The Question of God - Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis
The Question of God: Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewismakes an exhaustive yet stimulating case that Freud, father of psychoanalysis, and Lewis, author and Oxford scholar, are exemplary representatives of their respective secular and spiritual belief systems. This two-part PBS program grew out of a quarter-century-old Harvard course taught by Armand M. Nicholi, in which the backgrounds of Freud and Lewis (born a generation apart) are compared and contrasted for formative experiences that drove one man toward a science-based atheism (Freud's conclusion that belief in God stems from childhood fear and helplessness) and the other away from atheism toward Christianity (Lewis's assertion that one can reject religion and find a personal path toward God). Through dramatized scenes featuring actors playing Lewis and Freud, the show simulates a kind of give-and-take between these deeply influential men. Somewhat less interesting are interspersed excerpts from a roundtable discussion, moderated by Nicholi, among various people (writers, filmmakers, etc.) who talk about their own experiences of faith.--Tom Keogh