***continued from Part One***
2. “Jesus is just another in a long line of mythical dying and resurrecting gods like Horus and Mithra.”
I’ve never heard this argument coming from people I actually meet, but it is very prevalent amongst the intelligentsia and ‘professional’ skeptics. And I’ll admit, the very first time I heard it I was taken aback and had to do a bit of study in order to find out about it. It’s part-truth and part-bunk.
At the urging of a few friends, I finally got around to watching the film Religulous. In it, comedian Bill Maher, who is known for his dry, cynical wit, sets off on a jaunt around the world to expose the hypocrisy and ignorance of religious folk. His thesis is that religion is a force for evil in the world and we would be better off if it were eradicated. The film shows Maher interviewing Christians, Muslims, Jews, and a couple Mormons as well (he also takes a quick potshot at Scientologists).
Maher is a very intelligent man and a gifted comic. It’s a shame that he’s used his talents to become bitter, jaded and cynical. And for all his intellect, he does an incredibly poor job at researching his chosen subject matter, as he uses outdated and puerile arguments to defend his position.