Obama and President Gul of Turkey press conference.
Cankaya Palace
Ankara, Turkey
Obama:
"That's something that's very important to me. And I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is -- although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
Preamble: a preliminary or preparatory statement; an introduction...
Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution..
Alaska 1956, Preamble We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.
Arizona 1911, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...
Arkansas 1874, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...
California 1879, Preamble We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom...
Colorado 1876, Preamble, We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe...
Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.
Delaware 1897, Preamble Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshiping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.
Florida 1885, Preamble We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution...
Georgia 1777, Preamble We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...
Hawaii 1959, Preamble We , the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance ... Establish this Constitution.
Idaho 1889, Preamble We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.
Illinois 1870, Preamble We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil , political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.
Indiana 1851, Preamble We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.
Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the St ate of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish this Constitution.
Kansas 1859, Preamble We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.
Kentucky 1891, Preamble.. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties…
Louisiana 1921, Preamble We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.
Maine 1820, Preamble We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity... And imploring His aid and direction.
Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...
Massachusetts 1780, Preamble We....the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction
Michigan 1908, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom, establish this Constitution.
Minnesota, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:
Mississippi 1890, Preamble We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.
Missouri 1845, Preamble. We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness. Establish this Constitution...
Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution.
Nebraska 1875, Preamble We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom. Establish this Constitution.
Nevada 1864, Preamble We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution...
New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.
New Jersey 1844, Preamble We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.
New Mexico 1911, Preamble We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty..
New York 1846, Preamble We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.
North Carolina 1868, Preamble We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those...
North Dakota 1889, Preamble We , the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...
Ohio 1852, Preamble We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common.
Oklahoma 1907, Preamble Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this
Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences
Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance....
Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing...
South Carolina, 1778, Preamble We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
South Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties.
Tennessee 1796, Art. XI..III. That all men have a natural and indefensible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...
Texas 1845, Preamble We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.
Utah 1896, Preamble Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.
Vermont 1777, Preamble Where as all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man.
Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other
Washington 1889, Preamble We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution
West Virginia 1872, Preamble Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...
Wisconsin 1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...
Wyoming 1890, Preamble We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this Constitution...
My Question to you the reader Christian or not, is Obama's denial of the heritage of this country a "progressive" move, an ignorant gaff, or an intentional underminding of this country?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Find Fitna
The call for liberty has many battle fronts today... Its economic front is with communism masked as an environmental movement. Its social front is a lack of nationalistic pride in the form of dictated multiculturalism. The fight for liberty itself, the front for individuality is with Islam.
People will try to deter you from your quest for truth by calling you a racist, greedy, and bigot...remember that these movements away from real liberty have grown under the protection and freedoms our liberty has provided.
Freedom is a responsibility as these battle fronts have been delivered through a "Trojan Horse" of legislation and "tolerance" yet the people who subscribe to these beliefs of multiculturalism, environmentalism, and Islam are the most intolerant of groups.
If "climate change" is true, WHEN WERE THE DEBATES?
IF Multiculturalism is of value to be sought after why does it mean abandoning American Culture on its path?
If Islam wants peace, show me when and where they have been peaceful.
We are at war with ourselves in that we have been so secure in our liberty for so long we have become apathetic to a world that hates our freedom. A world like that cannot possibly exist to us. We are told that the real evil is corporate greed, beyond that "evil" doesn't exist. We have abandoned justice and have replaced it with a subjective "right and wrong", we have been lead to believe that people are not wrong, they are instead "victims" who cannot be responsible for the events that made them who they supposedly are.
This mentality has caused a sterilization in our will to fight having our innate convictions of an objective moral truth questioned not with reason but instead questioned by the numbers of a lost mob that has no beliefs. We lack the will to fight not because we lack the courage but instead becasue we lack the urgency... Yet we fight an enemy that sees only urgency.
Liberty is what we fight for; the freedom to love and hate, the freedom to agree and disagree, the freedom to demand justice, and for a short time while we have it, a freedom to fight for our liberty...
The hour is upon us, now is not the time to sleep...
To see the movie Fitna please cut and past the link below in your browser...
http://www.themoviefitna.com/fitna-the-movie/
People will try to deter you from your quest for truth by calling you a racist, greedy, and bigot...remember that these movements away from real liberty have grown under the protection and freedoms our liberty has provided.
Freedom is a responsibility as these battle fronts have been delivered through a "Trojan Horse" of legislation and "tolerance" yet the people who subscribe to these beliefs of multiculturalism, environmentalism, and Islam are the most intolerant of groups.
If "climate change" is true, WHEN WERE THE DEBATES?
IF Multiculturalism is of value to be sought after why does it mean abandoning American Culture on its path?
If Islam wants peace, show me when and where they have been peaceful.
We are at war with ourselves in that we have been so secure in our liberty for so long we have become apathetic to a world that hates our freedom. A world like that cannot possibly exist to us. We are told that the real evil is corporate greed, beyond that "evil" doesn't exist. We have abandoned justice and have replaced it with a subjective "right and wrong", we have been lead to believe that people are not wrong, they are instead "victims" who cannot be responsible for the events that made them who they supposedly are.
This mentality has caused a sterilization in our will to fight having our innate convictions of an objective moral truth questioned not with reason but instead questioned by the numbers of a lost mob that has no beliefs. We lack the will to fight not because we lack the courage but instead becasue we lack the urgency... Yet we fight an enemy that sees only urgency.
Liberty is what we fight for; the freedom to love and hate, the freedom to agree and disagree, the freedom to demand justice, and for a short time while we have it, a freedom to fight for our liberty...
The hour is upon us, now is not the time to sleep...
To see the movie Fitna please cut and past the link below in your browser...
http://www.themoviefitna.com/fitna-the-movie/
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Introspection:
I cannot say that I consider this a real post… Today I am feeling a bit introspective and in all honesty a bit defeated. I have worked for the same company for almost 15 years… When you are in your early 30’s like I am you feel like you life is completely invested into something like this. This company I work for was worth multi-millions about 8 months ago and now it seems we are worth our debt today. In the last few months we have had 2 major layoffs, 3 substantial pay decreases and a slow down in daily motion. I wasn’t one of the lay-offs but many good people I’ve known for years were.
Here is my question if I can ask America one things:
What philosophy of life made it possible to open a company like this? Was it, “take from the haves and give it to the have-nots”? Or was it a structure that allowed the have nots to dream and go for it and become a have?
I have seen so many news reports castigating capitalism as if “greed” was that reason of the economic down turn. I am utterly speechless that people feel that some banker making too much money (according to them) affected their own opportunity to make more money. It is a complete non sequitur; one has nothing to do with the other.
We have in our government a party which is emboldened by a failing America. They institute unions that make the individual worthless and give power only to the masses so that those who do not work hard swallow your individual hard work wholly. The Declaration of Independence said in no uncertain terms that “…all men are created equal…” it gave power to the individual. This party continues to raise taxes and hides behind an impenetrable bureaucracy so that you no longer are a human but a social-security number or worse a debtor… These taxes are uses to herd us into brackets and lifestyles that they deem fit according to their ideologies, all the while demanding that Christians leave their values out of the public circle; Ironically forgetting that it was judeo/christian values that created this platform that they want to destroy.
They push their social agenda through public schools and colleges with the same fervor of a totalitarian regime always demanding that they are not funded sufficiently and sacrificing the foot-soldiers, (the teachers) in layoffs and pay-cuts to make their case stronger, leaving behind a bloated and over paid bureaucracy of redundant administration. This inconsistency of vision is never called to the carpet. This structure of paying teachers a fraction of the budget while school officials live over paid lifestyles… Instead the finger is pointed back at bankers and private corporations that actually grow this nation as greedy and over paid. And America’s youth drink it up… And why not? They are conditioned all through school to believe that America is a cancer by teachers who feel the bitter sting of being underpaid… they are taught that the common man is the cure for America, to give the wealth back to “its rightful owners” by Barak Obama (of course Russian history is avoided in our schools…)
I work for a small business which is considered a “person” when it comes to the IRS and President Obama. Any “person” making over $250k a year is “rich”… Well this person has 600 dependants, this person has people who work hard for it so that they can make more. But Mr. Obama TAKES his percentage off the profit of the company, then his percentage off the number of employees it employs, he takes his percentage from the owners that took a risk to create this business that is giving jobs and a future for Americans and then Obama TAKES a percentage out of each check of each employee. Double taxation would be an improvement to this quadruple taxation. Then Obama, wants to increase taxes on energy to discourage its use. So he takes more from the company and more from the people it employs. Then Obama wants to institute Cap and Trade, increasing prices of everyday things, so again the company is paying more out of the pocket.
The better this company does, the harder each person works to make their situation better, the more money the Government steels. WHY? Because Obama’s America is not about giving opportunity, it is about making everyone equal and that means poor…
I understands that the hope that Obama fails is a hope that America succeeds. Both cannot happen…
Here is my question if I can ask America one things:
What philosophy of life made it possible to open a company like this? Was it, “take from the haves and give it to the have-nots”? Or was it a structure that allowed the have nots to dream and go for it and become a have?
