(Close-up of St. Augustine bust)

St. Augustine (V.O. performance): I sought a way of obtaining strength, sufficient to enjoy God, and found it not. Until I embraced that mediator betwixt God and men. The man, Christ Jesus.

Graham (on camera): Pascal, French physicist and mathematician, set the 17th century on fire with his personal convictions about Jesus Christ.

(Close-up of Pascal bust)

Blaise Pascal (V.O. performance): Not only do we know God by Jesus Christ alone, but we know ourselves only by Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, we do not know what is our life nor our death nor ourselves.

Graham (on camera): War And Peace brought the Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, permanent fame as a literary artist. Shortly before completing Anna Karenina, he entered a period of profound searching as to the purpose of life. A search that led him to Christ.

(Close-up of Tolstoy bust)

Leo Tolstoy (V.O. performance): When I came to believe in Christ's teaching, I ceased desiring what I'd wished for before. The direction of my life, my desires, became different. What was good and bad changed places.

Graham (on camera): The early days of America reflect the faith of our nation's founding fathers. Their courage and high purpose stemmed from a strong awareness of man's spiritual need. We all remember the scene of George Washington on his knees in prayer at Valley Forge. The letter Benjamin Franklin wrote to the Speaker of the Senate asking that the Constitutional Congress begin each day with prayer. These were days when this country was being born. Certainly not all of our forefathers were true believers. There were many dark spots in America's early years, for example slavery. But the driving force behind our Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, was faith in God. Our forefathers stamped this faith on our coins. They put Bibles in our courtrooms. They opened the Congress with prayer. They instituted the custom of our president taking the oath of office on the Bible. It was this faith, and this Book, which largely gave birth to our concept of freedom.

Graham (V.O.): During those last brief months of his presidency, Lincoln spoke of the Bible.

Abraham Lincoln (V.O. performance): All the good the savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it, we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare are to be found portrayed in it.

Graham (V.O.): And what of the world of industry? Are the claims of Jesus Christ relevant in the fiercely competitive marketplace of commercial enterprise? Dr. Elmer Engstrom, president of RCA, has an answer.

Dr. Elmer Engstrom (on camera in office): (This model of our weather satellite is a constant reminder to me that man's advances through science continue on an accelerated scale. With the understanding we're developing through science, can we within this understanding conceive of how a supreme being could dip His hands into the affairs of men and of the world, to influence and control what takes place? To this, I give a definite answer of yes.) I believe that one who is committed to Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Master, has an assurance and a satisfaction in ongoing affairs that is not known by those who are not Christ's followers. With Christ as my Master and as the Lord of history, living for me is a glorious experience and adventure in His service.

Graham (V.O.) : The senior staff psychiatrist of Harvard University, Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.

Dr. Armand Nicholi (on camera in home library): We live in an age of explosive increase in knowledge. Yet for the mass of men in this century, the most basic questions remain unanswered. How does one find direction and purpose in his life? Secondly, how does one face the reality of his own death? (Today, many are turning to psychiatry for answers to these questions and in doing so are making impossible demands on it. Modern dynamic psychiatry is primarily concerned with deepening man's understanding of the functioning of the mind, and in freeing him from the tyranny of mental illness. It has made great progress in this area. Psychiatry is not however, primarily interested in purpose and destiny. It is here that the Christian Gospel becomes intensely relevant.) Christianity is concerned precisely with these questions. Thus today, the claims of Christ command careful and critical assessment. He brings to each life committed to Him, direction, purpose and an understanding of who we are, and why we are here. And when we face alone, as each of us must, the prospect of death, Christ's death and Resurrection become profoundly meaningful. He replaces fear, bitterness and despair, with hope, with faith and with unspeakable comfort.

