Essay
Bill Maher’s Argument in the Film Religulous 
The movie Religulous, which challenges the concept of divine, God, and religion through skeptical thinking and humor, the author Bill Maher makes an argument that the belief in God is not reasonable and even ridiculous, which explains the title of the film that is a synergy of two words religion and ridiculous. The authors main goal in the movie is to convince people that religion generates evil and aggression of the world and it would become better in case it was eradicated. In his accusation of religion, Maher challenges, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Mormonism. It major purpose, however, is Christianity, claiming that there is no scientific evident that Jesus ever existed and that the peoples beliefs wee premised on just one-sided perspectives. While rewording Mahers argument, religion stands in opposition to scientific, reasonable manifestations of the truth which derives from logical assumptions, whereas religion is a sort of a reaction to something unknown, or helplessness of people to explain some phenomena.
In the very beginning of the film, Maher claims that there were no grounds to believe that Jesus actually existed. The records never told that Jesus was a real person since those wrote about them never met him. There is also no evidence of Virgin birth. While interviewing people, Maher could not find any logical explanation of the existence of these events. Maher meets real people and try to ask some questions about the basics of their beliefs and assumption about world creation and other important questions. While analyzing the interviews and observations represented in the movie, it can be assumed that these assumptions are well-justified and consistent. Many scholars and historians strived to investigate the evidence that would prove the existence. For instance, Erhman, a historian has found the evidence in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Judging from the writing, Paul witnessed Jesus bother James and he also knew his disciple People. So, if Jesus did not exist, his brother would know. However, these assumptions are not direct, because Paul never met Jesus. Apparently, there was a historical person whose life and deed were exaggerated for the future religious community to strongly belief in the Messiah.
Regardless of the consistency of the arguments, they are built on the subjective logics and narrow-focused judgments of one person, leading to fallacies. Maher fails to admit another position and focuses on the management of specialized issues which do not provide an opportunity for perceiving the judgment to full extent. One of the problems runs that Bill Maher addresses Jesus sermon on the position in which Jesus argues, Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God, and the scholar admits that Jesus was against rich people, which is not actually justified. Maher has failed to grasp the context because he lacked the context and nature of Jesus assumption. In fact, Jesus assumes that a man should posit money separately from love, becoming a dedicated follower. There were also contradictions regarding the fact that God was against homosexual people. In fact, the scripture fails to provide any evidence of the opposition; instead his assumption is premised on the people in faith, who assumed that people were not born as gays.
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While travelling, Maher encounters different people and communications on different topics. He also talks on the topics of belief, dedication, money, social positions, and his childhood. Interestingly, Maher confesses that he was raised to a Catholic family, but argues that God was not appropriate for his life; rather, he was fond of Superman. In fact, such assumptions would definitely appeal to the atheist audience, popularizing his hypothesis and keeping the target audience supporting his commercial project. As such, while debating with different people on his road, he is more skillful in undermining the arguments of public personalities, and he attacks all the assumptions by bold arguments, depriving them of the possibility to explain, or accept the position for the audience. Hence, Maher often refers to only some separate aspects and facts which were withdrawn from the larger context. With regard, it can be stated that there is certainly some important information is missing. Specifically, Maher makes logical comparisons of the Sacred Scripture with other records which definitely match, which means that the book is not original. However, Maher fails to explain the original sources taking roots in Indian and Egypt, the most ancient civilizations. This information is missing in the film, making Mahers assumptions incomplete.
The fact that the scripture has many fallacies and prejudices, the film fails to represent illogical or irrelevant conclusions and assumption. For instance, the author refers to the history of religion among Muslim people from Asia, Indian, and Egypt. In this respect, it is evident that Mahers documentary makes a good point although there are a larger contexts and ideas which were omitted from the movie. While focusing on the sarcastic comments and criticism of Maher, it can be stressed that the documentary unveils the irreationality of sports fanatics who measure happiness by the prowess of strangers. Maher approaches religions similarly; if he believes in rationality, then the collective wisdom of centuries should still be considered in more detail. The point is that religious traditions offer some thoughtful and meaningful comments on life, morale, and ethics, which is not accepted by Mahers rationalism. Such an assumption can be withdrawn because Maher can also be considered to be a radical support of anti-religious movements, refusing completely all the assumptions made in the Bible.
While looking through the different interviews, it can be stressed that Bill Maher criticism was justified. Although most of his interviews seemed like a mockery at people, there are still many assumptions which do not refer to religion or concept of divine since many modern prophets ridiculously assumed that they Jesus descendants to gain more profits. For instance, there is an interview with Jose Miranda, who accepts himself as Jesuss descendant and messiah who places himself with the rest of sacred figures in the Bible, which is in fact unjustified since all his assumption are premised on his personal persuasions and arguments. However, the fact that people just have to take on faith and belief that Miranda is the direct prophet and first Christian. Maher starts communicating with Miranda, by undermining his statements. Further, he comments on the story about him quitting smoking because of the health problem. Maher admits that, if he believed in God, he would suggest that God helped him understand that he should quit smoking. The assumption is also supported by the interview of the next person who focuses on the Muslim Culture.
In fact, the difference of religious stories and records rely on the cultural and social environment in which religious narrations and scriptures had been shaped. Maher specifically criticized religion for the number of protests, revolutions, and demonstrations which led to multiple deaths and lethal outcomes. Taking this position explains Mahers opposition to the current outlook on religion as a powerful tool of manipulation rather than a sort of a solution for people to receive survival and forgiving.
In general, the documentary, with all the controversies and debates, has the right to existence. Specifically, Maher has managed to introduce some of important moral topics of the contemporary society, such as that of homosexuality and equality. His judgment of the topic is logical and relies on meaningful protests and explanations. These assumptions also lead to a conclusion of discrimination, undermining the argument that God makes people equal and he displays equally his love to everyone. However, people, who are the descendants and dedicated followers of Christianity, failed to understand these assumptions that people are not faithful in case they refer to specific minority group. Discrimination exists, but it not explained by the Saint Scripture, and all the interviewees failed to provide proper justification and evidence for the controversies which have been highlighted in the documentary.
The irony of Mahers statement lie in the fact that power does not allow a man to stay away from destructive activities, which means that religion must be eradicated for a person to survive. His assumptions are logical and persuasive enough because they rely on the interview of real-life people who take on faith. Judging from the responses presented in the movie, personal observations, and research evidence, it can be assumed that religion is something which cannot be proved or justified, it is something that a person should just believe without any hesitation. Furthermore, Mahers assumption is logically justified because he refers to some of the evident gaps in religion; at the same time, he discovers nothing new because religion does rely on beliefs and dedication, but not on scientific or historical facts. Therefore, it is the right of each person whether to follow religion blindly or to accept some scientific controversies and logical deliberations that prove that religion has become the reason of destructions and human sacrifices.
