Maher religion holy in religulous bill maher

TORONTO — “Just call us the Woodward and Bernstein of religion.”
That’s how Bill Maher sums his quest with “Borat” director Larry
Charles in “Religulous,” a pithy, smart, and usually profane poke at
religion.

From the Holy Land to the Holy Land Experience theme park in Florida,
Maher travels the globe searching out believers and engages them on
their turf about what they believe and why.

That confrontation between the faithful and Maher’s logic makes this
documentary a little like Prince Judah going after the Roman heathen
Messala in “Ben-Hur” — without the showy chariot race.

“All I can say is religion won’t go the way of the button shoe,” Maher
joked with reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“Oh I still found myself bargaining with this guy in my head at times
when I was trouble,” he laughs. “But no, I’m not for this disease that
religion has turned out to be.”

Confronting the faithful as Bill does is funny stuff. With his logic
in hand, Maher goes forth and finds a Jesus impersonater who explains
the Holy Trinity to Maher by comparing it to the three states of
water.

He unearths tourists in the gift shop at The Holy Land Experience who
nosh back and forth with him about the place of the Jews in heaven.
Add to that the everyday American Christians Maher takes on who
“believe in believing” because “what if you died without faith and
found out you were wrong?”

It all sounds like flimsy crap to Maher, especially when he’s talking
to self-styled religious leaders, Catholic higher-ups dressed in un-
Godly expensive suits and bible-thumping fundamentalists like Arkansas
Senator Mark Pryor.

Maher’s approach is fair. He listens to what everyone has to say and
thoughtfully considers every word. Then Maher goes for the jugular.

“How can you believe in a talking snake?” he asks. How can a man live
in the belly of a whale or come back from the dead? And what about
those Mormons? How can they believe that God is some real super-dude
happily residing on another planet?”

From the stormy religious opinions he finds in Jerusalem to the
radical Muslim problem in Amsterdam, Maher’s quest for “truth”
presents a force behind faith that he and Charles would unquestionably
call frightening.

“My country is dumber than your is,” Maher quipped before the Canadian
press. “Only in America will you find politicians in a presidential
campaign trying to out-love Jesus.”

Some may vehemently disagree with such commentary from a man sporting
a ZZ Top beard and a pair of lavender Crocs dangling from his feet.
But so what? Taking a little heat is worth it to these two anti-heaven
crusaders.

“Religulous” won’t appeal to people who loved “The Passion of the
Christ,” the 2004 movie that made devout Catholic director Mel Gibson
richer than God. As Maher says, “We’re giving those who value science
and reason above myth another alternative at the movies.”

Whether “Religulous” changes peoples’ minds as America gears up for a
presidential election has yet to be seen.

“I don’t know how much this film will sway voters. But I’ll tell you.
When Sarah Palin got onto the Republican ticket with John McCain I was
swayed to write a big check to Obama,” Maher jokes.

“I watched a lot of documentaries before I got Larry to sign on. It
was all so depressing to watch,” Maher laughs.

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