Charlie Rose

janeeyre  06/28/2009 06:40 PM Report

"How about thought diversity?" --Love it Bill. I had a crush on you in 1993, when I was 15, and I still do --nothing like consistent excellence.

guillermoramirez  03/31/2009 07:25 PM Report

I must admit that I still go thru the religolous motions as a Catholic. I believe there is something Greater than what humans can perceive. I also believe that it is more than enough to ask any person to live Christ-like. Yes, Bill is correct when he says to throw out all the beels and whistles and focus for example on the parable of the Samaritan. If we can just do whenever we are able as the Samaritan did this world would be just a little better.

larryirving5  03/04/2009 06:40 PM Report

Bill Maher is funny and very smart. Love him!

darla knull  11/11/2008 12:39 AM Report

bill maher is a complete arshluck pinhead. him and sean penn must go to the same hairdresser. slickback usa or is it slickback russia? it just goes to show how low our moral standards have come in this world. if people can watch your show we are certainly coming to the end soon. our country was founded on christianity. i feel sorry for you people that do not know the true meaning of joy. all the money in the world will not make you happy.

Uncle Ron  11/05/2008 10:47 PM Report

An apt description for Mr. Maher: An obnoxious

little twit.

Max  11/04/2008 11:41 AM Report

I think he's funny.

Jones  11/03/2008 04:41 PM Report

The funniest thing about this interview is that Bill Mahr considers himself a comedian. Has he ever said anything funny?

Lawrence Louis  11/01/2008 09:51 PM Report

I love Bill Maher's movie Religulous. What Maher has essentially done is put a comedic spin to Sam Harris' basic thesis, expounded upon deftly in his books "The End of Faith" and "A Letter to Christian Nation", that religious faith requires a certain degree of credulity, and this credulity eventually extends to other areas of life. When this subservience to irrationality jumps from the religious realm to other areas of human interest, humanity pays a very dear price. Bill Maher’s adept way of illustrating how corrosive religion can be through the use of satire has done so much to advance the cause of secularism, because more people can be reached through the vehicle of comedy than can be reached through serious books like those written by secularists like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett. I applaud Maher for his efforts, and I hope more artistically minded secularists will follow his lead.

Mohammed Geebah Gooligon Atta  10/31/2008 12:22 PM Report

It is interesting to note, that Bill Maher, is a lazy, plagarizing Borat. In his attempt to exploit reality-based natural universally human stupidity, he did not once, do any acting or cause people to laugh; that's why I say he is a lazy. Also the concept, he copy from the smarter non American, Mr. Borat.--------- Only one time, he cause a laugh, that's when he he say, " Hey look, a your hair is on fire.". Yes, that a cause the old lady to laugh.... Mr. Rose, you are good excellent show, May Allah keep you good.

Preston  10/30/2008 06:56 PM Report

Now where was I? Oh yeah. Bill Maher, the man, the mullet, the mullet man. Crying because there really is no Santa Clause. Trying to tell the world how sexy he is because his first girlfriend "jumped him". O.K. Bill, you're a dork now. We're supposed to believe you were less of a dork in your teens, before you became "politically entrenched" famous, and you obviously aren't "born" gay, you can't be accused of that, fag... And the really pathetic thing of the whole movie, is that your small entourage of editing and censoring ass-kissers couldn't figure out a way for you to win just one argument... O.K., maybe they helped you win 1 or 2. But the point is, you look really stupid when you start running out of things to say! And you get paid for that?!... You're just a typical piss-ant liberal elite blowing smoke up everybodies ass. Enjoy it while it lasts, turd-brain. Because you know. Just maybe.

Preston  10/30/2008 04:49 PM Report

Just saw this movie. Thank God.?.?, It wasn't as bad as "W". The music was a little better. So Bill Maher, I suppose the "moral of the movie" that you want "to drive home" is this. - Everybody STOP believing in God! Because people "believing in God" will make the world end because they're all koo-koo. And our punishment for "believing in God" is that we will all die when the world ends caused ONLY by people who "believed in God".---------- Bill Maher, you are one sorry fuck... How the Hell.?.?, Are you, any less koo-koo than the people you edit and censor. Just like the typical liberal, lying, piece of shit that you are. You really want truth?, I'll give you some truth... To be continued.

Cain MacWitish  10/28/2008 01:23 AM Report

For those who talk about Jesus's "historical"accuracy" you should read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_and_comparative_mythology

I agree with Josusha that Charlie should have Ken Wilber on the show.

Mr. Wilber's theories illuminate a lot the confusion about why bronze age religion's stick around in a "post enlightenment" world. Specifically looking at human development through the spiral dynamics model helps clarify these issues:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_dynamics

Which leads me to my favorite quote/rant on the subject by Stewart Davis:

"...You cannot PERSUADE a MYTHIC RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALIST to stop believing in a Mythic God, or the apocalypse, and the narrative of a personal deity, ANYMORE THAN YOU CAN PERSUADE A five year old child to become 27 years old. It's not stupid or wrong to act five years old if you're five years old. It's not a mistake to be five years old. It is, however, wrong to act like a five year old if you're 27, and there is where something more interesting occurs. Because Sam Harris and Richard Dawkings do identify and articulate a very serious problem in our World, but the FAIL to ADMIT it is a developmental problem, not an intellectual one. Their books will do NOTHING TO HELP, because they don't deal with (or even acknowledge) development. Does ANYONE actually believe George Bush can be persuaded his religious beliefs are ludicrous through DISCOURSE? If you believe that, you are more fanciful and deluded than he is. BUT, is it possible George Bush could DEVELOP? That he might grow, expand, and enter into a new perspective? Yes, it is. It happens. Not always, not necessarily, but it does happen. And that is the interesting question. How, why, when do people evolve to higher altitudes of consciousness? Ironically, what ardent Evolutionists and Rationalists miss is that the solution IS EVOLUTION. We must get people to evolve to higher, deeper, more inclusive levels of develeopment. You can't persuade them. You can't convince them. It's not a choice, it's a WORLD VIEW."

Syed Rizvi  10/26/2008 02:56 AM Report

One thing I learnt for the movie that

besides teaching children from the scriptures they shold also be taught two subjcets those are: Ethics and Critical Thinking

This will be essential to the growth in the maturity of mankind that will lead peace on earth in its true sense

Preston  10/22/2008 06:47 AM Report

O.K. . You talked me into it. But if it's as BAD as "W", some heads are going to roll... (hehehe) (just kidding)

matthew Harris  10/22/2008 12:01 AM Report

brilliant...all should see the movie even if it makes you uncomfortable...it is funny...makes you think...and questions things...

freerad  10/21/2008 06:24 PM Report

Thank You Tiffany! Awareness is powerful

and poignant.

togetalongwith  10/21/2008 11:46 AM Report

Dat's why we be dumb all over, and a little ugly on the side.

Tiffany  10/21/2008 11:23 AM Report

People really seem to miss (maybe because they haven't seen the movie) that it's not about a general belief in a "creator" but about the specific beliefs that various religious people hold. Individual beliefs like that are silly but innocent enough, if they're kept personal. Maher's issue is that they're NOT kept personal. They're used to affect the lives of others. And that's what's bad.

Joshua Whitney  10/21/2008 02:05 AM Report

Hello. I just finished watching the most recent interview with Bill Maher about his new movie, "Religulous". The conversation about religion, and about the relationship of religion and science, cries out for clarity. The man who has written more clearly than anyone else on this issue is American philosopher and academic, Ken Wilber. He is one of the most translated of American writers worldwide. Might you conside having him as a guest? Thank you for you consideration.

from NY Post  10/20/2008 08:50 PM Report

Best comment on the movie was by Pete Townsend:" "Bill Maher is a comedian. I am a songwriter. I have faith in what I would call God, but I am not a religious man. I don't want to press my views on other people. Maher seems to have the wish to question and make fun of the sanity of we believers. I'm happy to say I'd prefer to be my kind of crazy than his kind of cynical, but . . . we live in a free society . . . Maher's film is not an important moment in the history of religion . . . So when I first refused the use of my song (for a very modest fee by the way) and Maher badgered me, I decided to allow it. If you have problems with this film, talk to Bill Maher. If you really want to know where I am on my spiritual journey, listen to the song." Now that is a writer, folks.

failin'palin  10/20/2008 06:39 PM Report

So you took advantage of that computer

course at the group home, eh preston?

You're a real talkshow tough guy.

JB  10/20/2008 03:56 PM Report

Why is Larry Charles dressed like he's about to rob a bank?

PJ Oro  10/20/2008 03:18 PM Report

Thanks for doing this show Charlie. Hopefully we are taking the lessons of Christian mythology and applying them to our daily lives. If Christ so-called followers were to actually follow his teachings, then maybe such a movie would not be so ironically relevant.

Preston  10/20/2008 07:01 AM Report

free rad, you're right. "putz" is pretty lame for a rich loser like Bill Maher. kissy-kissy.

free rad  10/19/2008 04:19 PM Report

it is sad to see the vitriol and defensiveness

by "believers" (not knowers). Calling

someone a "putz" is your best shot?

Why would an all-powerful Diety associate

with such low level intelligence...

all religion creates 'god' in man's image;

a cosmic projection of the biological

Alpha concept of heirarchical social ordering

which conveniently serves as a philosophical

trapdoor for our large-brain awareness of

suffering and mortality. We have a 'Friend

in the Business' and HE likes us .

Charlie and Co. your're the Best!

mike beard   10/18/2008 11:28 AM Report

I wish charlie would of asked bill what he tought of the Declaration of Indepnedence when it says. "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men a created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, hat among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This is a religious belief. I assume Bill dosen't believe our country should stand stand for these principles.

Preston  10/18/2008 10:05 AM Report

I agree Sam. Him, Dennis Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, David Letterman and Chris Rock, are the most over-rated, over-paid, stupidest, most boring, god-damn human beings on earth.--------- In fact, they should all get together and start a new "comedy" show, entitled, "Politically Entrenched"

Sam  10/17/2008 11:16 PM Report

For those who think this putz is gay….........I have seen him in setting with a black women one foot taller than he was. He abused her and used her. He is slime and a lowlife. He is a putz. Anyone who admires him and thinks he is worthy of respect need help. And this has nothing to do with his religious views. He is a stupid person.

Sam  10/17/2008 11:06 PM Report

Bill Maher is a putz. I have been around Hollywood people most of my life. He is a putz. Why Charlie would have people like this on his show is beyond my comprehension. It is simply demeaning to his audience. Bill Maher is a stupid putz of no redeeming value.

Justin  10/17/2008 09:08 PM Report

Oh man the comments to the video are gold. sooo many brainwashed people makes me sad :(

Preston  10/17/2008 08:25 PM Report

Bill Maher is so SMART. I wish I could be as SMART as him.--------- And FUNNY! I wish I could be as FUNNY as him... Him and "what's his name", from SNL, he did Monday Night Football for a year or two; super SMART, super FUNNY; intellect way beyond my comprehension. Both of them (Dennis Miller! That's it.) are like the bureaucrats of comedy.

lane sand  10/17/2008 01:32 PM Report

Is Bill Maher the anti-christ?

lane sand  10/17/2008 01:32 PM Report

Is Bill Maher the anti-christ?

Christian Realist  10/16/2008 03:02 PM Report

"...Bigotry, belittle-in', and Belly laughs..."

Jamian  10/16/2008 06:06 AM Report

Bill has many effeminate tendencies and always has, but I don't think he's gay. He could have just been closer to his mother than to his father, which I think could put some feminine characteristics in a male.

Jeannine  10/16/2008 12:56 AM Report

Loved the movie! It should be required viewing imho.

But I would imagine those that are insecure about their own religious beliefs and will feel compelled to defend their positions by attacking Messenger Bill.

If one does believe in God, then perhaps God sent Bill to this Earth for our benefit as well?

Bless you Bill! And thanks for the best belly laughs in years!

ChristianRealist  10/16/2008 12:41 AM Report

First of all I was shocked that Charlie Rose allowed Mr. Maher, a pass on his racist "black pope" comment and his bigoted suggestion that indigeous Africans worship "dirt"............ Blinded by his arrogant agnosticism, what Mr. Maher fails to realize is just how preposterous many of the claims of modern science can seem to the rational mind as well for instance............. THE BIG BANG: Under infinate pressure and heat all of the matter in the universe was suppressed into a infinately minute size then spontanously grew into the size of the infinately expansive universe we all know. So we are to believe basically everything came from nothing..... SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: One day, a long time ago, a momma fish spawned a mutant baby fish with a freakish appendage that wasn't exactly a fin and that wasn't really a leg either...who would have known! as it turns out this misshapen mutant was actually better suited for survival in the "Savage Land" then his competition, even though he couldn't run or swim faster then them???...sounds an awful lot like an X-men comic book....

IMPROBABLE STATISTICS: The random possiblity of even a single amino acids randomly forming even a single protein molecule are embarrassingly astronomical.... The real Truth, Mr. Maher is that the universe is full of paradoxical mysteries, and it ironically becomes more irrational when Divine Purpose is removed from the equation...Religion and Science are just two tools we humans use as we stumble around looking for the answers...

ChristianRealist  10/16/2008 12:40 AM Report

the funny thing about denial and blindness...sometimes those who suffer worst from it have no problem seeing it in others.

Christian Realist  10/16/2008 12:40 AM Report

Agnosticism is lazy and blind in that it affirms in just as positive a nature as Theism and Atheism- that one cannot not know...again assuming that all knowledge in the universe is at our feet or rather in the capable hands of Mr. Mayer- however his off hand statement actually questioning the historicity of Jesus of Nazereth, does however suggest an agnositicism of sorts regarding ancient history.

John Brown  10/16/2008 12:34 AM Report

"Worship dirt..." Nice. I would wager that a practicioner of traditional African religion doesn't feel the need to go around the world making fun of the ignorant.

ChristianRealist  10/16/2008 12:09 AM Report

I was shocked that Charlie Rose allowed Mr. Maher, a pass on his racist "black pope" comment and his bigoted suggestion that indigeous Africans worship "dirt".

Blinded by his arrogant agnosticism, what Mr. Maher fails to realize is just how preposterous many of the claims of modern science can seem to the rational mind as well.

Big Bang: All of the matter in the universe was suppressed into a infinately minute size then spontanously grew into the size of the infinately expansive universe we all know...basically everything came from nothing.

Survival of the fittest: One day, a long time ago, a momma fish spawned a mutant baby fish with a freakish appendage that wasn't exactly a fin and that wasn't really a leg either...who would have known! as it turns out this misshapen mutant was actually better suited for survival in the "Savage Land" then his competition,... even though he couldn't run or swim faster then them???...sounds an awful lot like an X-men comic book.

The real Truth, Mr. Maher is that the universe is full of paradoxical mysteries, and it ironically becomes more irrational when Divine Purpose is removed from the equation...Religion and Science are just two tools we humans use as we stumble around looking for the answers...

JB  10/16/2008 12:09 AM Report

Among the many unchallenged, unsubstantiated declarations that Mr. Maher and Mr. Charles made about Jesus Christ, the one that had the most significant implications was the comment that God the Father had sent His son on a "suicide mission." Jesus death was not merely a great example of servanthood and self-sacrifice, giving us some subjective metaphor for sacrificial living. If that were the case, his death would have been meaningless and not loving at all. Paul in Romans 3 explains that Jesus' death actually accomplished something deeper - objective forgiveness of sin, since it is sin which breaks relationship with our Creator. Jesus took on the penalty we should have received but also gives us a right relational standing before God. The big question is do we believe this? This is what distinguishes Christianity. God lovingly takes the initiative to appease His own anger against sin and the need for justice. So He is both the judge and the one who loves us. Justice and love are both seen at the cross. The cross was not a suicide mission.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, said, "Let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His (Jesus')being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to...Jesus was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced three effects - Hatred, terror and adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval."

Paul  10/16/2008 12:09 AM Report

Hey Bill...you state "If Jesus even existed." Ah, it's a historical fact. Not just in Christianity but in historical Roman and Hebrew texts/documents. Very basic principals here.

A bit of advice, try to learn a little more about the subject before you go proclaiming to the world. (A side note, I once had a professor whom would remind us all "It's better to keep your mouth shut, than to demonstrate one's ignorance.")

reza  10/16/2008 12:08 AM Report

does anyone think bill maher is gay? i think he is

Real HIStory  10/16/2008 12:08 AM Report

Just a voice in favor of actual history

Bill, your suggestion that perhaps Jesus wasn't even a historical person not only highlights your obvious prejudice...it also suggests perhaps your absolute ignorance regarding these matters...For example one of the best historical evidences is a official inquiry from a Roman Governor to Emperior Trajan. This Roman Official describes in details Jesus's execution under Pilate (whom he specifically names), But also early christians belief that he didn't remain dead...Your foolish suggestion would mean this official letter would be a false report to the Emperior.

I sure hope a non-fundamentalist "in the know" debates you...

Adam Kurlic  10/15/2008 08:25 PM Report

It's remarkable how many people here have labeled Mr. Maher an "atheist," despite the fact that he explicitly states that he is NOT an atheist in this interview. He simply says "We don't say we're atheists, because "atheist," that term mirrors the certitude that religious people have... // We say 'we don't know, and we don't really care.' I mean you're never gonna know what happens in the afterworld until you die... // So just be a good person for the sake of it.... // Anyone who says they know is crazy, or just putting one over on people."

Mr. Maher is not "denying" anything... Aside from culture's injunction to believe in the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent unseen God that judges and destines, and whom we are expected to both love AND fear. Mr. Maher is not "blind" - He's simply sees mythology for what it is, and resists normative cultural pressures on him to fall in line with what generations before him have thought and done.

Agnosticism does not require suspension of disbelief, nor does it inherently contradict with any of the sciences in how it approaches and interprets the world around us.

Katherine  10/15/2008 01:53 PM Report

The irony of these comments is probably lost on those who post them but do you not see how your stubborn refusal to even look at your belief system is the whole point?

All I see from the religious people posting on this site is denial and blindness. Plus, a call for censorship on Maher's views and Rose's 'nerve' in posting the interview in the first place. The mission of silence is a persistant one, I see.

Questioning, exposing and examination is the main purpose of the film and this interview. If you'd take one second and put aside your bible and actually look at what this belief system is based on... Oh never mind. Will never happen.

sock puppet  10/15/2008 01:06 PM Report

From quote of the day: The significance of man is that he is insignificant and is aware of it.

- Carl Becker

Uncle Ron  10/15/2008 04:32 AM Report

Bill Maher's whole career has been built upon denigrating those who don't agree with his leftist ideas and beliefs and his Hollywood, New York and San Francisco type lifestyles. This is typical of someone with a poor self image who must tear other people down to build himself up. This is also typical of the self-loathing personality. Maher is short, not particularly attractive and while he may be smart, he isn't wise or intelligent. His "crowd" loathes mainstream Americans and millions of others around the world who sincerely believe and have faith in their conception of man and his relationship to God. On whether God exists, this writer is an agnostic but I don't find it necessary to consider those who believe he does exist as total morons or ignorant fools. Atrocities have been committed by religious radicals just as they were by Nazis and Communists.

Maher also criticized Sarah Palin as not having the experience to be on the Republican ticket as VP or President someday even though she has held/holds mayoral/governor positions. Yet he

ignores the almost total lack of managerial experience of Mr. Obama. We know it is experienced campaign operatives who actually run campaigns. Maybe I missed it but has Maher criticized Rev. Wright whose "guru" is James Cone who is a very radical and white hating black writer/professor? Bill Ayers planned to place a bomb at a huge dance at Ft. Dix, N.J. which would have killed scores of soldiers and their dates - instead, the bomb went off and killed three of Ayer's radical group as they

were building the bomb. Ayer's wife celebrated the Manson murders calling the victims "facist pigs." These and other associations, such as with ACORN and radical foundations such as Joyce and Woods, are associations by Obama which show very poor judgment indeed. It is disappointing that Mr. Rose didn't challenge Maher and his cohort on their assertions but perhaps Mr. Rose agrees with them - he seemed to enjoy joking with them about the subject matter at hand.

Mark  10/15/2008 01:17 AM Report

Uncle Ron, Praise the Lord and take a chill pill.