Part one of this program, presented against a backdrop of Gothic architecture and pre-Raphaelite art, asks whether religion and science can coexist in a post-Darwinian world. Are Creation and Evolution mutually exclusive? Part two focuses on the questions raised by the global movement toward social equality. Must Christianity adapt to survive, and if so, do issues like female priests and homosexuality threaten to rob it of its scriptural authority?...

This program examines the structure and major tenets of these four eastern religious philosophies. The role of the spiritual master in Hinduism is defined, and the belief in transcendental power and a multitude of deities is explained. The history of Buddhism is traced from the 6th century BC. Reincarnation and nonviolence are discussed as major beliefs. Chinese Taoism, especially its stress on the equilibrium of forces, is examined. Shintoism, a...

According to Surah IV of the Qur'an, "the People of the Book" - in this context, the Jews, claim that they have put Jesus to death. Contrary to historical fact, they contend that they have crucified him. Why this implausible claim? Why this self-accusation? Why does the Qur'an polemicize so much against the Jews of Arabia and yet all the while appear to remain faithful to the biblical tradition?

This program looks at the very first story in the Book of Genesis, God's creation of the Earth and humankind. "There has to be a woman. There has to be a man. And there has to be a divine spark," observes Rabbi Burton Visotzky in this program which examines such issues as creativity, the image of God, and the roles of male and female. The program features Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann; ecumenical Christian teacher Roberta Hestenes; Old...

Rome was once the center of Christian persecution, but the martyrdom there of Paul and Peter began the unfolding of a historical epic that ended with the seat of empire becoming the spiritual capital of the Western Latin church. This program charts the development of Roman Catholicism, traveling to the ancient Port of Ostia, churches in Ravenna, and a remote Celtic monastery to show how Constantine took Christianity from a religion for the downtrodden...

Organized religion may be influenced by culture as much as by divine inspiration, and yet there are many similarities among the mainstream faiths. This program compares the defining features of the seven largest religions and finds common threads among Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and the Baha'i Faith. Using detailed examples, the video looks at structural similarities-a persecuted prophet, the importance of scriptures...

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, battle lines are drawn between conservative clerics claiming a God-given right to rule and reformers challenging their authority. This provocative program seeks to understand what happens when a modern state is re-created based on fundamentalist Islamic principles, and whether its society should be open and democratic or oppressed and authoritarian. From Iran's chaotic capital Tehran to its holy city of Qom, Iranians...

This program examines the historical relations between Islam and Christianity and the long history of conflict between them. Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Masjed Jame'i, explains the basic differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity: the roles of Christ and Mohammad, the Bible and the Koran, and the main differences of approach. The program also examines the reasons for the continuing conflict between Islam and the West,...

The impact of continental philosophy has been tremendous, infusing the humanities with a strange brew made up of energy and insight combined with absurdity and meaninglessness. This program delves deeply into concepts and thought processes that fueled the inquiries of the era's major exponents: Hegel's dialectic, Marx's dialectical materialism, Kierkegaard's lone individual standing before God, Nietzsche's declaration that God is dead, Husserl's intentionality,...

As a tool for characterizing rational thought, logic cuts across many philosophical disciplines and lies at the core of mathematics and computer science. Drawing on Aristotle's Organon, Russell's Principia Mathematica, and other central works, this program tracks the evolution of logic, beginning with the basic syllogism. A sampling of subsequent topics includes propositional and predicate logic, Bayesian confirmation theory, Boolean logic, Frege's...