Anti-God Movie Attempts to Raise People's Doubts

Bill Maher is a comedian who sometimes has a funny and truthful take on politics. But he is out of his league now, launching a crusade against religion on the big screen.

Maher, who has been picking on organized religion for years on his TV shows "Politically Incorrect" and "Real Time," zealously traveled the world for "Religulous," his documentary challenging the validity and value of Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths.

I heard from a Christian person who saw an advanced screening. She said it is an offensive, caustic, bomabastic attack on religion, Christianity in particular. The movie opens Friday in theaters around the country.

Raised in a Roman Catholic household by a Catholic father and Jewish mother, Maher decided at an early age that the trappings and mythology of the world's religions were preposterous, outdated and even dangerous.

"Religulous," directed by fellow doubter Larry Charles ("Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"), is intended to inspire similar skepticism in others — and perhaps get nonbelievers to talk more openly about their lack of faith.

"I'm not looking to form an anti-religion religion. That would defeat the purpose," Maher said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Religulous" played in advance of its theatrical release Friday. "It's the nature of the people who are not believers that they're individuals, they're individualistic. They don't join and all lock arms and say, `We all believe this and so it must be true because we have strength in numbers.'"

"When you're talking about a man living to 900 years old, and drinking the blood of a 2,000-year-old god, and that Creation Museum where they put a saddle on the dinosaur because people rode dinosaurs. It's just a pile of comedy that was waiting for someone to exploit."

Charles shot 400 to 500 hours of material around the world as Maher visited a Christian chapel for truckers in North Carolina, a gay Muslim bar in the Netherlands, the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, and Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy places in Israel.

Maher meets with priests at the Vatican, chats with rabbis and Muslim scholars in Jerusalem, encounters street preachers in London, and hangs out with the performer who plays Christ in a crucifixion enactment at the Holy Land Experience theme park in Florida.

The doubting duo claims that Christianity, Islam and Judaism were the trinity of faiths at the heart of Western conflict.

Charles grew up Jewish and once considered becoming a rabbi but was discouraged by his parents, who told him to "get bar-mitzvahed, get the checks and then get the hell out," he said. He said he now shares Maher's position: Heavy on doubt about the existence of a supreme being, even heavier on certainty that organized religion is hazardous to humanity's health.

"If I believe that Jesus is God and you believe Mohammed is God, then no matter how tolerant we are, we are never going to meet," Charles said. "All you have to do is push that one more step, then somebody's like, `You're in the way of people believing in Jesus,' and `You're in the way of people believing in Mohammed,' and the only answer is to kill you.

"Unfortunately, that sort of thing dominates the religious landscape, not the Mother Teresas of the world. She becomes the aberration. ... The altruistic wing of religion has been minimized and this militaristic, warmongering fundamentalism has become the dominant presence."

Maher openly scorns remarks made by Christians, Jews and Muslims he interviews. He hopes audiences will laugh with him, and that "Religulous" will stand as a testament for people who share his scorn.

"It is a sobering thought to think that the U.S. Congress has 535 members and there's not one who represents this point of view, and yet there are tens of millions of Americans who feel this way," Maher said.

When I read Maher's remarks it makes me so sad that he obviously has never met the Lord Jesus that I and a multitude of my friends know. Bill Maher is a harsh, sad, little man whose hate has made him rich, but he is hollow at his core. And he is being used by forces greater than him to spit at God and the people who respect God.

Pray for Bill Maher. He needs it.

Rely on the Blessing of the Holy Spirit!

PRAISE GOD FOR THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth:
for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me ..." John 16:13, 14
1. The Holy Spirit

A. With the ascension of Christ we have the arrival of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Acts 2) who ministers to the Church through the mediation of Christ (1 Tim. 2:5) and the Scriptures.

B. He is fully God; He is not a force. He is the third person of the Trinity.

i. He has a will - 1 Cor. 2:11 ii. He speaks - Acts 13:2
iii. He loves - Rom. 15:30
iv. He can be grieved - Eph. 4:30
v. He convicts of sin - John 16:8
vi. He creates - Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4
vii. He gives gifts - 1 Cor. 12:8
viii. He Intercedes - Rom. 8:26
ix. He teaches - John 14:26
x. He testifies of Jesus - John 15:26
xi. He baptizes - 1 Cor. 12:13
xii. He guides - John 16:13
xiii. He encourages - Acts 9:31
xiv. He empowers - Micah 3:8
xv. He gives joy - Rom. 14:17
xvi. He comforts - John 14:16-26

C. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer (Rom. 8:11) and continues to work in him to bring about sanctification (Rom. 15:16).

