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New York City.

It's changed a lot
since I first came here

as a young actor.

The all night diner
that we used to go to

after the shows, gone.

Not a single phone
booth in sight anywhere.

I came here for the same
reason that most people come,

to make it.

But it was a major
change for a young boy

from rural Mississippi.

Cities like this
separate us from nature.

Most of us spend our days in
climate-controlled offices and

looking down at
computer screens,

rather than up at the stars.

Our ancestors were
always in touch with the

rawer elements of nature,

that's where they
saw evidence of god,

blowing in the wind,
coming down the warm way

of the sun.

But even in our modern world,

we still share something
with our ancestors.

That is the desire to find
proof that god exists.

Have we cut god out
of our modern lives?

Or are there special moments
when god breaks through and

makes his presence known?

I'm on a quest to understand
how people find proof of god.

I'll visit a man who heard
god on September the 11th.

And I felt god speak to me.

In a very still voice,
I felt god saying,

"it's going to be okay."

Discover
how Muslims see god in the

words of their holy book.

For Christians,
god's word is Jesus come to

earth in the flesh.

For Muslims the Koran is
god come to earth in the book.

I will took
with a Buddhist master who

feels divine power inside him.

Your inner energy,
you can manifest sort of

like the divine?

Correct.

And meet a
physicist who has faith that

science will lead him to god.

The more we
learn about the world,

it points more towards god,
rather than less.

Can we all in
our own way find proof of god?

¶ ¶

¶ ¶

for believers around the world,

prayer is an act
of faith in god.

But how do we find proof of god?

Often, it's in times of crises.

Many people feel certain
that god steps in to

save their lives.

I'm on my way to meet a
devout Christian who felt god's

presence on the fateful day
of September 11, 2001.

His name is Sujo John.

Sujo?

Morgan Freeman.

Great to meet you, sir.

Please.

Thank you.

You were
born and raised in India.

How do you happen
to be Christian?

You know my parents
come from the Southern part of

India where Christianity
goes way back over 2,000 years.

Tell me about the day that

changed your life.

It started off
as a normal day, a clear,

cloudless day in New York City.

Me and my wife, we both
find work in the towers.

I'm on the 81st floor
of the north tower,

my wife on the
71st of the south.

My wife is four months
pregnant with our first child

and we're looking forward
to the birth of that child.

You were in
the north tower and what?

8:46 in the morning,
American flight 11,

flying at 440 miles an hour,
this huge jet plane comes

crashing the north tower
and I hear this

incredible explosion.

And fire breaks on our floor,
walls start collapsing around

us and I'm saying,
"god, if this building is

gonna go down, I'm never
gonna see my wife again."

I'm never gonna see that
child that my wife is carrying.

Someone from our
floor rallies us.

He says "we've got
to beat this fire.

We've gotta get
out of this place."

So we start crawling
and fighting our way

through the fire,

looking for the
nearest stairwell.

Thousands of people are
joining us on that stairwell.

We get to the 43rd or the
44th floor when I see these

firemen, policemen,
going up, as we are going down.

We had no idea then
that these men were in a way

walking up to their death.

I can imagine.

Now we hear another explosion.

This is the second plane
crashing into the second tower.

And I was going crazy,

realizing for
sure my wife is dead.

What's life for me if
my wife is not alive?

So you
did get out, you got down?

Correct.

So now
you're down on the ground floor,

you're in the Plaza.

Correct.

Now what happens?

Walking
towards the south tower...

And you thought your wife

was in there?

Yes, I was very
sure that she was there

because she has to be
at work at 8:40 every day.

Did you get there?

No, actually the
grounds are shaking violently.

The glass is shattering.

I thought it was a bomb
and this was the south tower

imploding and going down.

As the building is collapsing,

there's people with me
and I'm huddled with them.

And I felt god speak to me.

In a very still voice,
I felt god saying,

"it's going to be okay."

You heard the voice of god?

He spoke to you?

I did not hear god
speak to me in an audible way,

but I felt god's inner
voice speak to me and ask

the people to pray with me.

What happened then?

We prayed for a few minutes.

My head is rolling,
the ground's shaking,

I feel stuff fall on me.

There's smoke all around
me, could not breath.

When the south tower collapsed,

it sort of took you with it.

