(no subject)
I'll second the statement by an earlier poster that "House" is a really good show. Though religion isn't a frequent topic, there are two eps (that I know of) that deal directly with the topic--one involves a teenage faith healer, the other a nun with chronic health problems--and House's negative views of religion are clear, not that he wasn't pretty easy to read anyway. And it's a funny show. Good stuff, highly recommended.
So anyway, that post reminded me of something I've been meaning to pass on. Recently, Hugh Laurie (who plays Dr. House) was on "Inside The Actors' Studio," and while discussing his background was asked about religion in his upbringing and now. He said that he is not a religious man, and gave the following awesome quote:
I am a fan of science, I believe in science. Humility before the facts, I find that a moving and beautiful thing. And belief in the unknown, I find less interesting--I find the known and the knowable interesting enough.
It's not the most original sentiment, but the way it was presented really struck me. "Humility before the facts"--what a beautiful, precise turn of phrase! Something that has always bugged me about the more crazy right-wing religious people is their insistence that facts constitute a political stance, for instance in situations in which a school board refuses to remove non-condemnatory (neutral) references to homosexuality from school curricula. Comparatively, the idea of revering fact--not necessarily liking the facts but acknowledging their importance and using them to inform your feelings and actions--is so empowering and inspiring. And if nothing else, they can help you change what you don't like, because you can't make any real change to the way things are until you know the way things are.
If anyone is interested in seeing this ep of "Inside The Actor's Studio," it will re-air on Bravo this coming Friday night (the 25th) at 7 PM EST (though you should double-check your listings lest something change). The religious discussion is negligible, but the episode on the whole is very funny and interesting, and HL was a charming guest.