Religion: A Neurological Disorder

Good old Bill Maher is at it, again. He loves nothing better than looking down his long elitist nose at Christians, specifically--and religion, in general.

Television personality Bill Maher. . .says Christians and others who are religious suffer from a neurological disorder that "stops people from thinking."

Wow, that's brilliant. I bet he makes most evolutionists proud, since this is the same argument they use.

"We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that. I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies.

Where to begin? This assertion belies well-known historical facts. Most of the men who dreamed up the Constitution and drafted the initial laws of this great nation were practicing Christians. I contend that a country extending unprecedented freedoms is pretty darned enlightened, by my definition of the word. Since most of the Founders shared a Christian worldview, how does he explain the idea that "all men are created equal" was the most enlightened idea of its time? Furthermore, if Christianity stifles thought, how does he account for the biblical basis for modern science, or the notion that most of the truly great scientists of yesteryear were Christians?

I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative.

He's actually correct on this one minor point. Yes, their religious beliefs guided the 9-11 killers down that putrid path. But his point is less than stellar, since it's only relevant if every religion shares the same values, doctrines, and stated goals.

If you look at it logically, it's something that was drilled into your head when you were a small child. It certainly was drilled into mine at that age.

This is perhaps the most ridiculous stereotype I've ever read. So now all Christians are products of childhood indoctrination? That's silly, and demonstrably false. Mr. Maher's bad prepubescent tribulations aside, his personal anecdote does not speak to the experiences of the entire human race, or for all of the Church.

"When you look at beliefs in such things as, do you go to heaven, is there a devil, we have more in common with Turkey and Iran and Syria than we do with European nations and Canada and nations that, yes, I would consider more enlightened than us."

How does one even respond to such unmitigated arrogance? Mr. Maher would do well to remember that atheism has never been a boon to humanity. In fact, it led to the worst series of mass murders the world has ever witnessed, in the 20th Century. Nor do I buy into his addlepated contention that we have more in common with Syria, Iran, and Turkey than with Canada and Europe. And are Canada and Europe models to which we should aspire?

He claims religion is a neurological disorder. How about self-loathing, Bill. Does that epitomize mental health?

Maher explained that he was not singling out evangelicals, but was targeting all "religious" people.

Whew, that makes me feel so much better!

"I think the vote in Missouri [rejecting same-sex marriage] and a lot of other states is because people are religious," Maher said. "They don't have to be evangelical, but they're religious. They believe in religion, which as – I think it was Jesse Ventura who had that quote about religion is a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers."

Extrapolate from Billy-boy's opinion, folks: 1. Religion is a neurological disorder. 2. Rejecting same-sex marriage stems from religion. 3. Therefore, rejecting homosexual marriage is the product of a neurological disorder. This is a bizarre assertion, considering that homosexuality is probably the most dangerous, self-destructive lifestyle imaginable, even leaving the moral side of the equation out of it.

I am just embarrassed that it has been taken over by people like evangelicals, by people who do not believe in science and rationality.

Ah, here we go. A more fully-realized jab from an evolutionary standpoint. I love this. Anyone who harbors the slightest religious inclination scoffs at science and denounces rationality. How original. I wonder if he caused himself a neurological disorder thinking that one up.

"When you were a kid and they were telling you whatever you believe in religion, do you think if they had switched the fairy tales that they read to you in bed with the Bible, you would know the difference?

Preposterous. Speaking for myself, since I was a kid, once, I'd say yes. I most certainly would know the difference. Fairy tales do not have the moral dimension, the ring of truth, or the historical context that biblical stories have. Nor do fairy tales contend that they are the work of almighty God.

"Do you think if it was the fairy tale about a man who lived inside of a whale and it was religion that Jack built a beanstalk today, you would know the difference? Why do you believe in one fairy tale and not the other? Just because adults told you it was true and they scared you into believing it, at pain of death, at pain of burning in hell."

Sticking with Bill's examples, yep, I'd definitely know the difference. Jonah was swallowed by a whale as a punishment from God for ignoring His commands. It was a disciplinary action that achieved results. Jonah finally saw the errors of his ways, obeyed the Lord, and preached unto the people of Nineveh. They converted almost to a man. Contrast this with the story of Jack. Jack had a magic bean that grew into a beanstalk. Up the beanstalk lived a giant. Why did the bean grow into a gigantic beanstalk? Why did a giant live up at the top? How did the bean become magic, and what was its purpose? We don't know the answers to any of these questions, because the story doesn't tell us. Nor did the authors of this tale ever lay claim to its historical authenticity. So in truth, I see quite a huge difference between the two stories.

Bill comes across as someone who hates religion, but Christianity, in particular. Perhaps a nun pinched his ear a little too hard, when he was a kid. Perhaps the smell of brimstone during a sermon offended his olfactory senses. Perhaps the unleavened bread during the Lord's Supper was a little too bland for his exotic tastebuds. Maybe he just hates behavioral expectations. Who knows his reasons?

It's interesting--and also sad--that the Christianity Bill Maher hates is entirely a product of his imagination.

A fairy tale, if you will.