Graham (on camera. An alternating set of medium shots and close-ups follow): Like a temple in ruins, its beauty destroyed by the ravages of nature, man waits and yearns for his Paradise Lost to be regained. Something inside the human heart has never forgotten its native place. Here at the New York World's Fair, you are seeing some of the fantastic progress of science. Yes, man's achievements in the expanding universe have been tremendous. But they have never really met our greatest needs. Here on this screen, you have seen that you were created in the image of God. But with the rest of the human race, you too rebelled against his moral law. The Bible says that God is too pure even to look upon iniquity. Therefore, your sin separates you from God. This moral deterioration in your soul has caused frustration, confusion, doubt and trouble. But in spite of your failure, in spite of your sin and rebellion, God loved you so much that He gave His Son to die for you on the cross. God wants to forgive the past. But more than that, He wants to give you a new peace, a new joy and a new strength to meet the problems of life. And a new capacity to love your neighbor. In other words He wants to make you a completely new person. This is what He meant when He said you must be born again. As you were born of the flesh the first time, so you must be born of the spirit. On every continent of the world, I've seen God change lives. Men and women who were morally bankrupt, people with cares and burdens too heavy to bear have been made alive and radiant by the power of the resurrected Christ. I've proclaimed this message to people of all races, cultures and nationalities. And I've seen them respond to the invitation to receive Jesus Christ. I've seen these people go to church, to learn and grow in Christian discipleship. I've seen men become involved in the society in which they live with a new purpose, and a whole new dimension of life. This could happen to you. How can it happen to you? Jesus said, "Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." You must come to Christ with the trust and simplicity of a child. First, you must be willing to repent of sin. Repentance means that you change your mind about God and your relationship to Him. Repentance involves also a willingness to change your whole pattern of living. Notice, I said a willingness. You may not have the strength or the ability to repent, but if you're willing, God will help you to repent. Secondly, you must turn to Christ by simple faith and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Notice again, I said "by faith". If you wait until you can understand it all, you will never come. It must be a step of faith. It's like receiving a gift. The gift of pardon for the past and a new life for the future. Many of you have come with an emptiness and a restlessness in your heart and soul. Intellectually, some of you are not certain about the purpose and meaning of life. You've never really committed yourself to any great cause or purpose. You long to have something to believe in. A flag to follow and a song to sing. Why not commit your life to Jesus Christ and let His love and authority dominate your life? Others of you have been suffering from a sense of guilt. You would like to wake up tomorrow morning with a sense of forgiveness. To know that all the failure and sin of the past is completely gone. To have an exhilaration that only God can give to a person. This tremendous change in your life could take place right here and now. A commitment to Christ is only the first step. But it's a necessary step if you are to enter the Kingdom of God. You could make this commitment at this moment, right here in this pavilion. I'm asking you to do it now. Here is how I shall ask you to do it. I want you to meet with one of us in the counseling room, just behind the screen. We will only keep you a few minutes. We would like to give you some literature and have prayer with you. Staff members trained to help you make this all important decision are in the counseling room. Entrances are on each side of the screen. If you're with friends, they can meet you just outside the counseling room exits. Make your way forward right now. Respond to that inner voice of the Holy Spirit that is saying, "You need God." This is your moment. Your moment of decision. The most important decision of your life. Let this visit to the New York World's Fair be the beginning of your new life in the Fifth Dimension. The dimension of the spirit.

(Final music. End Title card reads, "Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life.'")

Notes
1-The first draft script for this movie, prepared in June 1963, differed substantially from the final version, particularly in more than half of Graham's own narration. The room of busts initially featured a quotation from Napoleon, while Pascal was not included, and Benjamin Franklin's letter to the Senate was quoted in full. Footage of astronaut John Glenn speaking to people in front of his space capsule at the Smithsonian Institute, was to provide an example of "contemporary witnessing", while testimony from an obstetrician about his faith was to accompany scenes of a baby being delivered.

2-The speeches by Dr. Engstrom of RCA and Dr. Nicholi of Harvard appear to have been cut down for the final film version, but left unedited on the LP soundtrack. The LP also for obvious reasons, eliminated Graham's direct appeal to those in the theater to step into the counseling rooms.

3-For the 1965 season, there were two small revisions made to the film. The FX sequence of ships superimposed over the map of the Mediterranean evidently caused some problems that resulted in the sequence being either replaced or altered in the 1965 prints. In addition, the 1964 production and the souvenir LP soundtrack ended with a quiet orchestral arrangement of the hymn "Just As I Am," before the quick fadeout. In 1965 this was changed to a longer choral arrangement of "Just As I Am" that continued for more than a minute and a half after the End Title card.

4-The movie's ending was slightly revised for the film's general 16mm distribution to churches worldwide, which deleted all references to the Fair.

5-It was possible to listen to translations of the film in English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese.

6-The paintings for the crucifixion sequences, as well as the busts, were all done by Howard Sanden. The original music score was composed and conducted by Ralph Carmichael.

Eric Paddon - September 2002