More info; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Obsolete_Man
Watch it at CBSonline; http://tinyurl.com/8j9xxc
In a future totalitarian state, Romney Wordsworth (Meredith) is a man put on trial for the crime of being "obsolete." Publicly, he's a carpenter. Secretly, he is a librarian (a profession punishable by death, as the State has eliminated literacy) and believes in God (also punishable by death, as the State has declared that there is no God). He is prosecuted by the chancellor (Weaver), who expresses in front of the assembled court that Wordsworth, in not being an asset to the State, shall be liquidated.
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This was a fascinating episode. I'd never seen it before. In this episode a believer in God is represented charitable and calm. He reads scripture aloud. Now, 48 years after this episode aired, Hollywood represents believers as madmen, extremists', or zealots wishing to force faith on others. This is especially true if the on-screen representation involves the reading of scripture. Or you might see believers of God represented as liars or propagators of lies as in The Da Vinci Code. Were this made today Romney Wordsworth would be a stark, raving, madman unable to elicit an ounce of sympathy from the audience.
This is not an isolated Twilight Zone episode. Another example is The Howling Man, Ep. 41 (Read; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howling_Man)about a monastic order that has captured the devil and is holding him in a cell locked with the staff of truth. Were this made today the monastic order would be the bad-guys and the person locked in the cell would be someone unjustly accused of being the devil by this cult of religious zealots.
Perhaps I'm wrong. You are free to judge for yourself.
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