traviswright

I found a link to this website in the footnotes of a book that I have been reading lately. It’s extremely interesting to read what people who are famous have to say about God, Jesus, organized religion, and Christianity.

I looked to see what celebrities that I have heard of or ones that I like had to say about these things. The results are saddening and surprising.

Billy Joel

“Well, I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I used to go to Mass with my friends, and I viewed the whole business as a lot of very enthralling hocus-pocus. There’s a guy hanging upon the wall in the church, nailed to a cross and dripping blood, and everybody’s blaming themselves for that man’s torment, but I said to myself, “Forget it. I had no hand in that evil. I have no original sin. There’s no blood of any sacred martyr on my hands. I pass on all of this.”

Danny Elfman (a composer of film scores i.e Batman, Superman, The Kingdom, and Mission Impossible) – when asked if he believes in life after death

 No. So, I suppose, you know, that becomes a fascinating mystery. I mean, I’d like to… I hope… sometimes I really… I kind of hope that there’s a Hell. I hope that there’s a Heaven and that I’m qualified for Hell. ‘Cause that’s where I would definitely want to go. … If there is a Christian version of Heaven, I know I don’t want to go there. Awful bad. Jews don’t have Heaven and Hell. It’s not really part of that way of thinking.

Ira Glass (host of This American Life on NPR)

I just find I don’t believe in God. It just doesn’t seem to be true, and no amount of thinking about it seems to make it true. It seems inherently untrue. And the thing that’s hard about honing that position is, as a reporter, I’ve seen many times how a belief in God has transformed somebody’s life. In all the ways I feel like you can witness God’s work here on earth, I feel like I’ve seen that. I’ve met a lot of people — it’s been the thing that’s changed them, that’s sustained them in a way that I wish I could believe. But I simply find I don’t and I don’t feel like it’s something I have a choice about. I could pretend I believe a God exists, but the world seems explainable to me without it.

I remember, even when I was growing up a little kid, it all seemed, especially the Christian version — arbitrary. That the entire universe would be created, and the system that was set up was: you could actually lead a perfectly good life, and a life organized around good deeds and caring for others, and yet if you simply didn’t accept Jesus himself, the Creator of the Universe would feel so vengeful about it that you’d be condemned to an eternity of torture. It just seemed like a really weird system. Like what difference would it make to the Creator of Everything? The whole thing seemed really arbitrary. Even as a kid, I felt like, “Well, if that’s the system: fine. I accept my damnation. I don’t think it’s a fair system. But fine.” I just don’t believe.

Janeane Garofalo (currently acting as Janis on 24)

The Bible, I’ve said it before, is a beautifully written work of fiction.

Bruce Willis

“Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms,” he says. “They were all very important when we didn’t know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened,” he continues. “Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally!” he says incredulously. “I choose not to believe that’s the way. And that’s what makes America cool, you know?”

That’s some pretty crazy stuff. I have never heard someone say that they would definitely want to go to Hell. Take a look on the site. There is so much more to read there that will blow your mind.