Saturday I checked out “Expelled”. In the words of P.Z. Myers, University of Minnesota professor of biology, I am “religious” and “ignorant”. Commenting on Ben Stein’s documentary Myers predicted that the movie is “going to appeal strongly to the religious, the paranoid, the conspiracy theorists and the ignorant---which means that they are going to draw in about 90% of the American market.”
“Expelled” did appeal to me. I thought it was interesting, entertaining and provocative. Anytime I see a movie and I’m stirred to have conversations with others about the content of the movie and to read numerous articles about the subject I would say that the movie is appealing.
After seeing the film and Googling several of the people interviewed on both sides of the issue the case can be made that there is an effort to stifle debate on the subject of Intelligent Design. Not only did Stein interview professors, scholars and journalists who claimed to have lost their jobs because of their merely putting the issue “on the table” but he gave opportunity to evolutionists to speak to their perspective without reducing their comments to sound bites.
Richard Dawkins is not only an atheist and best selling author of “The God Delusion” but holds in contempt those who believe in God or ID. When Stein points out to Dawkins that he’s pretty harsh in his commentary about God, Dawkins seemed to take some delight in pointing out that Stein had been too mild in his assessment. Dawkins picks up a copy of his own book and quotes himself--
When pressed that if there were no God then from where does Dawkins believe life originated, with a totally straight face Dawkins suggested a theory that aliens seeded our planet.
Another “expert” voice for evolution theorizes that life originated on the backs of crystals. Still another suggested that electric sparks from a lightning storm created organic matter. These were not obscure scientists that Stein found in an attempt to discredit the evolutionists’ argument but rather these are the leading spokespersons!
Interestingly, I noticed that the film critic site, Rotten Tomatoes, had 25 reviews of “Expelled” posted and 22 found it “rotten”. Much of the criticism was not on film making but on the foolishness of the idea of ID. “The film is crap.” “One of the sleaziest documentaries.” “Narrow-minded and intellectually dishonest.”
So you don’t believe in ID. Why are you so insulting about it?
“Expelled” did appeal to me. I thought it was interesting, entertaining and provocative. Anytime I see a movie and I’m stirred to have conversations with others about the content of the movie and to read numerous articles about the subject I would say that the movie is appealing.
After seeing the film and Googling several of the people interviewed on both sides of the issue the case can be made that there is an effort to stifle debate on the subject of Intelligent Design. Not only did Stein interview professors, scholars and journalists who claimed to have lost their jobs because of their merely putting the issue “on the table” but he gave opportunity to evolutionists to speak to their perspective without reducing their comments to sound bites.
Richard Dawkins is not only an atheist and best selling author of “The God Delusion” but holds in contempt those who believe in God or ID. When Stein points out to Dawkins that he’s pretty harsh in his commentary about God, Dawkins seemed to take some delight in pointing out that Stein had been too mild in his assessment. Dawkins picks up a copy of his own book and quotes himself--
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
When pressed that if there were no God then from where does Dawkins believe life originated, with a totally straight face Dawkins suggested a theory that aliens seeded our planet.
Another “expert” voice for evolution theorizes that life originated on the backs of crystals. Still another suggested that electric sparks from a lightning storm created organic matter. These were not obscure scientists that Stein found in an attempt to discredit the evolutionists’ argument but rather these are the leading spokespersons!
Interestingly, I noticed that the film critic site, Rotten Tomatoes, had 25 reviews of “Expelled” posted and 22 found it “rotten”. Much of the criticism was not on film making but on the foolishness of the idea of ID. “The film is crap.” “One of the sleaziest documentaries.” “Narrow-minded and intellectually dishonest.”
So you don’t believe in ID. Why are you so insulting about it?
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