The Question of God

An unusual but fascinating PBS program, The Question of God explores issues surrounding spiritual and secular belief systems as defined by the work of Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, and C.S. Lewis, author and Oxford scholar. The two-part special is based on a 25-year-old Harvard course taught by Armand M. Nicholi, in which the backgrounds of Freud and Lewis are contrasted for formative experiences that drove one man toward a science-based atheism (Freud concluded that belief in God stems from childhood fear and helplessness) and the other toward Christianity (Lewis maintained that one could reject organized religion and still find a personal path to God). Actors play Freud and Lewis in dramatized scenes, and the result is a kind of de facto debate between the two. Less interesting are the interwoven segments from Nicholi's roundtable discussion with people from various walks of life about their own experiences with faith in God, nature, etc. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)