Lori McCreary

Morgan Freeman says it was just a coincidence that he played God in a movie and that was "strictly a matter of learning a script." However, the Oscar winning actor has always been fascinated by questions of God. To understand mankind's religious devotion, Freeman traveled to 20 cities in seven countries to some of the world's greatest religious sites as part of his National Geographic Channel six episode series, "The Story of God with Morgan Freeman." There are "questions that we can't answer, except with God," notes Freeman, who has said in interviews that he believes that "the highest power is the human mind." Freeman narrates "Through the Wormhole," a Science Channel series that explores the mysteries of existence through astrophysics, quantum mechanics and string theory. In "The Story of God," Freeman, a producer on the series, asks questions like: Where do we come from? Why does evil exist? What do we mean by the apocalypse? The genesis for the series came about in the year 2000, when Freeman and producing partner Lori McCreary visited the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The museum was originally built around 1,400 years ago as a Christian cathedral, and then in 1935 was transformed into a mosque; so some of the iconography seemed like a contradiction. McCreary said she was surprised by - to learn that Jesus was considered a prophet in the Muslim faith. "I felt a little naive. I couldn't believe that I didn't know this," MeCreary explained. "Morgan and I began discussing it. If we don't have a handle on this then who does? Perhaps talking about God from our differences might enlighten us all, so that we can reach a hand across the table." For the show, Freeman traveled to places like the Ganges River, Rome and the Joel Osteen Lakewood megachurch in Texas to learn about the origins of the world's five main religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Other places Freeman visited were Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, Guatemala's Mayan temples, Egypt's pyramids, Neolithic settlements in Turkey that dates to 7500 B.C., and Bodh Gaya, the holy shrine where Siddhartha had found enlightenment at the foot of the Bodhi Tree. One of the many things Freeman found interesting during his travels was how Hindus believe in reincarnation. "They don't necessarily glory in that belief," said the actor. "Reincarnation is a task. You have to keep at until you do it right or else you won't come back as a human and don't have to worry about it. You may be at it forever." Freeman said in some places he found answers, in others more questions. "The constant through it all is that we're all looking to be part of something bigger than us," Freeman said. "If there's one thing I've learned, it is that we certainly are".