Ricky Gervais

[TZ]

I recently read an article about him about him being an atheist. I saw that he was being interviewed by Piers Morgan on CNN last night...He's a very interesting guy. He made some really excellent points about how he can't really change how he feels, that being an atheist is not really a choice.
Morgan tried to ask all the questions that are sterotypic of what believers think about atheists--you know it must be because he's angry at the church or how he MUST be terrified of dying all the time etc etc...but Gervais did a really good job of framing it as a kind of a not a big deal sort of thing. He also commented on how what other people believe is not important to him, but that they are welcome to believe what they like, its not really his business and he just wishes his beliefs or lack of it could be tolerated. So in other words, he just can't find it in himself to believe in God but he understands that many people do and he just wants to live and let live. I did love his snarky "Thank God I'm an Atheist" at the Golden Globes award, but that was more about him being a comedian he said than anything else. How long before he's lumped in with Hitchens et al as a Militant Fundie who wants to destroy Religion!!!11!!!
Anyway, I was impressed with him because his attitude is so much closer to the attitudes of the non believers I know than the "New Atheist" archetype that always gets shoved in our faces...

[varkam]

1. Gervais always has been a class act....

who, of course, has never been afraid to go after sacred cows (such as religion and/or Robert Downey, Jr.)

[TZ]

3. I know. I love the fact that

he's totally unapologetic for the stuff he said at the Golden Globes. He's like, if you didn't want that type of humor why'd you hire me? He's one who knows who he is and what he is and doesn't give a damn about what others think of him.

[salvorhardin]

4. You know who else thought like that?

Hitler! :evilgrin:

[TZ]

5. Nice post Boehner!

:rofl:

[charlie]

6. Unapologetic... more like BITE ME

Ricky, from today :)

[TZ]

7. !

OMG. Thats ummm....really politically incorrect but damn its funny....

[amyrose2712]

8. HA!

:rofl:

[salvorhardin]

2. You should check out Stephen Fry too

Another great atheist British comedian, and Hugh Laurie's first partner: http://bigthink.com/ideas/17864

A very brief excerpt:

It’s interesting. Atheism comes into rather a bad press and I suppose I’d rather describe myself as a humanist, who human… I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe there is a God. If I were to believe in a god l would believe in gods. I think monotheism is the really ghastly thing. That is the absolutely staggering to me misapprehension. I can perfectly see why anybody might imagine that each thing, each thing that grows, each phenomenon that we… that accompanies us on our journey through life, the sky, the mountains, spirits of nature. I can imagine why man would wish to endow them with an inner something, an inner animus that they would call the god of that thing. I can see that. It’s a beautiful and charming way of looking at it and I can understand the Greek idea that there are these you know these principles of lightening or of war or of wisdom and to embody them, to personify them into a Athena or Aries or whichever god you want makes enormous sense, but to say that there is one only god who made it all and who is… Yeah, that is just… What? Why? Who said? Where? Come on.

[Goblinmonger]

9. If you have the chance

(though from you posting about Fry I'm sure you have, but perhaps for others), check out A Bit of Fry and Laurie which is a hilarious British sketch comedy show with those two. It currently streams on Netflix so I was able to show a couple episodes to my Brit Lit students.

[darkstar3]

10. That show fell a little flat for me.

Not being entirely "up" on British culture from the time, a lot of their topical references went over my head. For British humor, I'm more a fan of Coupling, but you'll never be able to show that in a Brit Lit class.

[cynatnite]

11. Not a fan of him...

I think that's because his humor insn't my cup of tea.

Everything else, however, I totally agree with. Their religion is their business and I don't care as long as their beliefs aren't inflicted on me.