Even though I’m a religious person, I’ve always had a soft spot for a certain kind of cantankerous atheist. And although I’d never let myself be yoked with an unbeliever, I’ve always had a bit of an “older man” crush on Bill Maher. Maybe it’s the way his eyes crease when he tells a particularly acidic joke. Or the fact that he understands the motivations of evangelicals much better than the average Democrat. Or maybe it’s that he admits to wearing a smoking jacket, Henry Higgins-like, in the evenings after work. In the sad absence of Christopher Hitchens during our censorious era, Maher has fulfilled a craving for a suave, irascible heretic.