Thinking about Bill Maher's Faith

Awhile back I watched Larry King interview Bill Maher, a really funny comedian and very controversial commentator.  I can’t help but like Bill. Although I disagree with most of what he says, I admire his passion. When you listen to Bill Maher you never walk away wondering where he stands.  He’s like the atheist version of the Apostle Paul.

During this particular interview he told Larry King about a documentary film he produced called Religilous (a combination of the words “religious” and “ridiculous”).  I can’t really comment on the film because I haven’t seen it.  From what I understand, it has stimulated some discussion; maybe even influenced the spirituality of some people.

According to Maher, the film is designed to show how ridiculous it is for people to practice religion or have “faith.”  But here’s the obvious irony; Bill Maher is a person of faith.  He is a religious person.  He simply follows a different religion than I follow and he places his faith in a different belief system than mine.  Bill stakes everything on the belief that there is no God.  In the name of his religion (atheism) he hopes to stamp out other religions and he pursues this objective with great fervor.  All of this causes me to wonder about a couple things.

1.      I wonder why Bill so desperately seeks the “demise” (his word) of other religions.

He rightly observes that there has been (and continues to be) much violence done in the name of God.  But in all fairness, most of the major religions in the world do more good than bad in God’s name.  Christianity is a prime example.  Think of how many refugees are cared for, hungry are fed, homeless are housed and sick are healed because millions of people are living out a faith that calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

I can’t help but think that there is more to Bill’s animosity.  Maybe it comes from a bad religious experience (he was once a catholic) more than his sense of justice.  Perhaps he is trying to convince himself more than others that there is no God.  Otherwise why invest so much into the cause?  I don’t believe in unicorns but I don’t feel compelled to spend a lot of money producing a documentary designed to “prove” they don’t exist.

2.      One more thing I wonder about Bill. I wonder how he lives without hope.

With all due respect to Bill Maher, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.  Bill’s religion leads him to believe that when his time on earth is over there is nothing more.  There is no hope.  Honestly, as I watched the interview with Larry King I could hear the hopelessness in Bill’s voice.

I can’t imagine leaving this world in that frame of mind. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.  

Here’s the central message of Christianity.  There is a sovereign creator who cares deeply for his creation, including human beings.  The universe and all that is in it is not a cosmic accident.  God’s beautiful and good creation was broken and marred by the rebellion of created beings. 

Yet God is undaunted.  He has embarked on a redemption/restoration project of universal proportion.  The apostle Paul reflected this deeply held belief in a letter to some young Christians.  “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we are saved.”  (Romans 8:22-23)

So God set out to rescue his creation through the life, death and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ, God incarnate.  “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”  (1^st John 2:2)  He is the one who resurrects a dead and broken world. 

In the last book of the Bible the final scene begins to unfold.  John sees the new heaven and the new earth.  He sees the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.  Then he says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’  He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”  (Revelation 21:1-5)

We’re invited to embrace, to live into, this story.  This is the story of rescue, of redemption, of re-creation.  It resonates with the innate, intuitive need that humans feel for forgiveness and healing.  I believe we feel the need because the need is real.   

With all due respect to Bill Maher and others who believe and share a different story, I have chosen this one; Jesus Christ, the hope of the world!

One final note; as always I'm happy to interact with other people who have different opinions.  I promise to listen and respond respectfully.

Questions about Chick-fil-A Fan Fare

Now that the Chick-fil-A thing has had a chance to die down a little bit I thought I might reflect on some questions I have.  Maybe you can share some insight. (If you don’t know about the “chick-fil-a thing” stop reading now!)

Truth is, I couldn't resist… I tried.   For those of you who are just tired of reading about it, I totally understand.  So if you would rather read a blog that has pics of cute puppies or fluffy kittens that can get their whole body inside a toilet paper roll, be my guest.

For the rest of you who can’t look away from a wreck on the highway, here are a few questions from a fellow rubberneck.

1.      What were we thinking?

I mean that question literally.  When Christians responded the way we responded (whatever way that was) what was actually going on in our heads?

I like Dan Cathy.  I think that he is an honest person.  He hasn’t yet learned how to play politics.  I hope he doesn’t.  He doesn’t seem interested in giving interviews without actually saying something. 

So when he stated his views about traditional marriage I don’t think he was trying to be controversial.  I think he was just being honest.  I don’t know Cathy, but if I had to guess I would say that he probably wasn’t looking for the kind of public attention his comments received… from either side.  I’m guessing that the fan fare was not only unsolicited.  It was unwanted.   But I’m just guessing.

