know the theology behind articles of faith that they hold. And some things that I've seen Maher mention, like angels that directly and frequently intervene in people's lives, are folk beliefs that aren't supported by mainstream theology, I think.

I certainly think the movie's going to be pandering to a particular market but there's still value in this sort of thing.

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[Ivan Seeking]

But hearing the theology behind speaking in tongues,

I said mainstream.

 

[WarPhalange]

You've never been down south, have you?

 

[Moonbear]

Looks like it could be funny, but I'm not sure I'd want to watch an entire feature-length movie of Bill Maher's sarcasm. I think it would get old after about 10 minutes.

 

[binzing]

It's mahEr...

Looks good. I saw him in an interview on the daily show, it was great.

 

[russ_watters]

However, it does seem like it's done in the same annoying style as a Michael Moore movie and bill mahr sounds a bit like a creep.

Bill Marh is a bit of a creep, but I don't see it as being the same style as Moore. Mahr is a comedian and intends to be funny. He uses humor to point out irony. Moore just attacks people in a mean-spirited way. I'm not saying his motives aren't similar, but the approach makes him somewhat less of a creep than Moore.

Also, I know it is just a trailer, but I didn't get the impression from it that he uses deception as one of his primary debate tools. If that's true of him, that also makes him less of a creep than Moore.

 

[LightbulbSun]

I love Bill Maher and will surely watch this. But, in the promo clips shown on TV, just as with many of George Carlins jokes, anyone with some training in mainstream Christian theology can answer the questions posed as punch lines. These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

The theologians responses are claptrap and you know it. I've asked several times serious questions about religion, and they either dodge the question, or their response is meaningless.

 

[Gokul43201]

I watched the movie, and it had a lot of laughs. The editing was good for the most part, but kinda immature at times. Nothing special about the sound, music or camera work. That's about all I can review without breaking Forum Guidelines.

 

[Gokul43201]

But, in the promo clips shown on TV, just as with many of George Carlins jokes, anyone with some training in mainstream Christian theology can answer the questions posed as punch lines. These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

And for the same reason, anyone in mainstream Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Islamic or Jewish theology can answer any questions posed to them since surely, people have asked those questions before as well. Or at least, by now, they should have figured out how to BS their way through questions they can't really answer.

There are questions that have been asked of science for hundreds of years and most all scientists will concede that they do not have any good answers to many of these questions. Theologians, however, if Ivan is right, have the answers to all questions. That's pretty amazing, if it's true.

 

[LightbulbSun]

And for the same reason, anyone in mainstream Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Islamic or Jewish theology can answer any questions posed to them since surely, people have asked those questions before as well. Or at least, by now, they should have figured out how to BS their way through questions they can't really answer.

There are questions that have been asked of science for hundreds of years and most all scientists will concede that they do not have any good answers to many of these questions. Theologians, however, if Ivan is right, have the answers to all questions. That's pretty amazing, if it's true.

People have this weird, distorted view that science needs to have absolute answers, otherwise it's unreliable. Trying to help break that distorted view, through personal experience, is a waste of time and energy.

 

[JasonRox]

I don't understand all the hatred against Moore.

I met people from France this summer (many of them) and I asked almost all of them about their country, health, school and such. Unemployment being high was the only thing that was bad. Everything else they described was exactly as Moore said. He also never talked about employment, so technically he never lied.

I met people from the US, such as you guys, and also asked you guys, and it came out exactly as he said it. You get screwed on health insurance and you should not put your life on it because you can get rejected for trying to save your own life.

We can talk about the Cuba thing, but that's tricky. I can't see an American arguing against because I doubt there are many Americans that have been there. Canadians here go there all the time and there seemed to be nothing wrong what he said either when they went to hospitals or clinics.

Anyways, not to high jack the thread. (I'm not the one who mentionned Moore.)

Since I don't watch movies or TV often, I doubt I am going to see it.

 

[Marie Cury]

No matter what it was/is, their God has been worshipped by many people, respect is needed

 

[NeoDevin]

No matter what it was/is, their God has been worshipped by many people, respect is needed

Tolerance is needed, respect must be earned.

 

[Evo]

No matter what it was/is, their God has been worshipped by many people, respect is needed

I want to remind everyone that you are critiquing a movie only.

 

[WarPhalange]

I haven't seen the movie, but I heard that while it is hilarious at first, it kind of drags on, and the ending is kind of slapped together, because really, you now have to go back out there will all those people you were laughing at and realize that it's completely serious for them.

No matter what it was/is, their God has been worshipped by many people, respect is needed

Why?

 

[LightbulbSun]

I don't understand all the hatred against Moore.

He takes everything to a conspiracy level. He's a poor man's version of http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=alex+jones&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=".

We can talk about the Cuba thing, but that's tricky. I can't see an American arguing against because I doubt there are many Americans that have been there. Canadians here go there all the time and there seemed to be nothing wrong what he said either when they went to hospitals or clinics.

Cuba has been known to skew their data, yet Moore still takes this data at face value because it supports his position. If it hadn't, he'd find some way to omit it and completely disregard Cuba altogether.

 

[russ_watters]

I don't understand all the hatred against Moore.

He also never talked about employment, so technically he never lied.

Asked and answered! Moore is very careful about what he says and how he says it and can rarely be caught in an actual lie. But you seem to understand that despite that, he is intentionally deceptive. You don't need to lie to be intentionally deceptive.

