The Question of God: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis (2004)

Nicholi hides personal bias: he co-founded a Christian lobbyist group

In both the book and DVD version, Nicholi presents himself as neutral on the question of the existence or nonexistence of God. In fact, Nicholi is a founding board member of powerful conservative Christian lobbyist group the Family Research Council, which actively attempts to outlaw homosexual and abortion rights while advocating abstinence-only sex education and the theory of Intelligent Design. While I assume Nicholi has the best intentions, his strong bias comes through in every aspect of the work, and in the end this feels like an unfairly hidden conflict of interest.

By pitting unhappy and mean-spirited Freud against joyous Lewis, Nicholi seems to imply that all Christians are happy and all atheists are grumpy. Obviously, it would be just as easy to focus on a happy atheist and grumpy Christian, so this argument is groundless. However, because the argument is forwarded consistently yet implicitly, it is difficult to easily identify and refute. Just listen to the typically disjointed and melancholic music used in the Freud scenes compared to the happy or profound music selected for Lewis.

Nicholi frames the God question as: "We make one of two basic assumptions: we view the universe as an accident, or we assume an intelligence beyond the universe who gives the universe order, and for some of us, meaning to life." This framing of the question is unambiguously borrowed from the Intelligent Design movement Nicholi is part of, and rests on an implicit assumption not 1 atheist in 1,000 would agree with: that the only alternative to God is Accident. In fact, as soon as Nicholi finishes framing the question, skeptic Louis Massiah gently corrects him: "To me there is an order to the way things are, and the central question is whether you want to say that the 'orderer' is God."

The above is not an isolated example; throughout the work, Nicholi's method, particularly in his framing of questions and frequent use of specious but masked assumptions, is heavily weighted in favor of his hidden bias. Nicholi's course addresses one of the most fascinating of all questions, and was engaging to read and watch. However, I feel he has some moral obligation to be forthcoming about having co-founded a group actively pushing Intelligent Design in Washington, and to resist his frequent reliance on rhetorical sleight-of-hand. June 7, 2008

Nice Quality, But . . .

The PBS home video, The Question of God based off of Dr. Nicholi's book compares the lives of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. While the book was exceptional, the DVD is mediocre. The DVD features a comparison of the lives of these two greats with a narration and actors depicting Lewis and Freud. The quality is excellent, but, it lacks the depth of the book.

The other part of the DVD is the round table discussion, and here it utterly fails. There is really one person, Michael Shermer, who is impressive in answering the questions offered by Nicholi. On the religious side, most of the "religious people" (from Buddhism to Christianity) fail to really answers agnostic and atheists objections beside "it is faith" or "many types of evidence." While there may some truth to this, they fail in their presentation and in providing larger, stronger arguments. One wonders if anyone on the panel really ever read Lewis at all? The other "non-believers" raised the typical straw men objections and other silly statements (the attorney is absolutely, horrible, I hope he doesn't use his own criteria when evaluating a case). Shermer, while I think he is often wrong, does a very good job (as always, Shermer is always likable and presents his points well). There are good answers to his statements, but no one on this panel presented any.

I am surprised by the many five stars. Maybe I am missing something, but I really think this is average, no better, no worse.
February 7, 2008

Excellent Unbiased Dabate of a Serious Question

Whether theist or atheist most people gravitate toward resources that offer evidence for their preconceived opinions. This series doesn't do that. At times the persuasion of C. S. Lewis is so strong that the DVD feels like the sort of evangelical piece that should be shown in churches. At these moments one wonders if it would be banned in our public school system. At other times the logic of Sigmund Freud pulls just as strongly towards atheism. At these moments one wonders if the entire series would be banned from many churches. To add further dimension to the discussion Dr. Armand Nicholi created a panel of seven intelligent persons to wrestle with the question of God. Three of these are theists and three are atheists. Dr. Nicholi fills the seventh chair as a moderator. He takes great pains to be unbiased while making sure the discussion stays on track. After viewing this series one may have all sorts of ideas, but one will not be able to honestly label either side as "backward" or "less intelligent".

As a college philosophy instructor I particularly like the format of the discussion. While not using philosophical jargon the series starts with a section on Epistemology (theories of knowledge) by pitting the scientific world view against the spiritual world view. From here the series naturally leans toward Metaphysics (the big picture questions, God, cosmos, ontology, etc.). The series next follows a logical progression into Ethics with discussions on morality. Finally there is a perfect wrap up section on pain and dying.

The DVD contains a study guide that works well with each section. There are nine sections, but some may be coupled to complete the series in fewer sessions. I originally intended to skip a few sections but quickly discovered that doing so created a bias toward or against religious belief. While I personally don't have a problem with such a bias, everyone has a bias on this subject, creating the bias destroys the intent of the entire series and reduces the work to a propaganda piece. This is easy to do.
October 26, 2007

Perceptive Conversation

I found this DVD to be very enlightening and entertaining. It records a study, or 'conversation', between some believers (though not necessarily Christians) and some skeptics, concerning God and his operations/origins. Two men are used as a short of skeleton or rubric for this study: Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. It is interesting to see the questions Freud (who predates Lewis by approximately 60 years) asks, and the answers Lewis gives, and the questions Lewis asks, and the answers (though not in the same chronological fashion of course) Freud gives.

Each man is obviously very intelligent, and is considered in his certain field of study an expert, if not a revolutionary - certainly in the case with Freud, many would quite reasonably say he is the 'father' or psycho-analysis. Lewis would, of course, deny any such acclamation and say he is an unread layman.

All the deep, important, and controversial questions are asked. This is an unrestrained coversation, between people who believe in God, and people who are skeptical. Nothing is left in the dark. Questions about pain, existence, morality, love, good and evil, are all hashed out.

There are of course no mathematical answers reached (for if there were, we would all either be on one side of the fence or the other), but some very perceptive points are made and some insightful questions are asked. Make no mistake, the people in this video are learned individuals: one a Harvard Graduate Doctor, one Editor of 'Skeptic' Magazine, one an author, one a film director; they have able minds and unique insight.

If you are interested in a real conversation between believers and skeptics, I would recommend this video. I would not, however, recommend this if you are wanting to learn in depth about Lewis's philosophy/theology or Freud's psychology. Each view is skimmed, and enough information is given to acquaint one with perhaps a little higher than a general understanding. But no man's ideas are fully explored. If you want that, I would suggest Lewis's Signature Classics, or Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams. June 16, 2007

Compelling

I considered myself an agnostic for years. In presented two points of view from two of the most intelligent men of the 20 century, this book guides you through much self-examination. In reading and considering each perspective argument, I found myself landing consistently on one side of the fence. With the help of the author, I've now throughly examined my own perspective on this very important question and have come to my own unequivocal conclusion. I no longer waver, and feel completely comfortable with my belief system. I believe it will help you do the same. March 23, 2007

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