So when the Christian community turned out to patronize Chick-fil-A, I wonder what we were thinking.  Were we thinking, “We’ll support him!”  Or were we thinking, “We’ll show them.”  Seriously… honestly… what were we thinking?

I guess it's fine to show our support for a fellow Christian by giving him our patronage.  The gospel writers, however, seem to go to great lengths to describe Jesus as a bipartisan patron.  He ate at feasts hosted by the most prominent religious leaders.  He also ate and drank at the parties thrown by the most publically ridiculed sinners. 

I think motives are important. So I think followers of Jesus should not only ask, “What should we do?”  I think we also have to ask, “Why are we doing it?”

So what were we thinking… what were our motives?  Whatever our response, did it reflect the heart of Jesus?  Did it demonstrate his love?  Did it share his story?  Did it move people closer to him or push them further away?

In the middle of all of the hoopla around Chick-fil-A I heard about a man who was standing in line to buy his meal on “Chick-fil-A appreciation day.”  Of course there were also protestors there as well.  While waiting to be served the man yelled at the protestors, “Eat more chicken!”  So here’s my question, “What was he thinking?”

2.      Who do we think we are?

I mean that question literally too.  When we look in the mirror who or what do we see?  Here’s another way to ask the question.  Do we view the world in “us and them” categories? 

In my opinion, one thing that the biblical revelation makes really clear is that there is no “us and them.”  There is only us. 

This world is populated by broken people who, deep in our being, long for healing, redemption, restoration.  To put it another way, we are all sinners. To quote the apostle Paul, (who was, in part, quoting several Jewish poems/Psalms)

“What shall we conclude then?  Are we any better?  Not at all!  We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.  As it is written:  ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’”  (Romans 3:9-12)  You gotta love Paul!    

So when we think about who we are as human beings what is our default way of viewing ourselves? Do we see one group of people who all struggle in our sin?  Or do we tend to divide people into categories of our own creation.

The truth is, if I understand the Bible correctly, we are all sinners.  I’m a sinner.  You’re a sinner (sorry to be the one to break it to you).  Your sin, whatever it is, is no worse than mine.  Mine is no worse than yours.  We are all people who all need God’s forgiveness and healing which is freely extended to all of us.

To be honest, I sometimes wonder if we miss the healing of God because we don’t really see ourselves as patients.  Who do we think we are?  

3.      What about next time?

Here’s what I mean by this question.  The next time the Christian community has the opportunity to make a very public statement about a very public controversy, what do we want to say?  What will we do next time?

What messages will our fellow sinner citizens get?  Will they be blown away by how gracious we are?  Will they be captivated by our warmth, our love, our kindness, our gentleness, our compassion?  Will they be uncomfortably drawn to Jesus Christ, so much so that they are compelled to start asking questions about him?  Will they be troubled by how humble followers of Jesus are?  Will we all have a God moment together?

I don’t know… I’m just asking.

JESUS: The Ultimate Party Person!

Let’s talk about parties!  There’s a pretty impressive party story recorded by the Apostle John in the second chapter of his gospel.

In this text John describes the first miracle Jesus performed.  Now, if you’re going to present yourself as the Jewish Messiah in the 1^st century, you want to be sure that the first public demonstration (John called it a “sign”) of your power summarizes what your Kingdom is all about.

With that in mind, it is interesting that Jesus chose a wedding feast as the context for his first miracle and the miracle he chose was to turn water into wine.  He could have healed someone who was born blind or even raised someone from the dead.  But instead, for his first miracle, Jesus chose to supply a party with wine.  Why?

When Jesus came to them, the Jewish people had been oppressed for many years.  Amos’ vision of the land of Israel being a place where “new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills” must have seemed like a distant memory.  (Amos 9:13-15)  But those attending the wedding feast that day saw a Messiah who could make wine flow from water jars.  Over 120 gallons of wine! Now that’s some party!

I believe there is something very important going on here.  I think this miracle is a definitive statement about the nature of Jesus’ ministry.  Ultimately Jesus Christ came to host a party.  Jesus is the Lord of the feast and those who come to him are invited to taste and see that he is good. 

Over and over again in the gospels Jesus describes the Kingdom as a party to which all are invited.  In the book of Revelation, John (the same one who wrote about the wedding feast in his gospel) describes “the wedding supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:6-9)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget that the story we’re living in now ends with a really big party where “the dwelling of God is with men…” and “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Perhaps you and I need to re-read the story of the wedding feast from time to time. Maybe we need to read it and remember that Jesus is the Lord and the Life of the party… literally!  This is the Jesus we walk with every day!  This is the Jesus whose Spirit lives within us!  This is the Jesus we tell people about!  This is the Jesus who invites us all to the party!