TrueBlueAmerican

In what could be seen as an effort to resurrect its sister network's Celebrity Boxing franchise to boost lagging ratings, Fox News aired an interview Thursday with the controversial Catholic League president, William Donahue, who took offense to comments questioning religion from comedian, and prominent athiest, Bill Maher.

That Maher deigned to question the divinity of Jesus Christ -- saying he was more skeptical of Christian mythology than that UFOs regularly visit earth -- sent Donahue into an apoplectic rage. The 60-year-old Donahue challenged his longtime nemesis Maher to a fist-fight. Fox News host Megyn Kelly offered to televise the fight right there on Americas' Newsroom.

"Bill Maher ... constantly is going after not just religion in general, he really has it out against Christians," Donahue charged. "I'm at the point right now where I'd love to challenge this guy in a ring ... preferably Madison Square Garden. I'm a lot older than he is, but let me tell you something, I'd floor him."

On Real Time with Bill Maher, which airs Friday nights on HBO, the host and his guests were discussing recent UFO sightings in Texas when Maher made the following observation.

"I think it is much more likely that there could be space ships from outer space, than what a lot of things people believe. People still believe, you know, excuse me I know I may inject religion into every show but UFO’s are a lot more likely than a space god flew down bodily and you know who was the Son of God and you know had sex with a Palestinian woman."

Maher's program airs at 11 p.m. Friday, his viewers pay a premium fee to receive HBO, and the comedian has never been shy about his view that religion is essentially a farce, so it's unlikely any regular viewers were all that offended. That didn't stop Donahue from attempting to stir up some outrage by issuing a press release which slammed Maher as "America's number one bigot."

Donahue has made Maher one of his favorite targets for verbal vitriol, and Thursday's challenge apparently marked his blood boiling over. Indeed, the Catholic League president alluded to his deep yearning to battle the HBO host just three weeks ago.

“Unlike most non-believers, who are generally content to respect the right of most Americans to believe in God, guys like Maher want a brawl," Donahue said Jan. 7. "He should be careful what he wishes for because there are those who pine to deliver.”

Whether the fight will happen -- and the possibility of Paula Jones and Tonya Harding returning to the ring as an undercard -- remains to be seen.


The Raw Story | Catholic League president challenges Bill Maher to fight

Jonesy

The logic of someone from the Bronze age: 'I say 0+0=29, you say 0+0=0; whoever wins the fist-fight, wins the argument'.

Always on the offensive, these religious types.

Maybe one of these days they'll realize, most anti-religious types do not dislike 'belief' so much, they dislike delusion. If something has been proven false (like the world being flat or the Earth being the center of the universe), religious types would do the world a service by teaching the truth, rather than trying to drag us all into their fantasy world. Pain is not always the Devil, and pleasure is not always Heaven.

But of course, 'belief' is sort of the anti-truth. Belief cannot co-exist with truth. Makes you wonder how virtuous belief can truly be.

Quirkygal

Maher has a right to express his opinion. What's the big deal with that?

Teri B.

Donahue's an idiot.

Rollerball

Maher says something he doesn't agree with and the solution is violence? How "Christian" of him.

I guess Maher is suppose to keep his beliefs to himself. I mean it's not like Christians go around spouting off about their beliefs on TV or radio, or billboards, or come door to door to "save" your soul for you, right?

I can't think of even one other place in the media where an atheist speaks his mind, yet this one place is too much for this Catholic League president.

I hope Maher doesn't give any credibility to this guy by responding to him. Just the sort of thing Fox News would want to broadcast.

ppatt

Evidently a bigot is anyone who disagrees with Donahue.

I say give the fight to MSNBC or maybe even HBO with Larry Merchant for color.

Fox is way to partisan to be allowed to report on the return of the reformation.

Dawnling

I got a book as a gift called "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris.


He states that religious tolerance is what allows Islamic people
to, freely, blow folks up and NEVER have their religion questioned.


I hope that Bill Maher steps up and un-saturates himself of Hollywood a bit before he goes.

Religion is primitive and makes for MUCH bloody nastiness

Black_Knight

Challenging people to fist-fights is what Jesus would have done.

__________________
You can round up a million maggots to try to defeat me... but you'll still all just be maggots!
- Luca Blight

Ego massaging quote of the day;
"Black Knight, Oh I think we had Black Knight last week. Black Knight asks a lot of questions."
-Bill Maher

Realtime Overtime Scorecard
Total Questions asked: 8
Current season total : 4