TALLADEGA — Simon Cole is searching.The 45-year-old resident of Malibu, Calif., is learning the faith of the Navajo nation, getting acquainted with monks in Santa Fe, N.M., and spending an afternoon with the Alabama Free Thought Society in Talladega, all in an effort to find God.
He’s on a mission; and he’s willing to travel across the country to serve it out.
"I sort of got rich and had everything I’ve always wanted," said Cole, a commercial producer originally from Nottingham Gate, England. "I have a beautiful girlfriend, wonderful friends, a loving family, a $6 million home on the beach. I had achieved every goal I had set out to achieve, but I suddenly felt an emptiness, a hollowness, a craving for a spiritual life beyond what I had."
And so he did what anyone would do … well, anyone who could hire a crew of six people, buy a bus and finance a trip across the country, that is.
Cole set out on a journey to find God in the face of religions across the United States, documenting his travels with the help of his brother, cinematographer Ben Cole, and a crew of four others.
"I had no need for forgiveness, no tragedy, just an overwhelming need to decide if there was a God," Cole said. "I want to believe in God, but my biggest problem is I just don’t, so I decided to take time off … and search for the voice of God."
And he has for the past two months, traveling from California in a bus with his friends and crew members, taking in the sights and trying his best to get to know the Creator.
He’s prayed with Navajo Indians in the Santa Clara Pueblo sweat lodge, eaten lunch with Benedictine monks, been baptized in an Alabama lake and talked with a number of Episcopalians, Baptists, Catholics, evangelical Christians and others from across the country.
"The film is about whether I find God," Cole said. "I generally want to, but the problem is I haven’t yet. … The idea purely came from lying on my bed and wondering why I didn’t feel the things I should feel."
No matter where his travels take him, Cole’s decision has sparked mixed emotions from family and friends: admiration for his dedication from crew members and confusion from his girlfriend.
"It’s a huge struggle because I’m in love with my girlfriend," he said. "She doesn’t fully understand why I need to do it. I’m constantly trying to balance the need to love God and the need to love my woman."
Despite any doubts people who know Cole may have, he’s confident his journey is the right thing to do.
Apart from seeking God, learning the various religions has taught him and the crew the commonalities between the different denominations and even religions.
"It’s fascinating to have an opportunity to talk to so many different religious type people," said David Doumeng, a producer traveling with Cole. "Just to be involved in the great debate of religion and just see the common thread of everybody is amazing. No matter what religion people are, if you ask them what God is … most say love."
When asked how long his search will last, Cole said, "I don’t know.
"I’ll go until I say, ‘Listen guys, this is not working for me,’ or I find God," he said. "I guess I’ll stop when that decision is made."
Cole spent Friday afternoon with the Alabama Free Thought Association, a Talladega group that advocates the separation of church and state, and was scheduled to participate in a tent revival outside Nashville, Tenn., last weekend.
Monday, he was in Indiana visiting the Rourke family in an Amish community, Doumeng said.
"I think it’s unbelievable, wonderful," said Ben Cole. "It’s about time we question what is mysteriously mythological. We have to break open the myths and break open the truth of religion."
"It’s his own personal ideological quest and, in a sense, he’s not denouncing religion but trying to find the meaning of his own spirituality," said Keith Winsell, a member of the Free Thought Association. "I think he’s been questioning religion for a long time. In a sense, this is his last quest to find his own philosophy."
