FAQ
QUESTION:
Why did you name your series Discovering Religion when you seem to heavily focus on the topics of science and evolution? Shouldn’t you have named the series Discovering Evolution?
ANSWER:
I can’t believe how many times I’ve been asked this question. First off, the title Discovering Religion is a play on words. Although it might not be a common phrase anymore, people used to claim “I’ve discovered religion” when they had an epiphany or went through a conversion process. However, the fact someone would claim they’ve “discovered religion” always struck me as self-contradictory, because if someone were to honestly and objectively examine the Scripture, they would have never undergone the conversion process in the first place.
Therefore, this series is an effort to pick up where those who claim to have “discovered religion” left off, by contrasting what the Scripture and scientific investigation tell us about the nature of reality. Furthermore, the title Discovering Religion gives my series a wide breadth, for I am not restricted to covering only one topic, but rather, I am free to discuss anything that has to do with religion’s involvement in science, politics, philosophy, history, culture and so on. The direction I can take my series is virtually limitless and I plan to work on this project for a very long time.
QUESTION:
Why do you only discuss Christianity and creationism? I thought this series was going to talk about the beliefs of many different religions, not just the conflicts between the Theory of Evolution and Intelligent Design.
ANSWER:
I do not plan on only discussing Christianity for the entire series; however, this project was begun with a clear vision and I intend to follow my original outline for the series that I drafted some eight years ago. I was inspired to begin writting down my thoughts about these subjects when I first learned of how the creationist understanding of reality was so opposed to the widely accepted facts of evolutionary science. In addition, I live in the United States, a country whose population overwhelmingly belongs to the Christian faith. As a result, I am subjected to and influenced by the pervasive religious views that surround me on a daily basis. Therefore, I feel it is most appropriate to thoroughly examine the teaching of the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, before moving on to explore the tenets of other religions. By undermining the fables contained in the Old Testament, specifically those of Genesis and Exodus, the other two Abrahamic faiths will come tumbling after.
Once I’ve exhausted my criticisms of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, I plan on exploring many other religions, especially the ancient mythologies originating from Sumeria, Babylon, and Egypt. I would also like to discuss Native American mythologies and the use of hallucinogens, like DMT and mescaline, as a way of achieving access to the spirit realm. I have a lot of interesting material I plan to discuss, but I am compelled to follow the original outline of my series and, for now, I’ve got my sights set on the Abrahamic faiths.
QUESTION:
What are your future plan for the series?
ANSWER:
The following is an episode list as well my ideas for future episodes. Note that the Discovering Religion series is broken up into smaller miniseries. When I release the remastered DVD I plan on having one miniseries per DVD. Also note that if you would like to read upcoming scripts before they are produced, please check the In Progress on this website.
Miniseries/Episode List:
Miniseries 1: Creationism (Episodes 1-4)
- Episode 1: Ready-Made World
- Episode 2: Young Earth
- Episode 3: Purpose of Christ
- Episode 4: The Flood (2 parts)
Miniseries 2: Mechanisms of Evolution (Episodes 5-8)
- Episode 5: Semantics of Science
- Episode 6: Theory of Evolution
- Episode 7: Transitional Species
- Episode 8: Archaeopteryx
Miniseries 3: Human Evolution (Episodes 9-12)
- Episode 9: Vestigial Organs (2 Parts)
- Episode 10: Neanderthal
- Episode 11: Human Origin
- Episode 12: Arrival of Man
Miniseries 4: Applications of Science (Episodes 13-16)
- Episode 13: Predictive Power of Evolution
- Episode 14: Micro and Macroevolution
- Episode 15: Past Suppression of Science
- Episode 16: Stem Cells & Capital Punishment
Miniseries 5: Christianity and America (Episodes 17-19)
- Episode 17: One Nation Above God
- Episode 18: God’s Laws vs. Christ’s Grace
- Episode 19: If America Became A Christian Nation (3 Parts)
Miniseries 6: Morality (Episodes 20-?)
- Episode 20: Secular vs. Biblical Morality
- Episode 21: Ultimate Accountability and The Loss of Free Will
- Episode 22: Moral Absolutes and The Motivation to be Moral (2 Parts)
- Episode 23: Primal and Refined Morality
- Episode 24: Animal Morality (?)
- Episode 25: Lust and The Evolution of Emotion
- Episode 26: Are We Moral?
- Episode 27: How Science Informs Morality
- Episode 28: Homosexuality
- Episode 29: Secular Morality Run Amuck
Miniseries 7: Faith (Episodes ?-?)
- Episode ?: Introduction – Afraid of the Dark
- Episode ?: Complexity – Watches, Snowflakes, and the Finely Tuned Universe
- Episode ?: Belief – The God Emotion
- Episode ?: Words – The Fountain of Youth
- Episode ?: Evidence – Testing Faith
Please leave your comments or questions.
Your feedback is very much appreciated!