Morgan Freeman has been up close and personal with God as a character in films, but his own experience of the divine is more nuanced than his playful portrayals might suggest.These days, hes exploring questions about faith and the Almighty in the National Geographic showThe Story of God With Morgan Freeman.The show takes Freeman around the world, interacting with people of faith and investigating religious concepts that have intrigued philosophers for centuries.The first season aired in the spring of 2016 and became National Geographicsmost-watched seriesof all time. On Monday, Season 2will premiere with Freeman exploring a fresh set of theological questions.Were dealing with esoterica here, things that are more internal than external. So there are always going to be more questions, Freeman told The Huffington Post on Wednesday. Its one of those situations where the more you delve into it the deeper it gets.The second season features just three episodes exploring three fundamental religious themes. The first episode explores the concept of the chosen one ' people who have been singled out throughout history for purportedly having direct access to the divine. Next, the show explores heaven and hell, with a look at how peoples beliefs about the afterlife influence their actions in this life. The final episode dives into the age-old question of whether theres proof of God, and the subtle ways people of faith find look for it.Freeman is an executive producer on the show, along with Lori McCreary and James Younger of Revelations Entertainment, which Freeman and McCreary co-founded.Doing this series makes you realize, whatever your belief is, how important religion is to the structure of our daily lives, Younger told HuffPost.In todays world, religions impact on peoples daily lives can be frighteningly stark. But The Story of God isnt a show about religious discrimination or condemning faithsblind spots. It rarely even pits religions against one another, even when their different beliefs on a topic could fill an entire series. Instead, the show seeks to find common ground among faiths, which the producers acknowledged can be a novel concept in the world today.Its encouraging to see that so many varying belief systems have such a commitment to good deeds and being of service to their communities, McCreary said. Thats very different from what we often see in the news.Sharing that message of commonality is exactly what drove them to make the show, Younger said. The events that happened around the world and here [in the U.S.] in the last few months only make it more important that we do this kind of work, that we look for what we have in common with a person who appears to be different from us, he told HuffPost.For Freeman, who takes a philosophical approach to his own spiritual beliefs, The Story of God illustrates something essential about religion itself.I believe it was Karl Marx who said, Religion is the opiate of the masses. Meaning that if you could get people hooked on religion theyre much easier to control, the actor said. I think thats a complete misreading. Religion is more like the glue that holds societies together I think, and religion in its very nature gives hope. I dont think it would exist in such a wide aspect if that was not the truth of it.Season 1 of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman is available on DVD, and Season 2 will premiere on Monday, Jan. 16, at 9/8c on National Geographic. Watch a clip from the first episode, The Chosen One, below: -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Click here to read full news..
