A Night Out with Me

"Momma, you should go out tonight and have some fun for yourself. Stay out late," Youngest said.

Really?

Oldest concurred. "Go to dinner and see a movie. And then have a few drinks afterward."

I looked at my parents.

"Don't hurry back," they said.

I grabbed the latest edition of Rolling Stone, put on my Hot Mama jeans, and took off by myself for a few hours.

Went to dinner at Boston's and had a few mojitos. Because reading about David Foster Wallace can get depressing without liquid love. Then I saw Religulous with about fifteen other seekers.

Great movie.

Bill Maher does a fantastic job of documenting religious mumbo, mocking fundie nut jobs, and lamenting centuries of violence done in the name of the Lord.

My friend Robin teaches a Folklore class and will be happy to hear that the movie points out about three or four pre-Jesus stories that include a:

1) virgin birth
2) Dec. 25th birthday
3) healing the sick
4) talent for raising the dead
5) messiah figure's death
6) messiah rising again on the 3rd day or some such nonsense

I love it when Maher recounts the Lot story about how angels came to Sodom and were almost raped by the townspeople and then Lot said, "Don't rape them. Here. Take my daughters instead."

And he was the good guy in town.

Bill Maher held up the Holy Book and said that surely we can find something better than the King James Bible when swearing to uphold the law.

The movie didn't get into the good that religion has done. In my history classes, I always strove for balance and talked about women's advances in Islam (that predated women's advances elsewhere) and the good that Jews and Christians did when bringing about civil rights in the 1960s or ending slavery in the 1800s.

But Religulous ain't about all that.

Best part? Maher ended the movie talking about how doubt is humble and to seek is profoundly human. Then he showed clips of wars and destruction done in the name of God or Allah.

"Because when we think *we* know what's best and everyone else is wrong...we f*ck shit up."

Perhaps I'm paraphrasing, but you understand the point.

Not that he's an atheist. Atheists have the same degree of certainty that religious folks have and one is not any better than the other.

This hit home. Maher said that those of us who are only moderately religious should take a long look in the mirror because if we belonged to a social organization that had such deep historical ties to misogyny, homophobia, child rape, killing, and other acts of horrific violence - we'd have turned in our resignations long ago.

Leaving religion altogether? Hmmmmm.

Talking to my brother on the way home, he said we could say the same about our own country and we ain't jumpin' ship and moving to Canada.

I dunno. The more I learn, the less I know. Moderate Judaism mixed with Buddhist philosophy works for my family and provides a solid foundation for our children. But I'd be lying if I said I was sold. On religion or anything else for that matter.