Morgan Freeman, who hosts The Story of God on National Geographic, talks about how the series was conceptualised and his experiences while shooting for it. Excerpts
When did the idea for The Story of God first start to take shapeIJ
The idea first took root when lori (McCreary, co-founder of Revelations Entertainment) and I were in Istanbul some five or six years back. We were visiting the Hagia Sophia, a museum that, 1,400 years ago, was built as a church cathedral and then, in 1935, was transformed into a mosque. While observing the museum’s frescoes, we noticed that many of their portrayals were of biblical stories associated with only the Jewish and Christian faiths. lori asked our guide if these had been covered up during the time that it was used as a mosque. The man said that Muslims celebrated these stories, too. We were both surprised that we didn’t know how much history. From there the idea took root.
How do you personally relate to God’s storyIJ
I call myself a lifelong student of religion. But I haven’t landed on any conclusions. I can relate to the big questions that most of us ask ourselves at some point in our lives: ‘Why am I hereIJ What’s my purposeIJ How did we get here’IJ Those questions resonate with me. While science has produced answers to many of the big questions that people have asked throughout history, it doesn’t offer answers for everything.
How did you decide on the individual themes that the episodes focus onIJ
The six themes we landed on are driven by the fundamental questions that we humans have been asking ourselves since the beginning: Creation how did we get hereIJ Resurrection what happens after we dieIJ Apocalypse will the universe eventually come to an endIJ Evil why do we do bad things, and how does morality arise out of religionIJ And so forth.
What have been some of your most memorable momentsIJ
Believe it or not, I felt more in tune with what I experienced at Joel Osteen’s Church than I have felt at any other location. I can see why his message resonates with so many people. I’ve thought that about a lot of the people we’ve met along this journey and there have been many visuals and memories from the trip that linger, too. For instance, boating down the Ganges River in Varanasi was fascinating. I also thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Vatican and my conversation with Monsignor Sorondo.
Did you have any expectations going into this experienceIJ
No. Throughout this whole experience, I’ve not walked into any location or conversation with expectations because I think it’s very important for me to remain impartial. I’m not here to impose my thoughts on the audience my job is to tell the story well. This is ‘the story of God’. I don’t think I’d be doing my job if I was I interjecting the conversation with my thoughts, opinions and ideas.
Were there any surprises for youIJ
I am not sure I would say it was a surprise, but what I have found fascinating through this journey is how many other people have these same questions. We are all in search of our truth. I found that a very unifying and surprising revelation as I was on this journey.
What do you hope the audience will take away from The Story of GodIJ
I don’t want to expect anything from the audience, especially in terms of what they take away. Expectations always feel a little egotistical. But that said, my hope, is that the audience will connect and find value in The Story of God because I connected and found value in making it. If we’ve done our job, there will be many ways for people to connect. I hope they will watch. And that the story and film speaks for itself.