Yeah, Right, Whatever

Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, is a medical doctor. What? He's not? Then, where'd he get this tidbit of info?

I think religion is a neurological disorder.

Well, let's pick the whole quote apart, and then I'll make a bit of commentary.

"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. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder. 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. And you really can't be responsible when you are a kid for what adults put into your head."

According to dictionary.com, a neurological disorder is a disorder of the nervous system. So, that's sounds organic... not really the brainwashing that he's accusing parents of doing to their kids. Bill, if you're going to call us loony, at least get the brand name right, ok? (And, just to clarify, although I thoroughly despise the connotation that religious-based charities are somehow equal to radical fundamentalist terrorism, he has a point. Terrorism, in the context of 9/11, was a faith-based initiative, but only in the dictionary.com definition, not the context of what President Bush is trying to accomplish.)

"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."

I find his use of the word "enlightened" entertaining. Although I'm sure he meant "highly educated; having extensive information or understanding," one of the other definitions of "enlightened" is "having knowledge and spiritual insight." So, Europe and Canada, who, in Mr. Maher's opinion, are devoid of religiosity, have more spiritual insight that those who profess a belief in a Higher Being (no matter how that Higher Being manifests Itself)? So, only those who have convinced themselves of a lack of Something to Believe In (either to assuage a guilty conscience or to justify science that needs as much faith, in some cases, as the religions they reject, or whatever other reasons they give) have the exaulted knowledge Bill Maher prizes so highly? So, the religion of atheism is the only religion* Mr. Maher will accept as valid.

"When people say to me, 'You hate America,' I don't hate America. I love America. I am just embarrassed that it has been taken over by people like evangelicals, by people who do not believe in science and rationality. It is the 21st century. And I will tell you, my friend. The future does not belong to the evangelicals. The future does not belong to religion."

How interesting, Mr. Maher. How do you then explain the fact that there is a spiritual revival that is rapidly gaining speed... around the world? People all over the world are searching, seeking Something to believe in. Some are turning to Islam, others to Christianity, even others to New Age Spirituality. Nonetheless, more and more people are turning to religion, not away from it. The future does belong to religion, and the battles between ideologies will only get worse.

"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?

"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."

How sad it must be for you, Mr. Maher, to live a life of no faith. To have nothing to believe in beyond the flawed nature of man. To have nothing to look forward to, nothing to hope for, dream of. What you consider a neurological disorder, a disease, I see as a blessing, a Gift from God. A Gift that has made all the difference to me.

In closing, I'd like to make my own diagnosis. (Unlike Mr. Maher, I have actually taken a few psychology classes, so I might know a little about this.) Maybe not quite like Michael Savage (I haven't read the book yet, so I don't know for sure), I think liberalism is a mental disorder. While I'm not sure which one, my money is currently on schizophrenia. Consider the symptoms:

- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
- grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
- negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition

But, don't worry- there is a treatment program.


* Yes, I believe atheism is a religion. Allow me to explain.

Atheism: Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods; the doctrine that there is no God or gods.

doctrine: A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma

dogma: A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a church