Beth and I watched 2 movies this weekend. On Friday night we watched Religulous, with comedian Bill Maher. Maher is an atheist, raised Catholic but has a Jewish mother. The goal of the movie is to show how religion (or religious beliefs) are ridiculous and dangerous. I think most religious people would find it (and Maher) very offensive for his language and sexual references but anyone might be offended by Maher's total lack of respect for many people he interviewed. This doesn't mean it isn't also pretty funny.
On Saturday night we watched EXPELLED, with comedian Ben Stein, who is a Jewish theist (I don't know if he is "practicing" or not). The goal of this movie is to show how atheistic Darwinism has squelched free inquiry and operates today from a premise about the origin of life that is unprovable. I think most theists will want to cheer.
Neither movie attempts to be unbiased, but here is one fascinating aspect. Both men relate passionately to the suffering of the Holocaust and each places the primary blame on the other's side. So, Maher says it was a religious atrocity, or at least that Christians fostered antisemitism and religious believers were the ones committing the majority of atrocious acts. Stein says that atheistic Darwinism (giving rise to eugenics) was the underlying and driving theoretical basis of the Holocaust.
Of course, it doesn't have to be an either/or. Christian eugenicists were considered quite "progressive" even in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century. What's interesting is the way their allegiances and goals cause each comic to absolve the "contribution" of his constituents (theists/Darwinists). Interesting and totally "natural."
Neither movie attempts to be unbiased, but here is one fascinating aspect. Both men relate passionately to the suffering of the Holocaust and each places the primary blame on the other's side. So, Maher says it was a religious atrocity, or at least that Christians fostered antisemitism and religious believers were the ones committing the majority of atrocious acts. Stein says that atheistic Darwinism (giving rise to eugenics) was the underlying and driving theoretical basis of the Holocaust.
Of course, it doesn't have to be an either/or. Christian eugenicists were considered quite "progressive" even in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century. What's interesting is the way their allegiances and goals cause each comic to absolve the "contribution" of his constituents (theists/Darwinists). Interesting and totally "natural."
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