You were buried
in rubble and ash.

I was kind of
resigned to my fate that

I was going to die here.

But I realize I'm alive.

I crawl my way around to
realize that these people who

had prayed with me,
they did not make it.

I see a red light flashing
to the soot and the smoke.

It's a flashing light coming
out of an ambulance and

part of the
ambulance was crushed,

but the light
was still flashing.

So I'm on the
streets of Manhattan,

I can't even recognize
it, it's like a war zone,

the debris and ash and dust.

Now you are
a lone survivor so to speak.

I'm thinking about my wife.

It was just the most
incredible trauma and

pain to experience.

The fear of the unknown,
fear about my wife.

Then my cellphone rings for
the very first time that day.

I see my wife's caller ID and
I'm thinking this is not her,

it's someone else calling me
saying "your wife is dead."

But when I said
hello, it's my wife.

And she hears my
voice loud and clear.

But her first words were,
"babe, are you alive?"

Are you alive?

She thought
I was dead and I thought

she was dead.

Alright, so we're looking at a

miracle right here.

Yes, and it
was god that preserved and

saved my life.

It's proof to me
that there is a god.

It seems
like if god was going to spare

one he would spare them all.

That's a great question,

but life on earth is such
that no one is guaranteed

a today or tomorrow.

Every human being walking on
this earth will face death.

But here's what
I know from experience.

When you walk with god and
go through the storms of life,

you have this peace
and the presence of god.

So if you carry
the presence of god,

even though it might be
death, it's going to be okay.

Sujo and his wife, Mary,

now have three children.

He left his corporate
job and dedicated his life

to helping others.

His current mission
in his native India,

is to help save women
from human trafficking.

You are using just
the power of life...

To give life to others.

Yes, I feel
very blessed that god's

called me into this.

I'm always excited about
whatever god brings my way.

Well it's
wonderful to talk to you.

Thank you sir.

Honor to be with you.

Sujo John's
survival is extraordinary.

Some say it's miraculous.

What's most remarkable to
me is that Sujo felt the

unmistakable presence of
god, even while death and

destruction were all around him.

But what about the rest of us?

Is going through a horrifying
experience like that

the only way to feel
proof of the divine?

Or can we encounter
god through the

experiences of others?

Around the world, the
faithful make pilgrimage to

miracle sites, places
like Fatima in Portugal.

In 1917, three young Shepherds
claimed they were told by the

virgin Mary that a miracle
would take place here on

October the 13th.

A crowd gathered and
on the appointed day,

thousands said they
saw the sun dance back and

forth in the sky.

Millions of pilgrims
who flock to Fatima see this

miracle site as
undeniable proof of god.

Being there reinforces their
belief that god can make

dramatic interventions
in our world.

But many believers also
feel the divine guiding us

in a far subtler way,

in the ebb and flow
of their daily lives.

I'm in New York to learn
about an ancient

religion from west Africa.

The Ifa faith of the Yoruba
people crossed the Atlantic

with slavery and is still
practiced today in Harlem.

Followers of Ifa believe the
world is filled with divine

energy and their fates
are guided by that energy.

Hello, how are you?

Hello, I am very well.

Such a pleasure to meet you.

Thank you.

Funlayo wood is a Harvard
student of African studies and

an Ifa priestess in training.

And Oluwole Ifakunle
is a babalawo,

or priest, of Harlem.

How are you?

I'm well sir, how are you?

I'm fine thank you.

Very good.

So Baba, tell me
about your religion.

Well we have various deities.

We have deities like Orun.

We have Eledba.

Eledba is the road-opener.

Orun is the road-clearer.

And then we have Oyansa,
who is the mother of nine.

We have Yemoja.

There's a variety
of different deities.

So we
all seek some proof of god.

Do you?

Well the
proof comes to our divination,

and our process of being able
to connect with our deities.

Divination.

Do you mean like
fortune telling?

Divination is about

finding one's purpose.

You see what happens
in Yoyoga faith,

most people are trying
to connect with gods and

goddesses and that's
where we use or do.

The way that
a divination is arranged

is in what we call Odu.

And so there are 256 different
Odu and each one can contains

different information,
both about energy states

that are going on around us,

as well as all different
aspects of life.

