Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason (VIDEO)

In Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason, a PBS documentary series released Nov. 9 on DVD, journalist Bill Moyers asks, "In a world where religion is poison to some and salvation to others, how do we live together?"

The first episode in the series features acclaimed author Salman Rushdie, who brought hundreds of writers together for the PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelists) World Voices discussion of faith and reason, before leaving as the organization's President. Bill Moyers sat down with Rushdie, among many other notable writers, to discuss interpretations of morality, the power of the conscience and controversial uses of religion as a political weapon. In this clip Moyers and Rushdie address the resurgence of religion as the center of public versus private life. [Ep. 1, 24:22--27:00]

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In Episode 5, Bill Moyers talks with author Richard Rodriguez about his experiences in aiding others as they face death, as well as his own confrontation with his mortality. By diving into the dialectic Rodriguez sees between reason and spiritual acts, he also discusses the power of prayer and listening for God in the desert. In this clip, Moyers asks Rodriguez if he is "betraying reason" whenever he prays. [Ep. 5, 8:31--10:30]

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Episode 6 features author Margaret Atwood, who talks of her job as a writer to describe her surrounding world, including hidden elements and accounts of the excluded. In Atwood's conversation with Moyers about what happens when God and politics come together, her work of The Handmaid's Tale sparks a discussion of witchcraft trials and antinomianism. [Ep. 6, 4:00--6:00]

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These clips from 'Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason' are courtesy of Athena Learning, a line of in-depth, yet entertaining, long-form documentaries that facilitate the pursuit of lifelong learning.