Recently 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. I’m sure it will stimulate a lot of discussion; maybe even influence 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 purses this objective with great fervor. All of this causes me to wonder about a couple things.

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. 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.

One more thing I wonder about Bill. I wonder how he lives without hope. The Apostle Paul once said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1^st Corinthians 15:19) 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. Why not put your hope and faith in Jesus Christ instead? What do you have to lose? If Bill Maher is right and there is no God, when I die I will never know that my faith was futile. But if I’m right and God is real, when Bill dies he will have to face that fact that his faith was. 

Something to think about!