The Gospel According to Bill Maher

I saw this interview with Bill Maher this morning, and I have been thinking about it all day. It concerns his new movie “Religulous.” The title is a combination of the words “religion” and “ridiculous.” You can probably guess from there the content of the movie.

I like Bill Maher. I vehemently disagree with him, but I like his honestly irreverent approach to things that make him mad. And in this case the thing that makes him mad is faith.

During the course of the interview Maher compares the doctrine of the Trinity to the tenets of Scientology in basic ridiculousness, and raises issues like why God doesn’t just defeat the devil once and for all, and why God has to speak to prophets in the desert when it is convenient that no one else is around, instead of making His own announcements. He decries religious people who seem not to know much about religion – his example is that very few people could give him a straight answer about the relationship between the devil and the Antichrist.

And, because it’s Bill Maher, the discussion turns political, and he says a lot of things that may make you mad. Ultimately, this interview, and the message of the movie, seems to be a call for uncertainty. Maher contends that it is being absolutely sure of religion that causes all the problems inherent in religion. That it is the belief that one has all the answers which is – to use a phrase from a previous post - the root of all evil. This is the mantra of our times.

And then Maher said something that I have been thinking about all day – at about 2 minutes and 50 seconds into part 2 of the interview, he says (confesses?) “I understand that not having faith is a luxury of having a good life. If you’re in prison, and a guy says, ‘All I got in here is Jesus’ – I kinda get that.”

And this reminded me of something Someone Else once said:
“It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick…for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13) The Gospel is not the gospel until you are desperate for good news. It is the condemned, the guilty, the unclean, who can appreciate the grace of God and Jesus’ offer of a seat at the table.

And this is what blows my mind about Jesus. He’s already been there. Anger and frustration at people who used religion for political gain? Decrying those who were sure they had all the right answers about God? Jesus already went there. He Himself later became condemned, a prisoner, a death row inmate. He said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Now, none of that necessarily answers Maher's questions. I think there are answers to those things, but I also think it isn't logical conundrums and existential questions that keep people from Christ. I think, ultimately, it comes down to whether you know that you need a Savior, and are asking the question, "How then can I be saved?" And that I think, is what the people of faith are to be about - to see that Jesus and the Gospel continues to go there. To the sick, the blind, the lame, the prisoner, the sinner – that He continues to be the light in every dark place.