This American Life - 202: Faith

Broadcast on: 21 Dec 2001

From W.B. E.C. Chicago, it's This American Life, distributed by Public Radio International. When I was 14, I stumbled on this way of looking at the world that seemed to explain everything to me. It was contained in a book called Chariots of the Gods by a guy named Eric von Daniken. He explained this thing that had never really made sense to me about the Bible. One of my problems with the Bible at that time is that the way it seemed to me was that the Bible showed this world where God was constantly doing stuff and involved in people's lives and going around performing miracles, things were happening all the time. And then it never made sense to me, why did he just up and go? If he had such an interest, why did he just suddenly vanish from the scene? Eric von Daniken explained why with the combination of archaeology, readings from the Bible, reading some myths from other peoples around the world. In his argument was basically that thousands of years ago, our planet was being regularly visited by extraterrestrial beings. And they were going around doing all sorts of stuff, healing people, flying. They were making an impression. In those days, when I was 14, three days a week, two days after school, and then on Sunday, I attended the Baltimore Hebrew College. And when our class would be going over, for example, the story from Genesis about Abraham and Sarah and how they miraculously had a son, even though she was much too old to have a child, I would helpfully point out that that would be possible if there were space aliens around with superior medical technology.

And I talked about these theories so passionately, and so persistently, that finally got me kicked out of class. I was sent downstairs to the main office where I had to talk to the guy who ran the Hebrew College, Rabbi Smoller. Rabbi Smoller's office, I remember, as this dimly lit place lit by lamps with books everywhere and these big comfortable chairs. And he was this man who was just smart and funny, and I have to say completely bemused by the chance to engage a ninth grader in a substantive discussion of these issues. And as I remember, I went down there fairly regularly for a while. And by the time he was done with me, I no longer believed the arguments from chariots of the gods. The problem was I also no longer believed in God. Something had happened where chariots of the gods had kind of been like an occupying army in my head that had killed off the army that was God's army. And then when Rabbi Smoller came in and killed off the chariots of God's army, there was just basically nothing left. I was basically a blank slate. I was a clean blackboard, and I have never found again any kind of religious faith. Since the time I was 14, I just don't believe in God. Every now and then, someone who I'm close to who's Christian, tries to tell me about Jesus. Whenever that happens, I've taken it very seriously, and I have heard them out, and I have looked at the Bible, and every time it's happened, it's come down to this, that I find that I don't seem to have a choice over whether or not I believe in God. I simply find that I do not. And trying to force myself to believe it would be like trying to convince yourself that you're in love with somebody you're not in love with. Either you have faith or you don't, either you believe or you don't. Your belief finds you, and then you end it, have each other. And once your faith is set, I think only the biggest kind of seismic event in your life can change that, even if you want to change it. What's today on our radio program,

in this Christmas season, we bring you stories of people who are stuck in one kind of faith or another for better or worse. And what happens because of their faith or lack of it? At one of our show, adventure is in turning the other cheek. In the next we ask the question, how do Christians and Muslims get along in the place where you would think they would get along worse than anywhere in modern-day Afghanistan? And when they talk about religion together, what do they talk about? Act two, does size matter if you're talking about a cross? In that story, we visit the largest cross in the western hemisphere, and we find out that actually the answer to that question is yes, size does matter if you're talking about a cross. Act three, the epiphany biz, the story of what it means to be a secular person whose job is documenting miracles for Christians. Act four, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come in offer thy gift. In that act, an all-black church gets a white minister who has

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