I have seen so many news reports castigating capitalism as if “greed” was that reason of the economic down turn. I am utterly speechless that people feel that some banker making too much money (according to them) affected their own opportunity to make more money. It is a complete non sequitur; one has nothing to do with the other.
We have in our government a party which is emboldened by a failing America. They institute unions that make the individual worthless and give power only to the masses so that those who do not work hard swallow your individual hard work wholly. The Declaration of Independence said in no uncertain terms that “…all men are created equal…” it gave power to the individual. This party continues to raise taxes and hides behind an impenetrable bureaucracy so that you no longer are a human but a social-security number or worse a debtor… These taxes are uses to herd us into brackets and lifestyles that they deem fit according to their ideologies, all the while demanding that Christians leave their values out of the public circle; Ironically forgetting that it was judeo/christian values that created this platform that they want to destroy.
They push their social agenda through public schools and colleges with the same fervor of a totalitarian regime always demanding that they are not funded sufficiently and sacrificing the foot-soldiers, (the teachers) in layoffs and pay-cuts to make their case stronger, leaving behind a bloated and over paid bureaucracy of redundant administration. This inconsistency of vision is never called to the carpet. This structure of paying teachers a fraction of the budget while school officials live over paid lifestyles… Instead the finger is pointed back at bankers and private corporations that actually grow this nation as greedy and over paid. And America’s youth drink it up… And why not? They are conditioned all through school to believe that America is a cancer by teachers who feel the bitter sting of being underpaid… they are taught that the common man is the cure for America, to give the wealth back to “its rightful owners” by Barak Obama (of course Russian history is avoided in our schools…)
I work for a small business which is considered a “person” when it comes to the IRS and President Obama. Any “person” making over $250k a year is “rich”… Well this person has 600 dependants, this person has people who work hard for it so that they can make more. But Mr. Obama TAKES his percentage off the profit of the company, then his percentage off the number of employees it employs, he takes his percentage from the owners that took a risk to create this business that is giving jobs and a future for Americans and then Obama TAKES a percentage out of each check of each employee. Double taxation would be an improvement to this quadruple taxation. Then Obama, wants to increase taxes on energy to discourage its use. So he takes more from the company and more from the people it employs. Then Obama wants to institute Cap and Trade, increasing prices of everyday things, so again the company is paying more out of the pocket.
The better this company does, the harder each person works to make their situation better, the more money the Government steels. WHY? Because Obama’s America is not about giving opportunity, it is about making everyone equal and that means poor…
I understands that the hope that Obama fails is a hope that America succeeds. Both cannot happen…
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pop Culture Sold Out America
How can anyone get their head around the barrage of attacks on every dream America has ever had… This social experiment is at a crossroads, balancing on a razors edge between a failure and success. From our leftist President Obama’s, socialist political actions (yet capitalist in furthering his destructive agenda) to an army of leftists behind him who yell and complain about the enumerated injustices this great country has inflicted; ironically most of which are self inflicted by their own leftist social policies.
There is a portion of this country that wishes it to fail. Not because they are so dedicated to misery but instead because they are blindly dedicated to a secular definition of equality. They are apart of a system that cannot create anything but instead steal what is created and use it to implement an impossible utopia. They are a picture of maggots that fester in a carcass of a once powerful but now dead creature. Make no mistake Leftists are parasitic. The History that is not taught in our state ran schools is looming in wait to be repeated and the same Russian Revolution that forced that country from bad to worse is now a possible fate.
How can anyone keep track of the countless racist accusations, sexist accusations, calls for equality among individuals who will not give equal dedication to a goal but demand equal pay and resources, the attack on individuality, the promotion of mob rule by way of mediocrity through unions, the financial crises perpetuated by a system that is invested in the failure of capitalism, the re-writing of history with the glorification of failed social programs, the redefinition of words to make their agendas sound positive, the antagonizing of class war, the onslaught of environmental laws which suffocate our economy yet based on fraud science, and the accusation of misinformation by those who only give misinformation …What hope is there beyond the American people who have lived in a better generation, who understand liberty and know what the framers intended beyond what agenda driven justices dictates? Our hope is the 10% of Americans who pay 95% of the taxes. Unfortunately, those Americans actually work and mistakenly still believe that hard work is still the most valuable commodity. When will they rise up? When will they speak out? When will they march on Washington?
