{"id":21804,"date":"2022-12-01T10:15:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T15:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=21804"},"modified":"2022-12-02T16:26:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T21:26:53","slug":"matthew-perry-tells-bill-maher-about-his-close-relationship-with-god-and-belief-in-a-higher-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/12\/matthew-perry-tells-bill-maher-about-his-close-relationship-with-god-and-belief-in-a-higher-power.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Perry Tells Bill Maher About His Close Relationship With God and Belief in a Higher Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Featureflash Photo Agency \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actor Matthew Perry, famously known for his role as Chandler Bing in the hit NBC sitcom \u201cFriends,\u201d told outspoken atheist Bill Maher that he has a \u201cvery close relationship\u201d with God.<\/p>\n

Perry appeared on\u00a0HBO\u2019s \u201cReal Time\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Friday to discuss his memoir,\u00a0Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing<\/em><\/a>. The discussion began with Maher revealing that doctors had given Perry a 2 percent chance of survival years ago when he was hospitalized for a burst colon brought about by opioid abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was given a 2 percent chance to survive the night,\u201d Perry told Maher. \u201cThey didn\u2019t tell me that, obviously, because I wasn\u2019t really there, but they told my family. And I was put on a thing called an ECMO [Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation] machine. They call that a hail Mary. Five people were on ECMO that night, and the other four died, and I somehow made it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maher joked that God \u201cmust be a fan\u201d of Perry\u2019s, to which the actor replied that he knows Maher\u2019s belief about the Creator, but he does, in fact, believe in a \u201chigher power.” \u201cI believe there is a higher power,\u201d Perry testified. \u201cI have a very close relationship with Him that\u2019s helped me a lot.\u201d Maher replied, \u201cSomebody is on your side. Everyone is on your side. Everyone is glad you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry, who first went public about his addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs in 2004, explained that he never tried or wanted to die. \u201cI never tried, but I did so many drugs at certain times that I knew that it could kill me \u2026 But I never wanted to die. The real thing for me and the troubles that I\u2019ve had is that reality is an acquired taste,\u201d Perry explained. \u201cThat\u2019s what I believe. And I have had a great deal of time and a great deal of problems acquiring it. And it wasn\u2019t until I became really safe I felt really safe in my sobriety and really strong in my sobriety. And to tell you the truth, I am resilient, and I am strong.\u201d<\/p>\n