I can show you.

You can?

Sure, absolutely, yes.

It would be our pleasure.

Babalawo
is taking me to his personal

shrine so I can
see how it works.

Guys, come on in, welcome.

Yes, welcome.

Thank you.

So this is my shrine over here.

This is the place where
we make divination.

So calling on the divine
is what we're going to do.

If I'm going to do a divination,

what would I ask?

Divination is performed for most

important things in our
lives, naming ceremonies,

perform for weddings,
for sicknesses.

So this is the Opon,
the Opon of Ifa.

And this represents the four
quarters of the universe,

so we bring in the four
quadrants of the world

together so we can get a
glimpse into the future.

Babalawo
starts an Ifa divination

for Funlayo.

16 sacred
palm nuts will help him read

how the divine Odu energy
is going to shape her future.

Caught all
these divinities of Africa,

to see, to glimpse.

The reality of this for Funlayo.

As he passes
the palm nuts from one hand to

the other, he counts how many
remain in his original hand.

The markings he makes on
the board describe the Odu

that's around Funlayo.

It's a binary system,

so you could have ones and
twos and so there are 256

possible combinations of
ones and twos that can come up.

So this
is a very auspicious sign.

Talking about housing
and wealth coming to her.

So she's gonna make some money!

Yes,
something's about to happen.

Maybe you brought me
some blessings today.

You have an issue with housing?

Yes, I've been looking for

an apartment actually.

Just last night I was
calling a woman about an

apartment that I was
thinking about getting.

And so we give a praise to that

place of.

Now Funlayo, let me ask you,

how does this prove
god's existence to you?

Every single
time I've received a divination,

the advice has been on point.

And so doing divination is
that way of glancing down,

glancing up, glancing
side to side and just seeing

what type of
energy is around us.

I like to really talk about Ifa

as being destiny.

You know because if we are
on our destiny in our paths,

then we are going to be
going in a direction that

will help us to prevail
and we'll be successful and

victorious in our life.

Thank you for a wonderful time.

Oh it's
my pleasure, it's my pleasure.

The tradition
of the Yoruba says the gods

show themselves on every
roll of a palm nut,

toss of a coin and his
ideas come into many things.

If you believe in god,
you can see god in every

facet of your life.

It's not evidence that you
can present to a scientist,

but it's evidence
you feel inside.

In Ethiopia, about 100,000
orthodox Christians gather to

witness god manifest
himself in a similar way,

to Usher in the new year.

Historian Dr. Cynthia Khan has
traveled to Ethiopia to attend

one of the country's
largest religious festivals,

called Meskel.

She's accompanied
by Solomon Gezena,

an Ethiopian religious scholar.

Look Cynthia,
this place is called

Meskel square and
this is called Demera.

This is the center piece
of this celebration,

feast of Meskel.

What is it?

Its
symbolic value goes to 326 ad

to queen Helena.

Legend has it queen Helena,

the mother of Roman
emperor Constantine,

was on a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem searching for one of

the most important relics
in Christianity, Jesus's cross.

According to the
Ethiopian legend,

the cross was
buried underground and

Helena didn't know where.

So she prayed to
god for guidance.

God told her to erect
the giant bonfire.

She was
told to make exactly that

piece and fire it.

Then after the smoke goes
up and down and indicated in...

A big pointer
to tell her where to dig.

Exactly, this
shows a divine intervention.

It's a proof of god.

Yes.

Queen Helena
followed the smoke of her

bonfire to discover the
location of Jesus's cross.

The replica of that
bonfire, the Demera, is,

to Ethiopian Christians,
a symbol of god's intervention.

So they light this on fire?

Yes.

Why do they
light it and then what happens

after that?

Yeah, there
is an interesting prophecy

after they light it.

When it collapses, the
direction where it collapses

also has a meaning.

The direction
in which the Demera collapses

signals a good or bad omen
for the coming year in Ethiopia.

Every year, people flock to
Addis Ababa to take part in

the festival, to
witness proof of god.

There is singing, dancing
and even a re-enactment

of Helena finding the cross.

But what everyone awaits is
the lighting of the Demera and

the revelation of its
prophecy for the coming year.

So they're
all gathering there now?

Look at them.

Yes, exactly.

He's blessing four
sides of the Demera.

They light four sides?

Like four sides of the world?

Exactly.

Yeah.

Look, look, look at that.

Wow, it's a little frightening,

it's so big.

Yes, alright.

All eyes are now on the burning

wooden frame of the Demera.

If it topples to the west,

it will be a bad
omen for Ethiopia.

If it falls to the east,
the country will prosper.

At east, at east.

North, east.

East.

East.

So what does that mean for the

year in Ethiopia?

Peace,
love, Ethiopia will shine.

The burning of the Demera is

no miraculous apparition.

It's not the burning
bush that Moses saw.

But each year the people
of Ethiopia come together

to witness this moment.

And together they feel
the presence of god in

that falling fire.

They sense an invisible
hand guiding their destiny.

But other believers don't
look for proof of god in

the twists of
fate that befall them.

They see evidence of the
divine inside their bodies,

giving them god-like powers.

There is
an inner spark in all of us.

You can see it in the eyes.

Something that says,
"I'm alive."

We can't define what it is,
but we all recognize it.

Religions call it
the soul, a force,

that connects us to the divine.

And perhaps it is divine...

Is proof of god inside us?

I've come to one of the
coldest places in New York City,

a cocktail bar made from ice.

Pop this on for me.

Right.

Ready for the ice bar?

I'm ready.

Alright, perfect.

I'm here to
meet a man who claims he can

harness the divine
within himself.

This is Tulku Lobsang.

He's a Tibetan Buddhist
tantrayana master.

And he's meditating in
a room that's kept at just

23 degrees Fahrenheit,

wearing only a
thin cotton t-shirt.

Most of us wouldn't
last for more than a minute

without wanting to run and
put on a jacket.

Tulku Lobsang?

Hello.

I mean it's minus five degrees

Celsius in here.

That's not just cold,
that's freezing.

Do you mind telling me...

What you're doing?

Ah I'm doing
one of the most sacred

Buddhist tantrayana practice,

what we call inner fire, tummo.

Tummo?

Yeah.

And you're
not just ignoring the cold,

you're literally changing
your body temperature,

is that right?

Exactly, correct.

With the power of the
visualization and then

generate inner heat.

In meditating
you make this happen?

Correct.

Alright.

I'm from Mississippi,
I hate the cold.

Yes.

My nose is running already.

So I tell you what
I'm gonna do...

I'm gonna go outside
where it's warmer...

Yes.

And you let me know when you're

ready to come out.

Okay,
I will continue practicing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Tummo, a 900 year old form of

Buddhist meditation, has
long fascinated scientists.

Studies have shown that monks
practicing tummo can control

their autonomic
nervous system and raise

their body temperature.

Buddhists with Lobsang's
training can raise their core

temperature to a low fever,
about 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

They can also
endure extreme cold,

up to 20 degrees
below zero for hours,

something that would give
most of us hypothermia.

So how do you feel?

It's good.

Good?

Yeah.

This isn't
just like a party trick?

That is the
method of to discover your

hidden nature or you
call a Buddha nature.

The Buddha taught his followers

meditation as one of the
tools to obtain enlightenment,

the goal of Buddhism.

During the meditation,
followers are supposed to open

their minds and keep their
thoughts away from all

material necessity.

Tummo is an advanced form
of meditation in which

practitioners try to connect
to their real inner power.

¶ ¶

I'm curious to know whether
Tulku Lobsang finds proof of

the divine in his practice.

Oh my goodness, golly!

So, you do this...

This part of tummo?

Correct.

This is part of tummo, yes.

But tummo is not
only this exercise.

Most important, tummo
use the power of mind.

This is how
you get into a state where you

isolate your inner
energy, your inner power?

Correct.

With the power of exercise,
with the holding the breath

and with the concentration and
you open all of your channels

and then all energy flowing
and then inner fire come in

and then bliss come in
and then you experience

non-conceptional state of
mind what Buddhists call...

Non-conceptual?

Yeah,
non-conceptual state of mind

means mind without any thought.

That's what we
call Buddha nature.

The non-conceptual state of mind

reminds of me of pentecostal
Christians who surrender

themselves to the
holy spirit to speak in an

unintelligible language.

