There were several ideas that Bill Maher covered in the movie that I feel entitled to share because they do a great job in pointing out the hypocrisy and ridiculousness of religion. The first one was at the beginning of the movie when he is talking to a Christian store owner. Bill Maher gets to talking about Santa Clause and the store owner cuts in to state that he doesn't believe in Santa Clause. Bill Maher then follows that with "of course not, a man who flies around on a sled and drops presents down the chimneys of everyone in the world in one night, thats ridiculous. Now a man who can hear every murmur from everyone in the world at one time, not that I get." The point that Bill Maher makes here is that the stories that religions talk about are as crazy as fairy tales that we were raised on as kids, but because we see these stories as "religion" no one questions them and I understand completely why people don't question them. It is completely out of fear, and that is why I have a problem with most organized religions, mainly christianity.
Fear is a very powerful thing, and I have come to see that it is so powerful that it can control billions of people. I find the reason that no one stands up to christianity is because of Hell, this imaginary place where everyone goes who does not follow God. Hell is said to be worse than anything you imagine, but Bill Maher follows the idea of hell up with the fact that he "has a problem with the fact that our supposed Lord has such a petty human emotion such as jealousy where he would send anyone who does not follow him to Hell, it is just ridiculous."
To go back to the idea of fear and also to change religions from christianity to Islam, fear is just as much of a reason why no one voices their opinions against that religion. In the movie, Bill Maher talks about a man who made a video voicing out against Islam. The man who created the movie was shot eight times and stabbed twice by islamic extremists. Why on earth would anyone voice out against Islam if they know they are going to be killed?
To move away from fear and onto hypocrisy, I would like to point out the main idea spoken by Jesus, who is believed to be the son of God, and what he preached. His main message was that money was evil. This idea is shown in Matthew 19:24 when jesus says "it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of heaven". If that is what Jesus believed then why do preachers drive fancy cars and own thousand dollar suits and why does the Vatican consist of elaborate buildings that look almost like palaces? Is that really what Jesus wanted?
Hypocrisy is just as noticeable in Islam. Bill Maher asked multiple Islamic people what the main message of Islam was and they all said peace. So why is it that a religion of peace is responsible for suicide bombings and terrorist attacks? Also, the website themessageofislam.com states that Islam is a religion that "holds no race, nationality, gender, or social class." However, in the movie Religulous, there is a designated corner for women to pray in The Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Also, no Jewish people are allowed in the temple. That sounds a lot like discrimination to me.
This movie did not change my views because I have always been against organized religion. I feel that almost every organized religion has strayed so far from it original beliefs that is is disgusting. It has strayed to far that religions with a foundation for giving to the poor and not worrying about money are now some of the most powerful businesses in the world and a religion based on peace and equality discriminates against women and kills everyone that speaks out against it. What I would rather have then people blindly follow their designated religions is for them to take their religion and see it with a judgmental eye. Look past the ridiculous stories and search for the true foundation of it because that is what religion was meant to be, a guide to living a better life.
