Chapter 2
Lewis' thoughts
I went back and picked up the book and started reading chapter 7. Within a few lines it said that Lewis Black has a Masters in fine arts from Yale school of drama. OK, so he's an Ivy Leaguer and has a master's degree. I did not mean to say that he was a dope, just that he isn't a scientist.
Wait a minute...Drama? Give me a break. He isn't even educated. Why would you pay all that money to go to Yale and then screw around getting a drama degree? Are you kidding me, a drama degree. Well, I really wish I could think of something genuinely funny about him getting a drama degree but all I can come up with is, "Are you kidding me?"
It would appear that I was correct to say that he does not know jack about evolutionary neurobiology. Again, I'm not knocking his IQ, just his knowledge base. He is talking about the uniquely human characteristic of religion but he has no idea how a human is constructed or how one evolved or why one does religion. He's just been alive a long time and is frustrated that so many people cause him so much mental anguish because they seem to believe such nonsense. As another aside, they believe nonsense that he would sorely like to believe himself.
Hey, maybe the reason he is being so "dramatic" about all this "religion is bullshit" stuff is that he went to fucking draaaaaama school!!
I totally appreciate that he is a stand-up comedian. He is simply trying to be funny. What I'm doing is trying to be funny making fun of his attempt to be funny. That wasn't very funny. Sorry. But understand, I would not be much of a psychiatrist if I totally let him off the hook on the being genuinely pissed off about religion thing simply because he is trying to be funny. So, what is his excuse?
He says, "I just think that religion takes itself too seriously, so I should make fun of it." He is trying to be funny but he is also pissed off about religion. Still, I like his attitude. My intent is to add a little science so that what he is saying about religion can be explained.
Even Michael Shermer, who has a much greater scientific knowledge base than does Lewis Black, does not seem to understand who Homo sapiens really is. Or, at least, he comes up a little short on the neuroscience which is where I believe the meat to be ... News flash (added on 6/1/2011) - I had dinner last night with Michael Shermer. He is touring to promote his new book entitled THE BELIEVING BRAIN. I highly recommend it as he has finally delved headlong into the neuroscience of belief. In my humble opinion, he really hit it out of the park this time.
In regards to me and my knowledge, I certainly don't know everything and I'm not an anthropologist. However, I have enough of a knowledge base in this area to take what these other folks, such as Lewis and Michael, are doing and try to help explain it. These guys seem to create a "black box" with regards to the brain. They simply assume that Homo sapiens are stupid. Or is stupid. See, I am such a bad anthropologist that I can't even be grammatically correct with a species name in a sentence. In any case, the purpose of this book is to look inside the black box and see how humans tick. How do our brains really work that results in such fanciful beliefs.
I know a little bit about this kind of stuff because I am a UCLA trained neuropsychiatrist. You know, we do the imaging stuff. The pretty yellow and red and blue pictures of the brain that you see on crime scene investigation. Yeah, we use those images to help us understand the physiology of cognition and behavior.
What ... OK ... you probably thought I was just a self-righteous dumb shit didn't you?
First, let's look at some of these fanciful beliefs. Or, let's look at some of these fanciful beliefs through the eyes of Lewis Black. Maybe I should have called this work, "Being Lewis Black." OK, sorry for that momentary brain fart. Good lord, "Being Lewis Black." What a nauseating thought.
Lewis Black's book entitled ME OF LITTLE FAITH is a disorganized compilation of comedy routines that begins in a place that you could consider to be absolutely nowhere. Then, it shifts gears about a million times going back and forth over every religious idiot that Mr. Black has ever known. It slows momentarily a few times while he looks out the window and wonders, "Hmmm ... maybe something I don't understand might be explained by a higher something or other ... naaa." Finally, it ends where it began. Absolutely nowhere.
He even throws in a short play he wrote a long time ago. Not that it was a particularly good play but I think he likes it.
If you decide to read this book you can read each chapter as a work unto itself. You can read the chapters in any order and finishing the book in its entirety is not necessary. If you read about half of one chapter you will get the idea.
I'm a psychiatrist and I read the whole damn thing. I read between the lines and I heard what he is really saying. Actually, he directly says what he is really saying most of the time. I guess that's why I like him.