It reminds me of the Masong
in Thailand who are possessed

by the Taoist gods during
the nine emperor gods festival.

People in both of these
faiths find proof of a

higher power in these rituals.

But Buddhists hope to find
in their most elevated moments

is not god, but
their Buddha nature.

So in Buddhism, you don't
use the term or the idea

of the divine.

We don't believe this kind of

traditional, maybe god, or
this select god but we believe

we all have a Buddha nature.

We all want to be happy.

Nobody wants suffering.

The Buddha nature,

is that sort of like
the divine is inside?

Correct.

That it is where it is.

That's correct, that's correct.

Okay, well now,

see that resonates with me also.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I believe
that divine is what's within us.

Correct, that's it.

But what
you are saying, I think,

is that through tummo...

Yes.

You can
pretty much get in touch with,

you can express
your inner energy.

You can manifest sort
of like the divine?

Correct.

Ah, thank you very for all this.

It's really, really amazing.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

But do you
mind if I go get a cup of

hot chocolate or something?

It's alright with you?

That's perfect to me.

Right, let's go.

That was more than impressive.

That was a Buddhist tantrayana
master who has learned through

years of practice to tap
into a source of power within

himself and doesn't think
of himself as special.

He says it's his Buddha nature,

a divine power that we all have.

We just have to find it.

I like that idea, that there
is proof of god in all of us,

if we're willing to look for it.

Buddhists believe tummo
can help them harness

a divine inner power.

In southwestern African,
there is an ancient people who

believe they find proof of
god by harnessing the power of

ancestor spirits and
using it to cure the sick.

Namibian academic,
Ndapelwei Feni Nakanyete,

has been traveling for days
to reach a remote village in

Namibia where this rare
healing ceremony is about

to take place.

Hello.

Hello.

Welcome to the village.

Thank you so much.

Leon Semhow
is a member of the San tribe.

The San are one of the
oldest communities on earth.

It's estimated that they've
been performing their

traditional healing trance
dance for 20,000 years.

I understand that San people

have quite a complex religion.

So these people,
it's not going to church.

They just know that there's god.

Our people also
connect to their ancestors,

people that die a long time ago.

Some of them will come
back as a bad spirit and

some of them will
come as a good spirit,

that is help them chasing
the bad spirit away.

So you mean that there is a

god that protects the
San people and then there are

ancestors that heal the people.

Yeah, exactly.

We have people
that we call healers.

And those connect to
their ancestors who die

a long time ago.

The San see
physical pain and illness as

proof that evil spirits
have invaded their bodies.

Village healers use a trance
dance to summon good spirits

that they believe
will cure the sick.

This is the
Jarub song and if you're doing

the songs, you
have to start with their song.

Where ever you see
people doing this,

it's when someone is sick.

Among those
hoping for relief on this

night is Busa Klam Kumta.

She's been suffering
from leg pains for days.

The singing, clapping
and dancing will send the

San healer, a village
elder named Kunta boo,

into a trance state.

That's when the good spirits
of his ancestors will possess

him so he can heal Busa.

So the more he likes the song,

the quicker he will trance?

Yeah, yeah.

Interesting.

For the San,
when the healer enters the

trance, they get a glimpse
into the world of the divine.

¶ ¶

He's now in trance and

he's healing people.

A person is the only
way you can heal.

Meaning he is connected to

their ancestor and the
ancestor live in him and

where to touch.

Yeah.

And where to heal.

And what to do.

And what to do.

Yeah.

This is real.

It's not just singing
and doing something else.

He is healing people.

The dance
won't end and the healer won't

be himself until he's chased
away the evil spirits.

The next morning, Feni has
returned to the village to see

if the spirits did
in fact help Busa.

I have never ever in my life

seen something like that before.

Busa, you were one
of the people that were

healed last night.

How are you doing today?

I was
actually suffering from back

pains and my legs.

But this morning when
I was doing everything,

it was feeling very good.

Your legs are now fine,

your back pain is gone.

And I hope it doesn't
come back any more.

The sans
see proof of the divine in the

healing power of their
medicine men and perhaps on

some level the healing works
because of that belief

in a divine connection.

Which raises an
interesting question.

To find proof, do we need faith?

For many religions,
channeling the divine is their

proof of god.

But for another faith,
the proof is in god's words.

I have always
had a thirst for knowledge.

Still read everything
I can get my hands on.

This instinct to learn
about our world and try to

understand it is universal.

Civilization itself is based
on our drive for knowledge.

But does that knowledge bring
us closer to proof of god?

The answer to that may depend
on whether you believe the

words we write come from
our minds or from god.

All of the world's major
religions have a sacred text.

The Sikhs have a book called
the guru Granth sahib.

The Jewish faith has the torah.

Both offer divine wisdom
to their followers.

I'm at the Islamic center
in Washington DC to see

how the words of the Koran
are more than holy wisdom

for the Muslim faithful.

They are proof of god.

Dr. Amir Hussein is a scholar
of the Islamic tradition.

Amir?

Mr. Freeman,
honored to see you sir.

How are you?

Thank you.

I'm very well indeed,
nice to see you.

This is rather elaborate...

So the first thing that
occurred to me when I walked

in here was, "I wonder
what that chandelier weighs?"

It's huge.

There's a verse in the Koran
about god is the light of the

heavens and the earth.

Now up there,
what are we looking at?

What you see
are verses from the Koran.

So right here up in the
light, this malhar, Al-rahman,

Al-Raheem literally in the
name of god, the merciful,

the compassionate.

Al-rahman, merciful.

Al-Raheem, the compassionate.

So those are
two of the names of god.

So, then
calligraphy has a special

place and meaning?

Absolutely.

To make beauty out of those
letters, out of those words,

is really important for Muslims.

You know, through the
words that god speaks.

For Christians, god's
word is the Bible.

But gods word really is Jesus.

You know, god to come
to earth in the flesh.

For Muslims, the Koran is
god come to earth in a book.

So the very words of the
Koran are the words of god.

Proof of god is the Koran.

Is the Koran.

The fact that it exists.

Absolutely that it exists,

that god reveals god's self
to human beings in these words.

And in these words in Arabic,

80% of Muslims don't
use Arabic as their

day to day language.

But the words of the Koran
are always in Arabic.

In the mosque courtyard,

Amir shows me verses
that every Muslim knows,

ones that explain how god
shows himself in the Koran.

So these are the
very first words of the Koran,

the first versus
revealed to the prophet.

Is that right there?

Right there.

Saying Bismillah, Al-rahman,
Al-Raheem, in the name of god,

the merciful, the compassionate.

Recite in the name of your lord.

And then here, recite your
lord is the most generous who

taught by the pen.

Taught the human being what
the human being did not know.

That's the crucial importance
here, that god teaches us,

but god teaches us with god's
pen and that's why the pen,

the writing, the calligraphy
is so important for Muslims.

We have, very fortunately,
one of the great calligraphers

in the Islamic world, the
best American calligrapher,

Mohamed Zakariya,
who's with us here.

Let's come down and meet him.

Brother Mohamed...

I want to introduce
you to Mr. Morgan Freeman.

How do you do, sir?

What a delight.

You're an American?

Pale face.

Pale.

California boy.

You won't get paler than me.

But you've taken up this very

interesting art.

Yeah, I was a machinist,

I was a precisionist.

When we're doing calligraphy,
we're talking about making a

line by eye that is within
half a thousandth of an inch,

deviation from good and bad.

And so I saw these
calligraphies and they were

kind of an inspiration
to me at the time and I

converted to Islam.

Is it
possible to see your studio,

where you work?

Absolutely, I invite you.

It would seem
to me that that takes enormous

concentration to make a line
and take a breath and continue

that line without showing
you where I took the breath.

The thing
is, as your pen is moving,

you can actually forget
what you're doing.

There's a rhythm,
the whole thing flows and

it becomes visual
music in a sense.

Okay,
so what does that part mean?

What does it say?

Yeah.

"Whoever
does a work based on what

he knows from his knowledge,

god causes him
to inherit a knowledge

that he didn't know he had"
and so that's a famous one.

Ah yes, I love that.

It's one
of the few lines that I've

ever written that I really
think that has that flow.

Life.

Yeah.

Otherwise, it's just writing.

It just sits there, you know?

It's the difference
between, well you know,

a good hot dog
and a great hot dog.

That is
not just good, Mohamed...

