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by John Q McDonald --- 14 July 2010

Me of Little Faith

by Lewis Black

The discussion (or argument) about religion has reached a shrill timbre in this country. One doesn't even know any more what ever happened to the old live and let live attitude that springs from the establishment clause in our Constitution. Perhaps that attitude never really existed. The worst and most ridiculous arguments are made in the halls of our school boards, where people try to get religously based ideas about our world into our public school curricula, where once we had at least some respect for the quality of our children's education and now we seek merely to indoctrinate them while the rest of the world leaves us behind. Again, maybe that's always been the case. Recently, the argument has hit the popular bookshelves, with a plethora of books on atheism mixed in, now, with the usual flood of books on spirituality. Sometimes these books are written by comedians. Enter Lewis Black, the ranting and twitching comedian whose commentary is often seen on The Daily Show. He has written a couple of books about the place of religion in our society and in his life. This one explores his understanding of spiritual experiences as opposed to the often wilfull ignorance of organized religious practice and vapid new-agey spirituality. Much of the book reads like his comedy, with a kind of cranky "listen to what I'm saying" kind of humor. The book doesn't quite ring with the laughter of his comedy, because he shares with us also some of his own genuinely spiritual experiences. One doesn't quite know what to make of it when he tells us of his psychic friends and glowing meditative gurus. But Black also takes organized evangelical religion to task, repeatedly, for its invasion of our popular and, particularly, political culture. He is also rather suspicous of cults of personality and million-dollar megachurches. His message, basically, is keep your religion to yourself. Good advice. Forcing your religion on others might be a basic tenet of your belief, but it makes you unpopular and trashes the national discourse. The book is often funny, though it drags in parts. Black doesn't go so far as to declare all religion worthless; there is a gentle and tolerant undercurrent to his ranting here. An irreverant, quick and thought-provoking read. Don't read it if you're easily offended.

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See Also: [When will Jesus bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin]