Christianity (from the Ancient Greek: Χριστιανός Christianos) is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings. Adherents of the Christian faith are known as Christians.
Christians generally believe Jesus is the Son of God, God having become human and the saviour of humanity. Because of this, Christians commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah. Jesus' ministry, sacrificial death, and subsequent resurrection, are often referred to as the Gospel message ("good news"). In short, the Gospel is news of God the Father's eternal victory over evil, and the promise of salvation and eternal life for all people, through divine grace. Jesus stated that love is the greatest commandment: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind [and] thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
Worldwide the three largest groups of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the various denominations of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox patriarchates split from one another in the East–West Schism of 1054 AD, and Protestantism came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, splitting from the Roman Catholic Church.
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was an English American author and journalist whose career spanned more than four decades. Hitchens, often referred to colloquially as "Hitch", was a columnist and literary critic for New Statesman, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Mirror, The Times Literary Supplement and Vanity Fair. He was an author of twelve books and five collections of essays. As a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits, he was a prominent public intellectual, and his confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure.
Hitchens was known for his admiration of George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, as well as for his excoriating critiques of various public figures including Mother Teresa, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Diana, Princess of Wales. Although he supported the Falklands War, his key split from the established political left began in 1989 after what he called the "tepid reaction" of the Western left to the Rushdie Affair. The September 11 attacks strengthened his internationalist embrace of an interventionist foreign policy, and his vociferous criticism of what he called "fascism with an Islamic face." His numerous editorials in support of the Iraq War caused some to label him a neoconservative, although Hitchens insisted he was not "a conservative of any kind", and his friend Ian McEwan describes him as representing the anti-totalitarian left.
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.
Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate. He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA. He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society. In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.
Plot
Simon's girlfriend Callie breaks up with him over his depressing lack of motivation. Simon gets high and tries to enjoy some alone time, when he reads a spam ad about religion. He gets it in his head that religion may be the answer to his problems, but gets more than he expects when weird and satirical representations of religion start to appear in his everyday life. After a rotating door of failed interests and close calls with the more violent religions, Simon gives up in frustration. Buddha then comforts him, telling him that it doesn't matter what he believes as long as he is a good person. Simon takes the message to heart, and rushes off to Callie where he promises to be a better person in the future.
When you believe in things you don't understand...
When the walls of Christianity begin to shake
When my life is in the balance, neither peace nor morals wake
Telling me my life is easy, debauched and thirdly heaven sent
My heart was never theirs but this Christianity will decide
I'm bruised and left alone
I get to feel so sad
People say that I was sad
People say that I was bad
People walking around with other feelings they never like to contemplate
Reacing out for love but would never say
The chirches have a network leading to the sect and to the soul
They levitate their founder's faith up to a higher ground while we stay home
I am a wicked man
I will not be this unsound
I was a wretched man before I filled this hole
When Jesus was upon his cross he never was this alone
Do do do do do
They're playing on our weaknesses and changing every sound
Who could find the right solution when they're being drowned
Har de har the vacant talk can make you see their ways
Now check your faith and sleep with love
The modern way
Now is that love
Christianity has nothing for me
Do do do do do
This Jerusalemic holy ground is only fit for mealy mouths
Whose contamination breeds subordination
I've said too many times but who leads that kind of life
When my time comes around who will plead my innocence
And I resent that these things I do
And I resent that these things are true
And I resent that these things I do
Do do do do do
(Allen, Gray)
Voice: Sandra Moussempes.
Percussion Programming: Rew.
When the walls of Christianity begin to shake
When my life is in the balance, neither peace nor morals wake
Telling me my life is easy, debauched and thirdly heaven sent
My heart was never theirs but this Christianity will decide
I'm bruised and left alone
I get to feel so sad
People say that I was sad
People say that I was bad
People walking around with other feelings they never like to contemplate
Reacing out for love but would never say
The chirches have a network leading to the sect and to the soul
They levitate their founder's faith up to a higher ground while we stay home
I am a wicked man
I will not be this unsound
I was a wretched man before I filled this hole
When Jesus was upon his cross he never was this alone
Do do do do do
They're playing on our weaknesses and changing every sound
Who could find the right solution when they're being drowned
Har de har the vacant talk can make you see their ways
Now check your faith and sleep with love
The modern way
Now is that love
Christianity has nothing for me
Do do do do do
This Jerusalemic holy ground is only fit for mealy mouths
Whose contamination breeds subordination
I've said too many times but who leads that kind of life
When my time comes around who will plead my innocence
And I resent that these things I do
And I resent that these things are true
And I resent that these things I do
Do do do do do
(Allen, Gray)
Voice: Sandra Moussempes.
Percussion Programming: Rew.
Engineered: Drostan Madden, Simon Van Zwananberg, Claire Tonkinson.