Our founders had the opportunity to create a country and implement various conditions that modern courts have now dictated on behalf of them, but the founders did not. Yet that fact is mindlessly over-looked by a media far removed from the average citizen. This same media exalts a worthless class of Americans known as celebrities who hypocritically denounce capitalism as they demand millions for their effortless contribution to their craft… Because of that, they chase meaning and relevance by interjecting extremely uniformed opinions into the information markets of our society… these spineless actors and entertainers who pretend to be profound mistake their fictional identities for their actual identities and endorse Anti-American ideologies and figureheads all the while feeling brave while safely insulated in their made up world of yes men.
I sit with head in hands at times knowing that the time to act is now. There will be no time when more Americans are alive that understand The American Dream better. There will be no time when more people know that the real racists are the ones pointing the fingers and not the ones being pointed out. There will be no time when there will be more Americans that understand free-markets are our best hope for economic recovery. There will be no time when more Americans will understand that environmentalism is a farce used to control money and not save anything. There will be no time when more American will be alive that remember that Freedom isn’t free and it is America who has fought on behalf of other weaker nations. There will be no time when there are more American that understand that sometimes yes, war is the answer. There will be no time when there are more American who believe that freedom of speech doesn’t just mean freedom to degrade Christianity. There will be no time when there are more American who understand that the constitution was written to give states rights to give the individual right and to be a foundation for a better democracy.
I pray to God that the engine, the fuel, the drivers of this country wake up and stop this slaughter of democracy and liberty…
There is a portion of this country that wishes it to fail. Not because they are so dedicated to misery but instead because they are blindly dedicated to a secular definition of equality. They are apart of a system that cannot create anything but instead steal what is created and use it to implement an impossible utopia. They are a picture of maggots that fester in a carcass of a once powerful but now dead creature. Make no mistake Leftists are parasitic. The History that is not taught in our state ran schools is looming in wait to be repeated and the same Russian Revolution that forced that country from bad to worse is now a possible fate.
How can anyone keep track of the countless racist accusations, sexist accusations, calls for equality among individuals who will not give equal dedication to a goal but demand equal pay and resources, the attack on individuality, the promotion of mob rule by way of mediocrity through unions, the financial crises perpetuated by a system that is invested in the failure of capitalism, the re-writing of history with the glorification of failed social programs, the redefinition of words to make their agendas sound positive, the antagonizing of class war, the onslaught of environmental laws which suffocate our economy yet based on fraud science, and the accusation of misinformation by those who only give misinformation …What hope is there beyond the American people who have lived in a better generation, who understand liberty and know what the framers intended beyond what agenda driven justices dictates? Our hope is the 10% of Americans who pay 95% of the taxes. Unfortunately, those Americans actually work and mistakenly still believe that hard work is still the most valuable commodity. When will they rise up? When will they speak out? When will they march on Washington?
Our founders had the opportunity to create a country and implement various conditions that modern courts have now dictated on behalf of them, but the founders did not. Yet that fact is mindlessly over-looked by a media far removed from the average citizen. This same media exalts a worthless class of Americans known as celebrities who hypocritically denounce capitalism as they demand millions for their effortless contribution to their craft… Because of that, they chase meaning and relevance by interjecting extremely uniformed opinions into the information markets of our society… these spineless actors and entertainers who pretend to be profound mistake their fictional identities for their actual identities and endorse Anti-American ideologies and figureheads all the while feeling brave while safely insulated in their made up world of yes men.
I sit with head in hands at times knowing that the time to act is now. There will be no time when more Americans are alive that understand The American Dream better. There will be no time when more people know that the real racists are the ones pointing the fingers and not the ones being pointed out. There will be no time when there will be more Americans that understand free-markets are our best hope for economic recovery. There will be no time when more Americans will understand that environmentalism is a farce used to control money and not save anything. There will be no time when more American will be alive that remember that Freedom isn’t free and it is America who has fought on behalf of other weaker nations. There will be no time when there are more American that understand that sometimes yes, war is the answer. There will be no time when there are more American who believe that freedom of speech doesn’t just mean freedom to degrade Christianity. There will be no time when there are more American who understand that the constitution was written to give states rights to give the individual right and to be a foundation for a better democracy.
I pray to God that the engine, the fuel, the drivers of this country wake up and stop this slaughter of democracy and liberty…
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Religulous
I know what you are thinking, "With so much going on in the world why is this person writing about a movie 5 americans have seen?" The answer is simple... I am writing 6 different postings all at the same time, this economy, healthcare, Obama's "hope", Prop 8, the unorganized Republican Party, and Business... I wanted to post something and I had a few minutes this morning... the rest are on the way...