D. The Holy Spirit illuminates the mind of the believer (1 Cor. 2:12,13) and reveals to Him the things of God (1 Cor. 2:10,13; 1 John 2:27).

Acts 2:2-4 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:38 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Gal 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (KJV)

Be Truthful -- Let your Yes Be Yes!

"I approve this message" the ads say, and we see the candidate's benevolent face. Sometimes the ads contain outright lies, but the approval is still there. It seems that lying in political campaigns is thought of by many people as "par for the course" and "to be expected."

Yet I see it as a symptom of a national spiritual sickness. Where is the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) in all of this? Do you want people lying about you? Has our respect for the truth evaporated in 21st century America?

Truthfulness is at the heart of the Gospel. God gives us the truth and He expects us to give the truth to each other, not manipulate the facts deceitfully to our advantage.

We need to go no further than the words of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount to see the importance of truthfulness and integrity. The principle that is present in Matthew 5:33-37 is to simply let your word be trustworthy enough to stand on its own. Jesus was simply instructing his audience to let their speech be so truthful that their “yes” meant “yes” and their “no” meant “no.”

The Sermon on the Mount provides Christians with a high standard for ethical living and right motivations. It is provides a solid ethical foundation to stand on in a morally-compromising world. However, just as the pain in a friend's body did not subside until she took some medicine, so too the principles found in the Sermon on the Mount will have no effect on our behavior unless we internalize them as well.

Let your yes be yes. Be truthful in all your dealings. This is the Word of God to you and me.

Living for Jesus -- A Checkup from the Heart Up

Here is a wonderful rendering of what we are to be as Christians --

Striving to be found faithful to
the Great Commission (Matthew 28),
the Great Commandment (John 13), and
the Great Community (I Peter 4), in accordance with
the Great Criteria (Matthew 25) of the least, the last, and the lost.

Questions for Churches and the Christians that are part of them:

Grace - Are we demonstrating the grace of God in this and every situation?

Biblically Grounded - Are we looking to the Bible as our guide for faith and practice?

Prayer - Are we consciously aware of our utter dependence upon God through prayer?

Reconciliation - Are we active participants in God's program to reconcile people to God and to each other?

Inclusiveness - Are we being careful to not limit anyone's participation based on unbiblical criteria?

Stewardship of Life - Are we responsibly managing all the resources that have been entrusted to our care?

Evangelism and Discipleship - Are we giving adequate attention both to reaching the world with the gospel and to nurturing the spiritual formation of the church?

Simplicity and Clarity - Are we sure we are communicating as simply and clearly as possible?

Autonomy and Interdependence - Are we balancing our individual rights and responsibilities with our responsibilities as a part of the larger community of faith?

Strategic Focus on Children and Youth - Are we utilizing the greatest window of opportunity to reach people for Christ?

Gift-, Ability-, Talent-, and Personality-Based Service - Are we helping people find their optimal place of service based on who they are?

Servant Leadership - Are we following Jesus' model and teaching to be the servant of all?

Radical Discipleship - Are we encouraging one another to make radical commitments to live for Christ?

ARE WE LIVING FOR JESUS EACH DAY?

The Blessing of a Wedding

I officiated at weddings the past two weekends and they were special occasions. You see how special life can be at a wedding. It is a service filled with promise, a ceremony that paints a bright picuture of what the future might be. At the heart of the service is a belief that God will be a partner in the marriage.

Hear is a prayer for all marriages -- O GRACIOUS GOD. Bless this marriage, as this couple continues their journey down the road of life together. Please bless their going in and the coming out, and every step along the way of their lives together. Oh Lord, we thank you for the union of hearts. We know that Heaven sings in triumph each day for the blessed and powerful love they share and that that love unveils the glory of your name. May they always walk with you by their side. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN!