Actor Chris O'Dowd thinks following a religion will eventually become as offensive and unacceptable as racism.
The Irish star of films such as The Sapphires and Bridesmaids says he grew up respecting people of faith despite his atheist views, but has become "less liberal" as he ages.
Now he says religious doctrine is halting human progress and brands it "a weird cult".
O'Dowd has told Britain's GQ magazine: "For most of my life, I've been, 'Hey, I'm not into it, but I respect your right to believe whatever you want'. But as time goes on, weirdly, I'm growing less liberal. I'm more like, 'No, religion is ruining the world, you need to stop!'.
"There's going to be a turning point where it's going to be like racism. You know, 'You're not allowed to say that weird s**t! It's mad! And you're making everybody crazy!'
"And you know, now America can't have a president that doesn't say he believes in God. So we're f**ked! Like, they f**ked everything!
"You wanna go and live in your weird cult and talk about a man who lives in a cloud, you do that, but don't. I mean, you really think that Barack Obama believes in God? No way!"
Interestingly enough I just finished Netflix binging on his British sitcom "The IT Crowd." It was alright, not my favorite British comedy series, but it had a laugh or two.
As for what he says, I certainly agree with a lot of it. Most of it actually.
And he is right, no person could be elected to the White House if they did not proclaim that they believe in God.
But do we REALLY think that all forty four of them did for certain?
Cause I don't.
I've long doubted President Obama's claims to be a Christian. He strikes me as too intelligent, perceptive, and intellectually curious to get stuck that high up on the credulity scale. So I find it very hard to believe that he still, if he ever, buys into that myth. Unfortunately, Chris O'Dowd speaks the truth in one respect -- ONLY self-professed Christians have a chance of being elected the U.S. President. But I don't believe either religion or racism will ever disappear. Not until the human race wipes itself out.
ReplyDeleteWell. I'll tell you who is God.
ReplyDeleteThe baby in my arms.
Amirite?
G - you are rarely wrong, but this post is way off. IT Crowd is HILARIOUS! Have you tried turning it off and on again?
ReplyDeleteLove Chris O'Dowd. Family Tree series is the best with the amazing Nina Conti & Monkey. Kept looking for Christopher Guest.
ReplyDeletehttp://aattp.org/right-wing-zealots-are-already-freaking-out-about-return-of-cosmos/
ReplyDeleteWhether there is a God(s) or not is a matter of fact. However, that fact is not known to any of us here on planet earth. Anything that any of us say is mere conjecture.
ReplyDeleteHowever I will say that in my humble opinion, there is life after we breathe our last. Ask you local ghost; or look to Newton and following him Einstein with E=MC².
Religion often gets in the way of a better reality for all.
"following a religion will eventually become as offensive and unacceptable as racism."
ReplyDeleteSounds good, Chris. From your lips to doG's ear!
I like the idea of religion becoming the other "r"word, but old habits die hard. I don't think I'll see it in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteAfter the mainstream cults are gone, will we make it offensive to believe in astrology, or homeopathy, or spiritual auras, or acupuncture, or aikido, or charisma, or feminine beauty, or you-name-it? Where's it all going to stop?
ReplyDeleteO'Dowd is funny. He's a comedian, so that's his job, and he's good at it. As for theology or President Obama's status as a Christian, he's clueless. That's not his job, and not surprisingly, he's lousy in that regard.
ReplyDeleteHe's factually wrong about Barack's Obama's religious background. Our President formally joined a Christian church in the early 90s, long before the White House was in his sights. President Obama and his wife partook of the sacraments of marriage and baptism for their daughters in the Christian church.
Anyone who reads a bit of Obama's philosophy will grasp his foundation in the works of theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr. No point in trying to deny it. Obama specifically refers to some of these theologians by name throughout his writings, but most people don't read enough, so they remain uninformed.
It's not surprising to see such remarks here. It's not that IM readers are unusually ignorant. (Some bright people share ideas here.) All over the internet, you read comments by people who like to pretend, not only that President Obama is a faux Christian, but that Pope Francis is actually an atheist. Similar claims are made about Melinda Gates, who is, by word and deed, a deeply committed Roman Catholic. A certain breed of atheist would like to claim every notable intelligent person as a member of their fold. Perhaps it's a function of their feeling powerless, but their fears are unnecessary.
What reason do these commenters offer for such indefensible claims? It's that the religious people in question are "too intelligent, perceptive, and intellectually curious," as anon @ 10:12 AM wrote. Try reading some Thomas Aquinas, my friend, or Teresa of Avila, or Lady Julian of Norwich, or Gregory of Nyssa, or Augustine of Hippo, or more recently Thomas Merton. Or just watch Father James Martin on The Colbert Report. You won't find any thinkers more intelligent or intellectually curious.
The renowned physicist and cosmologist Robert Jastrow, an agnostic himself, wrote words to the effect that after scientists have scaled the last heights of scientific knowledge, after they've climbed that highest mountain, they will find sitting there the theologians, who have been waiting for them for centuries.
So let us laugh at comedians. We need them and appreciate them. At their best, they can skewer our weaknesses and our blind spots and help open our eyes to them. But beware of elevating them to the status of great thinkers or arbiters of morality.
A comedian can say anything. Agreed. Nevertheless, we can also consider the said thing as serious, and analyse it properly. Let's keep it simple: we have had the 'new atheism' throwing their binary thinking in the mainstream for over a decade now. I am atheist myself, but I don't think being a good atheist requires being an asshole. And I've been in too many debates where this sort of thing has been said, not by a comedian but by the typical machine-guns-on-legs who are far more vehement in their numerous battles with decent people who just happen not to be atheist.
ReplyDeleteChris O’Dowd is probably trying to call the shots here, under the cover of comedy (a bit like Pat Condell maybe). Yet, a man in his 'informed' position should have known that even in 2002/2003 the 'new atheism' was already running behind the reality: conflict-based solution rhetoric was already widely being treated as a thing of the past, not something we wanted to support in the 21st century anymore. Read your philosophers. Choose the best atheists if you prefer - read Thomas Nagel to begin with, perhaps. But atheists like us should always know these days that the Dawkins-era is one full of controversy and not eligible for further expansion. We don't want to run backward.
Atheists have to keep THEIR atheism (my atheism, too) out of OUR (read: humankind's) science. If we don't do this, then we can't ask Christians to keep their religion out of our science and our politics, for instance. Atheists can't have it both ways. We have to be more honest than this. To my Christian, Islamic and other religious friends: don't buy this shit. And don't think all atheists are like this please. I know too well how many believers don't take their religion all-literally. I may be godless but I know what a metaphor is, and I know old stories and myths are meant to convey some meaning. I also know the way you belief is not necessarily an 'exclusivist' belief, you don't necessarily think only those who believe in god can love their neighbors etc. So please, take Chris O’Dowd with a grain of salt. I would even say: take it with a bucket of salt.
Hear, hear.
DeleteHope you post on IM more frequently.
Why, is there something special about "IM"? ;)
DeleteIM needs new blood. Read it and see.
Delete