I sent the following letter to Bruce Weinstein, "The Ethics Guy" whose column appears in the Fort Myers News-Press

Dear Mr. Weinstein:
I just read your review of “Religulous”, which eventually I will get around to seeing. I understand it is doing really well at the box office. Bill Maher is in your face all right, and he can be tasteless, but I hardly fault him for his views on religion.

After living most of my adult life in New York City, I am living in Southwest Florida. I once enjoyed an environment filled with intellectual challenge, honest exchange of ideas, and a minimum of breast beating about faith. Down here I am inundated by mentally unprepared people who use God as their personal proof of worth, deserved or not, use their faith to feel superior, use their faith to proselytize and demean others, and use their faith to support their bigotry toward anyone who is not of their faith or skin color. These are Christians. No difference between them and the Muslim extremists that I can see except, perhaps, they are more sanctimonious and haven’t murdered anyone lately.

I was born a Christian and have a belief in a higher power. My early life in the church was filled with the sanctimonious preachings of ill-informed adults who used their church standing to impose their private beliefs on others. I left the church to pursue a life of moral behavior and prayer unrelated to organized religion. By doing so I removed myself from the hypocrisy of a great many of the faithful.

Religions of the world have been exploited by their followings who have pursued decidedly unholy agendas. I am not faulting the teachings of religion. I just haven’t seen the devout take them seriously.

Your own review is a bit preachy. You appear to believe that a religion is a righteous and benevolent panacea for the world’s ills while totally neglecting to acknowledge how those acting in the name of God have imposed apartheid, ethnic cleansing, the holocaust, and more on the defenseless. The faithful who have worked for the common good pale in comparison to those who have not. Just recognize this disparity and you will be closer to working to turn this around than you are now.

Take another look. Bill Maher unfair? Skewing his results? Choosing too carefully who he showcases as long as it exposes the faults of religion? Can he go too far? He made a point that is well taken. You say he skewed his results. I have first hand observed how accurate he can be merely by being observant in my own little place in this intellectual desert known as SW Florida.

I do not mind that the facts of religious belief may be un-provable or rest on shaky ground if by believing one behaves well. I mind that the faithful ignore the teachings while using the umbrella of faith as their permission to behave badly.

I close with a final observation: Real faith cannot be daunted by laughter.


*** I included my name and address ***

xx, Teal