Since last summer when the “documentary” Religulous came out, I’ve been debating weather or not I wanted to see it. I’ve made it a point to read or listen to every atheist/agnostic writer/speaker that I can find from Hitchens to Harris, and now Bill Maher.
My personal faith is complicated. I don’t have trouble with any of the cliché questions about faith and God. How a good God can make an evil world has never bothered me since it is the option for evil that we even know God might be good. Further it is that God created that option and not the action. The best analogy I’ve ever heard is that just as darkness is the absence of light, sin is the absence of God. Light does not create darkens and God does not create sin.
Still there are looming questions that keep me from raising my hands in church, questions of a more personal nature. But that might be another topic.
So, last night I finally broke down and rented Religulous. If you can get past Bill Maher trying to be funny as he basically makes a fool of everyone he talks to about his questions you are still left with an extremely empty movie. His disrespectful comments and use of language is enough to keep you clinched fisted the entire movie. His tactics are nothing short of taking (in most cases) good willed people and editing and showing them in a such a way that makes him look like he is enlightened and they are worshiping the sun.
Bill Maher spends most of the movie of Christianity, confusing Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity. He pulls the gloves off with Christians and Mormons but then handles those he interviews from Islam with the most delicate of questions and to thier face, the utmost respect. He does not question direct passages from the Koran, and doesn’t even bring up Mohammad and all his contradictory teachings. He does insinuate that Islam is a violent religion but doesn’t complete the thought by comparing the number of damning verses in the Koran to the number of “peaceful” verses. Not to mention the number of verses that nullify any verse that calls for peace.
Like most cowards in the media and the entertainment world, Bill Maher comes out swinging with Christians and Jews because he knows they wont hit back, But barely taps into Islam. Throughout the “documentary” he interviews people all over the world but for some reasons doesn’t interview Muslims who live in a Muslim country. Why? oh yeah, because he might be killed…
All I can say that I got from this movie is that if he really wanted to find answers he could have asked more informed people. But obviously he didn’t he just wanted to make fools of people. Its too bad that Bill Maher didn’t really try to make a good film. I for one would like to see an honest film that asks religion tough questions. Instead I just got a movie full of inaccurate information and a picture of a lost man.
Since last summer when the “documentary” Religulous came out, I’ve been debating weather or not I wanted to see it. I’ve made it a point to read or listen to every atheist/agnostic writer/speaker that I can find from Hitchens to Harris, and now Bill Maher.
My personal faith is complicated. I don’t have trouble with any of the cliché questions about faith and God. How a good God can make an evil world has never bothered me since it is the option for evil that we even know God might be good. Further it is that God created that option and not the action. The best analogy I’ve ever heard is that just as darkness is the absence of light, sin is the absence of God. Light does not create darkens and God does not create sin.
Still there are looming questions that keep me from raising my hands in church, questions of a more personal nature. But that might be another topic.
So, last night I finally broke down and rented Religulous. If you can get past Bill Maher trying to be funny as he basically makes a fool of everyone he talks to about his questions you are still left with an extremely empty movie. His disrespectful comments and use of language is enough to keep you clinched fisted the entire movie. His tactics are nothing short of taking (in most cases) good willed people and editing and showing them in a such a way that makes him look like he is enlightened and they are worshiping the sun.
Bill Maher spends most of the movie of Christianity, confusing Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity. He pulls the gloves off with Christians and Mormons but then handles those he interviews from Islam with the most delicate of questions and to thier face, the utmost respect. He does not question direct passages from the Koran, and doesn’t even bring up Mohammad and all his contradictory teachings. He does insinuate that Islam is a violent religion but doesn’t complete the thought by comparing the number of damning verses in the Koran to the number of “peaceful” verses. Not to mention the number of verses that nullify any verse that calls for peace.
Like most cowards in the media and the entertainment world, Bill Maher comes out swinging with Christians and Jews because he knows they wont hit back, But barely taps into Islam. Throughout the “documentary” he interviews people all over the world but for some reasons doesn’t interview Muslims who live in a Muslim country. Why? oh yeah, because he might be killed…
All I can say that I got from this movie is that if he really wanted to find answers he could have asked more informed people. But obviously he didn’t he just wanted to make fools of people. Its too bad that Bill Maher didn’t really try to make a good film. I for one would like to see an honest film that asks religion tough questions. Instead I just got a movie full of inaccurate information and a picture of a lost man.
Monday, March 2, 2009
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