Samuel Leibowitz is a member of an ultraorthodox Jewish sect and has been in prison for the last 9 years for drug trafficking. Released from prison he plans to return to his community in North London to try and live once again the life of an observant Hasidic Jew.Samuel comes from Stamford Hill a closed community in the United Kingdom that is hostile to the media and has almost never been fil
Theologian Dr Robert Beckford investigates amazing parallels to the Christ story in other faiths, some of them predating Christianity by thousands of years. The Hindu god, Krishna, was conceived by a virgin and his birth was attended by angels, wise men and shepherds. Buddha was also the result of a miraculous birth and visited by wise men bearing gifts. Beckford attempts to unravel the mystery of
The notion of the devil does not originate in the Bible, as many may think - In the Old Testament, Satan is just another one of God's servants. It is in Iran that the religious teacher Zarathustra simplified things, ending up with only two - a God of the Good and a God of Evil. This belief then spread throughout the Middle East. In the Jewish world, Satan, God's obedient servant, was gradually rep
This state has been established by a hardline Sunni jihadist group that emerged out of the Syrian civil war. Up until recently this group was known as ISIS but now they simply call themselves "The Islamic State" or "IS" for short. Their speed and efficiency in which they advanced from Syria into Iraq caught the world and those reporting on the middle east by complete surprise. They captured major
Radical Islam seems to be spreading within the United Kingdom, especially in light of the recent terror attacks seen in Manchester and London. The government however seems to be cracking down, when The Jihadis Next Door was released they had just made supporting ISIS a crime and increasing levels of security nationwide.As control tightens we see filmmaker Jamie Roberts spend two years with one
The Buddha. The history of Buddhism is the story of one man’s spiritual journey to Enlightenment, and of the teachings and ways of living that developed from it. Siddhartha Gautama – The Buddha. By finding the path to Enlightenment, Siddhartha was led from the pain of suffering and rebirth towards the path of Enlightenment and became known as the Buddha or ‘awakened one’.A life of luxury. Siddha
Thanks to Hung for suggesting this documentary. Old heresies die hard! The discovery of ancient texts such as the Gospel of Judas has sparked renewed interest in many ideas rejected by the early church. This documentary uncovers the truth behind the supposed "secrets" of Gnosticism. Featuring interviews with leading historians and scholars, it examines Gnosticism's origins, its early influence---a
The most famous death in history is the death of Jesus of Nazareth. 2,000 years ago in first century Jerusalem he was crucified by the Romans, the Gospels tell us he was buried in a tomb and two days later Marry Magdalene one of his closest disciples found the tomb empty.But according the Gospel of Mathew there was another story circulating after Jesus's death and though gospel calls it a lie
The cartels of Juarez, Mexico, are at war with a group of Mormons, some of whom are related to Mitt Romney. We went there to document the conflict, meet Romney's Mormon family, and find out more about how US policy is impacting the war on drugs.