What I want to do is present what I consider to be some main themes that run through the entire book. These will be presented as examples of stupid things that people believe in regards to religion. Then, I will follow in chapter 3 with my explanation about how the human brain works and why smart people believe such dumb things.
In no particular order, Lewis rambles around about every religious experience that he can personally remember. At least, every one that he thinks could possibly mean anything. Perhaps, he left out that little girl scouting incident. No, I think that was me, well, in any case...
ME OF LITTLE FAITH is a personal search for any grain of experience that might in any way suggest that there is or is not a higher anything anywhere that means anything.
The main theme of the book is that nothing about religion makes any logical sense. He also points out that because it makes no logical sense does not necessarily mean that there isn't anything in it that is real. He accepts the idea that maybe he doesn't know everything. He describes some very unusual experiences that he can't explain otherwise. Then, he sighs ... and adds a stupid play that he wrote a long time ago. Kind of like a baby, when stressed, wanting to regress to a place where it was safe at one time. You know, like the womb. (Sorry, that was the psychiatrist in me.)
OK, here is a list of some of the things that Lewis Black believes are total religious bullshit. In quotations are my attempt to paraphrase what he says on the subject in his book.
1. Suicide bombing- "Obviously stupid."
2. Winning a football game due to your faith in God- "The only side the almighty takes is my mom's."
3. Scientology- "Anything Tom Cruise believes in must be less than accurate."
4. Prayer- "There is an old British comedy in which Peter O'toole is a crazy nobleman who inherits a seat in Parliament. He decides that he is God and he drives everyone crazy. Someone asks him, "How do you know you are God?"
He replies, "When I pray to him I find I am talking to myself."
5. A born again Christian- "Since being born is something that really sucks, it would make more sense to be 'It-was-so-good-I-am-going-to-do-it-again Christians?"
6. The Rapture- "Hey, look, its nuclear annihilation ... wait, no, it's the rapture ... OK, cool ... Crap!, I'm still here."
7. Gurus and spiritual leaders- "Interesting but no."
In his book Lewis describes this one guy by saying, "And like a new age Dr. Phil but without the smarminess..."
Man...I have wanted for so long to make a negative comment in public about Dr. Phil. He is so damned hard to insult. Lewis calls him "smarmy." Wow, what the hell does that mean? According to The Free Dictionary it means, "Insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have."
OMG...that is perfect. That is exactly what Dr. Phil is. Smarmy, smarmy, smarmy ...ha...ha...
8. Heaven- "I can't imagine how unhappy I would be to sit around in a place where there is nothing to bitch about."
9. Creationism- "This refers to a belief system that is opposite to the theory of evolution. It's name derives from the fact that these absurdly idiotic beliefs were 'created."
10. The tortilla chip Jesus- (A tortilla in New Mexico that some thought looked like Jesus, never mind that no one knows what Jesus looked like. In any case, it inspired 8,000 pilgrims to trek there to see it.) "This only proves that if there is a God, he is laughing his ass off."
I wanted to insert a photo of Jesus on the tortilla but when I found the site that advertised it there was this very disappointing message:
Shrine of the Miracle Tortilla
Address: 203 Broadway, Lake Arthur, NM
Directions: Hwy 2 south from Roswell.
Hours: Closed! Tortilla broken.
On the other hand ... Here is a list of things that Lewis Black has experienced in his life that he cannot explain. These things are offered as proof evidence illustrations clues confirmation suggestions that God may exist.
1. Best round of golf ever- "I may not have actually been in Heaven on this day but if feeling like you are counts for anything, then maybe there is a Heaven."
2. Experience with mind altering drugs- "Same as number 1."
3. Feeling of my brother's presence after his death- "No shit, this is a good one."
4. Airports- "This is proof of Hell. Thus, proving Heaven by proving its logical contraposition."
5. Astrology- "The stars say my marriage to a Leo born on either July 23rd or 24th would be a disaster. To that I say, and you can quote me on this, "BING-FUCKING-O!"
6. Bus trips- "It is so wonderful to sit on a bus and watch the countryside go by and not have to keep thinking about religion. Hmmmm ... maybe there is a God."
OK, well, anyways ...That's about Lewis Black and his book entitled ME OF LITTLE FAITH. Let's go now to chapter 3 where we will get into the brain to find out how humans do religion.
Chapter 3
Table of Contents