I don't see anything of hatred or demagoguery in Bill Moyers. I see a man who is willing to call religeous zealots to account for their actions in the public realm. I think we need more people like that.

While I am not a Christian, I know many Christians and Jews that I admire (I confess that I do not know many Muslims, admirable or otherwise). However, anyone who actually reads the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam will find substantial portions of them to be vicious and intolerant in the extreme. To the best of my knowledge the leading figures in all three religions have never repudiated them, in whole or in part; at most they will claim to interpret portions of them in such a way that the vicious parts seem more benign (even Jesus, who preached love, explicitly refused to repudiate the Old Testament texts, but instead sought to "fullfill" them). Moreover, many of the adherents of all three religions have used, and continue to use, those same texts as their justification for murderous, hateful acts, and it is fair to say that a plain reading of the texts often seems to provide them with ample justification. As long as this continues to be the case, I will look warily on all three religions, and seek to limit their intrusion into the secular world I live in.

One of my favorite stories is the old one about the Emperor's new clothes. I think we need a few more people who are willing to point out the obvious fact that the Emperor (Pope, preacher, or what have you) is really naked.