This is awesome.

for Muslims, the Koran is the
holy revelation of god's word.

And so the very existence
of the words of the Koran

is proof of god.

Drawing these words has
become a high form of art,

a way to invoke the presence
of god and all who gaze at them.

No matter which
language you speak.

For most of reported history,

our knowledge was
connected to religion.

But today, religion
often seems at odds with

another way of understanding
the world, science.

Some even see science
as supplanting faith.

Physicists discovered
the god particle,

so do we still need god?

I'm meeting with theoretical
physicist art Leween at the

New York botanical garden.

He thinks science doesn't
replace god, instead,

it leads us to him.

So, you're a
theoretical physicist, art.

Why do you want to
meet me in this place?

Well, I thought
it would help us talk about god.

Huh?

Well, let me show you this...

Wait, wait, wait, wait...

How does plant life and
a theoretical physicist

get us to god?

Let me show you this leaf.

Okay, so it's beautiful.

Yeah, it is.

And there's
something about looking at

nature that makes us
sense awe and wonder,

something beyond ourselves.

Any of us can look at this
and we sense something of

the beauty of nature.

And I think that beauty
points us towards god.

Well you know there's a
widespread sense that as

scientists discover more and
more about the natural world,

you're kind of taking
away the wonder and

taking away the awe.

Right, if you can explain it...

You don't need god
creating it, right?

Yeah, well I think
it's the other way around.

So I think the more we
learn about the world,

it points more towards
god, rather than less.

But as a physicist you deal in

photons and equations.

Where's the god in that?

Well I do think
mathematics is as beautiful as

any nature scene that
you see around you,

possibly some are
even more beautiful.

Let me give you an example.

So this is the Dirac equation.

That's the Dirac equation?

That's right.

And so Paul Dirac, a very
famous mathematical physicist

was thinking about what
happens when very small things,

described by quantum
mechanics, go very fast,

described by
Einstein's relativity.

He put these things together
and you get this equation.

And what's amazing about
this equation is that it

predicted the existence of
antimatter well before we

saw it in nature.

So the mathematics, as it were,

forced the natural world
to have antimatter and

it was by...

It's amazing and this piece,

this really beautiful
little equation,

has discovered antimatter
in it, right there.

Dirac's
mathematical insight revealed

hidden aspects
of the universe...

And helped us
understand the big bang,

its moment of creation.

Okay, so Dirac did this?

Yeah.

What did you want to do?

Well I wanted to
discover an equation like this

that maybe describes
what life is.

So if you do find this equation,

do you think that
would be proof of god?

It's important
to remember what god is.

God is not a thing
out there in the universe

that we look for.

It's the other way around.

God is the reason why
there is a universe.

So that means I can't
prove god the way I can prove

something scientifically.

But let me give you an example.

When I married my wife,
if I say to her,

"look, I don't believe
that you love me until you

give me evidence
to the contrary."

So instead what I
have to do is I have to

take a step of faith and
believe that she loves me.

As I get to know my wife better,

our love grows and
my confidence that she

loves me grows.

In the same way, as I
get to know god better,

my confidence that
god exists grows.

That was
a fascinating conversation.

Too many people think of
science and faith as two

opposing world views,
each trying to tear the

other one down.

But nothing can be
further from the truth.

Art believes that you can find
god in scientific knowledge.

The deeper he goes, the
more he sees science of god.

I mean after all the
very fact that we were here

asking these questions
is miraculous.

Hm?

So why not take
that leap of faith?

We've spent thousands of years
searching for proof of god.

Some feel his presence
guiding them through life.

Others believe they can
channel the divine through

their bodies.

Or see him in the intricate
wonder of the universe.

So much in our world has
changed from the world our

ancestors lived in.

When we first began to think
about god and began to look

for proof of him, but how
much has changed really?

Yes, we have vast amounts
of scientific knowledge and

it's tempting to think
that we may one day try to

use that knowledge
to prove or disprove god.

But we're still all
just sitting here,

surrounded by creation,
amazed at its complexity,

its scope, its beauty.

We will always yearn to
make sense of the seemingly

chance events that guide
the course of our lives and

we will still, I believe,
be faced with the gap between

knowledge and doubt.

A place where we will
always be able to find god.

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