Threshing Fact From Fiction: An Ignorant Christian’s Views on “Religulous”

Jeremy, my son-in-law, reviewed “Religulous” on his Facebook page. I thought he presented some important points, and asked for permission to reprint his article here. The article is long, but I wanted to leave it in Jeremy’s “voice” rather than edit it for length.

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Few things in life create more social tension than prying into people’s religious beliefs, particularly when the prying is done on camera. The 2008 Larry Charles/Bill Maher movie, “Religulous” does just that, and certainly takes no prisoners. The movie, for those who don’t know, is a comedy-documentary in which the host, Maher, travels to various places around the world to interview people from different religions (although the movie predominantly focuses on Christianity) so he can ask them questions about their beliefs, and why they believe what they do. Maher takes a very cynical and sarcastic approach in performing this task, often leaving his victims deeply offended, which subsequently provides (or is supposed to provide) its comical aspect. Ultimately, Maher reaches the extraordinarily philosophical conclusion that all religion is bad and people who believe in any kind of religion are morons. As this is a major area of interest in my life, I decided I should watch the movie and see if Maher could change my mind.

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Cynthia’s Blog

I’d like to draw your attention to a new blog I’ve linked to. The primary author is Cynthia Bezek, a wonderful friend of mine, and editor of “Pray!” magazine. While Nav Press recently announced that it will no longer publish “Pray!” in paper form, features have been added to the website. One of those new features is Cynthia’s blog, “Let’s Talk.”

Prayer is very much on Cynthia’s heart, and her blog will reflect that. I highly recommend you read her bimonthly postings. You will be edified and encouraged.

Book Review: “Butterfly in Brazil,” by Glenn Packiam

Butterflyl in Brazil cover001-1If “you want to be part of something extraordinary… something bigger than yourself,”[1]but wonder how to get started, I’ve got a great book for you. I’ve been reading Butterfly in Brazil, hot off the press from Tyndale Publishers. It’s written by Glenn Packiam,  a worship leader and songwriter for Desperation Band, and director of the New Life School of Worship at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. (Yes, that New Life Church—and yes, we attend there.)

I sat down after lunch to skim a few pages, and found myself halfway through the book before dinner time. I kept wondering how much of it I could quote here without running afoul of copyright laws, and finally decided to just encourage everyone to read the whole book.

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