While comedian Bill Maher's documentary Religulous blatantly pokes fun at religion and Christianity in particular, viewing and discussing the film can help Christians delve deeper into why they believe what they believe and to consider how they would defend their faith if challenged.

Religulous drags religious belief into the public square because Maher and director Larry Charles argue that religion's public effects make it impossible to ignore people's private beliefs. And since people's private beliefs are so, well, illogical, then perhaps they should be urged to believe something else-or nothing at all. This is the idea behind Religulous, and the basis of this study.

Religulous was one of the best-reviewed films of 2008, and the top-grossing documentary of the year. The overall critical response suggests that Religulous--for all its flaws--just might get people talking about faith in a way that is productive. Yes, it is facile and funny but it also poses real questions worthy of discussion. Why do we need faith? Why should we care if someone else rejects or even ridicules our faith?

It's difficult to imagine how a compromise can be reached between atheism and Christianity. For so many Christians their faith is such a central part of their very being that it would be impossible not to take Bill Maher's mocking tone personally. Yet we often find ourselves on the defensive, trying to prove what simply can't be proven by modern evidential standards. So how do we respond when someone charges that our religion is ridiculous?