Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract

Morgan Freeman’s documentary series The Story of God (National Geographic, 2016) follows the actor on a global journey to explore faith, spirituality, and answers to humanity’s big questions ew.com. The first episode, titled “Beyond Death,” focuses on the afterlife – examining what different religions and cultures believe happens when we die. In this episode, Freeman travels from a near-death experience survivor in the United States to ancient Egyptian tombs, the Mexican Day of the Dead, and beyond, uncovering diverse perspectives on life after death. Key themes include the universality of belief in some form of afterlife, whether through personal visions of light at the brink of death, elaborate rituals to guide the dead, promises of resurrection and eternal life in faith, or even modern scientific attempts to achieve digital immortality. An interview with a man who drowned and “came back” (former diver David Bennett) provides a personal insight into near-death experiences, and his story has indeed been documented outside the show. In summary, the episode “Beyond Death” serves as a rich introduction to the series by illustrating how cultures past and present grapple with the ultimate question: What lies beyond death?

Introduction – Morgan Freeman’s The Story of God Series

Morgan Freeman explores a sacred site during his worldwide quest in The Story of God series. Morgan Freeman’s The Story of God is a six-episode documentary series that premiered in April 2016 on National Geographic ew.com. In this series, the Academy Award–winning actor (famous for his resonant, “God-like” voice) travels to dozens of locations around the world to understand how different religions and cultures address fundamental spiritual questions ew.com. Each episode centers on a big topic in theology or spirituality – for example, future episodes in Season 1 investigate themes like the apocalypse, the nature of God, the creation of the universe, the problem of evil, and the power of miracles gospelherald.com. Throughout the journey, Freeman meets with religious leaders, scholars, scientists, and everyday believers, engaging with rituals and historical sites to delve into humanity’s diverse beliefs. The series’ approach is comparative and open-minded: Freeman does not advocate any single faith, but rather seeks understanding of common threads and unique differences in how societies seek God and meaning.

The very first episode, “Beyond Death,” sets the tone for the series by tackling one of the most profound questions shared by all religions: What happens when we die? Freeman himself introduces the episode by reflecting on personal losses (the deaths of close family members in his youth) and noting that people cope with death in different ways gospelherald.com. Some derive comfort from a firm belief in an afterlife, convinced they will see their loved ones again, while others remain uncertain and continue to question. This opening frames Freeman’s quest in Episode 1: to discover what people of various faiths believe lies beyond death, and why they believe it gospelherald.com. What follows is a journey through multiple countries and faith traditions, as Morgan Freeman seeks answers about the afterlife across history, geography, and even cutting-edge science.

Full Summary of Episode 1: “Beyond Death”

Near-Death Experience (United States) – The episode begins with Freeman exploring the phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs) as a possible glimpse of the afterlife. He meets with a man named David Bennett, a former research diver who was knocked overboard during a violent storm in 1983 and drowned off the California coast gospelherald.com. Bennett was clinically dead – he had no pulse and was underwater for an estimated 15–18 minutes without oxygen – yet he incredibly survived gospelherald.com. He describes to Morgan Freeman the vivid experience he had while “dead”: he saw an intense, limitless light composed of millions of fragments of light, all dancing together as if of one mind gospelherald.com. In this state, he felt a sense of infinity and recalls that these light entities communicated with him, telling him that his life was not over yet gospelherald.com. Moments later, his diving crew managed to resuscitate him. This profound episode convinced David Bennett that consciousness can continue beyond physical death – essentially, he came back with a personal conviction that an afterlife (in some form) exists. When Freeman asks if he now believes in an afterlife, Bennett says yes – though he does not subscribe strictly to any single religious doctrine about it gospelherald.com. This personal story serves as a modern testament to the possibility of life after death, setting the stage for the cross-cultural exploration to come.

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