 

[JasonRox]

Asked and answered! Moore is very careful about what he says and how he says it and can rarely be caught in an actual lie. But you seem to understand that despite that, he is intentionally deceptive. You don't need to lie to be intentionally deceptive.

Of course you don't have to lie.

But really, I would still choose France regardless of the unemployment. I'd feel better off there with a dead end job than a middle income job in the US.

 

[Moonbear]

The editing was good for the most part, but kinda immature at times.

That's what I expect of Maher, which is why I couldn't watch it for a full-length movie. I can never watch his entire show on TV either. His show is one of those I enjoy best while flipping channels. Catch a few jokes, laugh, then get bored with the tone and move to another channel.

It's not that he's the only one to ask the questions though, but more that he's the only one who would dare walk up and ask them with a camera rolling and document the ridiculousness of the answers to those questions, or that even though they've been asked so many times, they still can't offer any kind of answer to them, and it doesn't phase the people being asked that they can't answer them.

 

[Kurdt]

Stewart Lee a British stand up did a http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn2NMzb0OXU&feature=related" about religious censorship on channel five after he had the religious right picketed an opera he co-wrote with Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer the Opera). I could see the point in his very well made program but I think I'd find it distasteful if this guy just set out to make people look ridiculous for the purposes of entertainment.

 

[wolram]

I want to remind everyone that you are critiquing a movie only.

Yes, good for a South Park type film, but every one can get their own truths from it.

 

[WarPhalange]

I think I'd find it distasteful if this guy just set out to make people look ridiculous for the purposes of entertainment.

There's making people look ridiculous like in Borat*, where you apparently get people drunk and egg them on to say something racist, and there's simply going up to them and asking "What do you believe?" and hearing the answer.

Religion has had too cushy of a place not only (and especially) in America, but the world. Ridiculing those stupid beliefs makes you "intolerant" and "hateful" simply because it's a case of majority rules. When it is only one person with specific beliefs of super-powers and magic, we claim that person is mentally unstable and needs psychiatric help, but when it's 1 million people, it's fine because it's a religion. I see absolutely no difference and those people get no respect from me. They might be good people, but I still don't have to respect their religion, just them for being good people.

*I've never seen the movie but I heard there was a scene like that there. My apologies if that's not actually true.

 

[Kurdt]

There is a difference between mocking because you can and doing so while illustrating a point. What I meant was it would be particularly sad for everyone if the film didn't raise and elucidate any real issues.

 

[CaptainQuasar]

Response [post=1905198]to Ivan[/post] about speaking in tongues: belief in speaking in tongues is a totally mainstream Christian belief. In most sects it doesn't occur frequently during worship but it's mentioned all over the place in the New Testament - like during the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost" ). To me, that says that speaking in tongues has been a native practice / phenomenon in Christianity right from the very beginning.

⚛​

 

[moe darklight]

I love Bill Maher and will surely watch this. But, in the promo clips shown on TV, just as with many of George Carlins jokes, anyone with some training in mainstream Christian theology can answer the questions posed as punch lines. These comedians are too much some times: Do they really think that no one has ever asked these questions before? They are appealing to ignorance as much as they ridicule the same.

Have you heard these "answers" though?
I ask these questions all the time to rabbis and other trained theologians... well, not ALL the time , there are times when I'm doing other things, like eating, but I've done it enough times.

The answers to these questions always involve either answers as ridiculous as the paradoxes they suppose to disprove, or some pseudo-intellectual "gotcha" catchphrase like "well, God exists outside of time and logic."
O. OK. So God is proven by the fact that his existence makes no sense. Thanks.


OK, sorry for going off into the forbidden zone of forum thread doom.
I can't wait to see this movie (once it's on DVD). I don't really find Bill Maher childish: he's a comedian; he's supposed to make a funny. But if you take away all that comedic hyperbole and dickish persona, he does make sense and his views are actually quite balanced and fair.

Michael Moore... I dunno, he just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. When he uses hyperbole, he doesn't use it as a comedian, he tries to pass it off as fact. Like someone said, he's not exactly lying, but I don't think he's being too honest either.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Have you heard these "answers" though?
I ask these questions all the time to rabbis and other trained theologians... well, not ALL the time , there are times when I'm doing other things, like eating, but I've done it enough times.

The answers to these questions always involve either answers as ridiculous as the paradoxes they suppose to disprove, or some pseudo-intellectual "gotcha" catchphrase like "well, God exists outside of time and logic."
O. OK. So God is proven by the fact that his existence makes no sense. Thanks.


OK, sorry for going off into the forbidden zone of forum thread doom.
I can't wait to see this movie (once it's on DVD). I don't really find Bill Maher childish: he's a comedian; he's supposed to make a funny. But if you take away all that comedic hyperbole and dickish persona, he does make sense and his views are actually quite balanced and fair.

Michael Moore... I dunno, he just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. When he uses hyperbole, he doesn't use it as a comedian, he tries to pass it off as fact. Like someone said, he's not exactly lying, but I don't think he's being too honest either.

If you think that a person's religion is rediculous to begin with then why would you expect them produce answers based on their faith that you do not see as rediculous.

A good example of an answer to the questions Maher asks...
Why doesn't god get rid of the devil?
The devil doesn't exist. The devil is mentioned no where in the bible as far as I know. "Satan"/"Shatan" is mentioned... he is a servant of god, a lesser angel that tests the faith of men at the behest of god.
Many things in mainstream christian beliefs have no basis in their theology.