This letter is associated with the following article:
Letters
Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:00 AM

Bill Maher vs. the "talking snake"

The HBO host and comedian talks about "Religulous," his onslaught against the religious idiocy that threatens to deliver America to Sarah Palin and her fellow "space god" worshipers.

Read other letters about this article

  • Wednesday, October 1, 2008 07:22 PM

    The problem with theology

    It's perfectly true that there are a lot of sophisticated theologians whose intellectual approach to faith has nothing in common with that of the idiots Maher mocks. But the problem with bringing this up as a defense against Maher's sarcasm is that the idiots outnumber the theologians by a million to one. The religion that most influences the real world is not the gentle faith of the Talmudic scholar or the Vatican philosopher; it's the blind fanaticism of the suicide bomber and the closed-minded ignorance of the creationist.

    To be sure, there have been times when a deeper, more thoughtful faith has influenced the world for good -- Gandhi and King are the (ahem) canonical examples. But no matter how much good this sort of faith may do, it is far outweighed by the combination of violence, tribalism, and plain old stupidity we see in the name of God every day.

Most Active Letters Threads

405

I'm thankful I'm not President Obama

Backers deride Katrina-style negligence, haters hate him more each day. Can this presidency be saved? Of course
322

Tough-guy John Bolton, hiding under his bed

As usual, right-wing pseudo-warriors are drowning in extreme cowardice.
320

Greg Craig and Obama's worsening civil liberties record

A new Time account of the fall of Obama's White House counsel sheds much light on rule of law issues.
223

A key British official reminds us of the forgotten anthrax attack

A vast array of establishment and expert sources do not believe this episode was really resolved.
154

Phil Carter's resignation from key detainee policy post

Many of the "War on Terror" policies he spent years condemning were ones expressly embraced by Obama.

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon