Thoughts about Bill Maher’s new movie, Religulous

I recently saw Religulous, a film that’s billed as the “No. 1 sacrilegious comedy in America.†It’s supposedly a documentary, in which comedian Bill Maher (of Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect) travels the world asking religious practitioners questions about their faith. Though Maher makes fun of every world religion, as well as some minor ones, about two-thirds of the film focuses on Christianity.

At the beginning of the film, Maher says he’s on a spiritual journey. But instead of interviewing well-known pastors or Christian academics, Maher poses complicated theological and philosophical questions to truck drivers, a Christian bookstore owner, and an actor who plays Jesus at The Holy Land Experience, an Orlando theme park.

Los Angeles Times movie critic Kenneth Turan said Maher’s “reliance on skewering people who are no match for him in glibness, persuasiveness or even intelligence finally leaves a sour taste.†Indeed.

What we need is both far simpler and far more elusive than a larger circle of friends.

There are days when I think I’ll poke my eyes out if I have to read one more article about the power of girlfriends. I read these pieces and I think I know, I know, I know! Friends are great! I want friends! I don’t need to be convinced that friendship is a good idea!!

I don’t think any of us needs to be told we should have friends—are there really women out there who doubt this? I know that the people writing these articles have the very best of intentions for their readers. They know we sometimes feel lonely and isolated, and they want to help. I get that. But the help we need isn’t a push to make more friends or strengthen the friendships we have—we know that already. What we need is both far simpler and far more elusive than that. What we need is time.

Why our desire for hard-and-fast rules is misguided

As a professor of English who regularly teaches a course called Advanced English Grammar, I’m frequently approached by colleagues and friends and even total strangers wanting to know the “correct grammar†for something they’re writing. My answer is usually that there is no single right answer. Almost invariably, the issue the person’s struggling with is an issue that perplexes all writers—all, that is, except those under the spell of a grammar enthusiast who either inherited or invented rules to solve every problem.

When I tell people there’s no single right answer to their question, they usually get upset. Like my grammar students, they don’t want to have to analyze the grammatical context to figure out what’s best. They want a rule.

The most important thing students in my grammar course learn is that language changes. It changes over time. It changes with the influx of people who speak other languages. It changes as technology and cultural values evolve. It changes as we change.

“Language is wonderful that way!†I revel. “It’s not some tight little box of rules. It’s flexible, dynamic, a living thing. It’s human, real! That’s why we call Jesus ‘the Word.’â€

Learning to place my prodigal in God’s capable hands

Only my daughter Laura has the power to get me to eat a raw quail egg.

We did so at our favorite sushi restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she lives. I’d come from my home in Florida to speak at a conference and had only a few short hours to spend with her.

It’s been five years since she moved away from home, and I think I’ve finally, finally, finally (maybe) stopped thinking of her as some feral child who needs me hovering over her, guiding her every move, breath, decision, and thought.