Let me begin by saying go see the movie!
Ben Stein's new movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" (www.expelledthemovie.com) has done several things well. He has brought the light of an expose' to reveal what many, way too many, in the academic and scientific communities have know for a long time: academic and intellectual freedom is a myth in the academy and the sciences.
Intellectual fascism rules the day and if you don't submit yourself to the prevailing rulers in these two communities you will suffer the career consequences, even to the point of losing your job, for no other reason than asking a question. "The emperor has no clothes?"
The second thing that Mr. Stein has done well is to expose the central fact in the dispute about origins: it's all about worldviews, or as Richard Weaver once wrote
ideas have consequences. At the heart of the disagreement over the origin of all things is the indisputable fact that presuppositions, apriori assumptions (all of which are grounded upon and driven by one's faith) matter. If you start with a materialistic, secularistic, worldview grounded upon chance, blind "fate", or "natural selection" you may get the French Revolution, Nazi Germany, Marxism, Eugenics, or Planned Parenthood. Oh wait, we DID get those things, eh!
Thirdly he has show show that Darwinism is the ground, for many, for ignoring the God of the Bible and therefore the morality of the Ten Commandments. Morality becomes whatever (hu)man declares it to be. Like defining Jews, gypsies, and unborn babies as non persons.
Fourthly, he calls upon those in the academy and the sciences to step forward and openly oppose, and expose, the hypocrisy, hostility, and hegemony of those who control academia, the sciences, and the media or suffer the fate that Pastor Martin Niemöller spoke of when Christians failed to oppose the Nazis:
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.
One thing that Mr. Stein did not do well is challenge the hegemony of definition that the secularists and atheists claim for the word "religion" (especially those like Richard Dawkins who are openly hostile to Christianity).
All men are religious because all men have a worldview, grounded upon apriori (faith) presuppositions: the atheist as well as the believer in the triune God. Religion must be understood as a synonym for worldview. While "religion" has certainly come to connote what happens within the bounds of a "church" or formal faith it also more importantly denotes the package of faith assumptions all men have regarding origins, morality, the meaning and purpose of life, etc. That is why the US Supreme Court could find that Secular Humanism is a "religion."
Dawkins, et.al., are men of faith. They have faith in the blind, irrational, purposeless, materialism of chance. They resort (as the movie abundantly demonstrates) to vitriolic ad homenim and hostile name-calling because they can't defend
their religion's fruit well or don't like to be confronted by its logic and inescapable consequences.
Thank you Mr. Stein for the expose' and call to action. Thank you.
Let me end by saying, go see the movie!
AND if you live in the Franklin, TN area consider this:
Expelled in Franklin
http://kingsmeadow.com/downloads/FCS-KMSC%20Expelled.pdf
Join Franklin Classical School and the King’s Meadow Study Center on May 1 from 6:30-9:30 PM, for an evening of lively discussion and intellectual engagement as we discuss Darwinism, Intelligent Design, and the newly released film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed with some of Middle Tennessee's most capable scientists, academicians, and intellectuals.
Ben Stein’s Expelled documentary is creating an awareness of the rampant suppression of academic freedom in institutions around the world. At the same time, he is bringing to the consciousness of many Americans the raging controversy in intellectual and academic circles between Darwinism and the Intelligent Design movement.
Expelled in Franklin will provide our community a primer on Darwinism and the Intelligent Design movement as well as an historical sketch on the philosophical underpinnings of Darwinism, Darwinism’s impact on the 20th century, and a vision for how parents, students, and interested citizens can negotiate a culture saturated with Darwinism.
This event is free and open to the public. However, an RSVP must be received by April 25 with the names of those who will attend. Email your RSVP to nctse@bellsouth.net
Seating is limited.
The panel discussion primer on Darwinism and Intelligent Design will be followed by a Q&A session at Christ Community Church, 1215 Hillsboro Road in Franklin.
