Ben Stein's Expelled
Yesterday, Dave treated the company to a showing of Ben Stein's documentary Expelled. It was a treat. Ben Stein has a great sense of humor.
In terms of a documentary, I thought it was very well done and was really enjoyable to watch. Plus, the point of the documentary, I thought, was even better. Ben Stein actually sets out to open the door (or tear down the walls) to discussing the issue of intelligent design as a legitimate argument in response to Darwinism. What I found most interesting about the documentary is that Stein does not argue in favor of intelligent design, but simply provides arguments that it has just as much of a place in science as Darwinism when it comes to discussion. In fact, he doesn't even try to make intelligent design an idea that belongs to Jews, Christians, or other faiths. He simply lays it out there as an idea that has just as much merit as Darwinism.
I know many people of faith, will be upset Stein did not push the envelope further and argue the existence of God in this film. However, I think the fact that he didn't gives his message more weight in the realm of scientific study and academia.
Here's a teaser from the film. If you've seen the film, what did you think?
5 comments:
I have no problem with IT as such.
What I do have a problem with is the IT that has recently been discussed was designed as a back door way of getting the Genesis version of creation a part or even the official version of biology in the school curriculum. This was part of the recent court case. The proponents of IT claimed that advancing the Genesis claim was not their intent, yet there were documents discovered that stated that that was in fact what was trying to be achieved.
I don't think God needs His followers not telling the truth on His behalf.
And the current hot IT version is not designed to be a presented as a complimentary theory or even a competing theory to Darwinism, but rather a vehicle to muck the waters and be the means to make the Genesis version the official version of the origin and development of man, other species and the age of the earth.
Please see http://blog.syracuse.com/newstracker/2005/12/text_of_federal_court_ruling_o.html
"I don't think God needs His followers not telling the truth on His behalf."
That's a great comment.
As far as the book of Genesis goes, I'm not sure what I believe, but I think it was a great documentary about the existence of Intelligent Design. I liked Ben Stein's call to action at the end of the film when he said something to the effect of - I'm bringing this topic more out in the open and I hope to see more people join me in the fight. (I'm sure I botched that statement, but it was something to that effect.)
I haven't seen it, so I should keep quiet. I will see it eventually and am sure it will be interesting. What little I've seen and read gives me the impression that it's like a Michael Moore film. You'll enjoy Moore's film if you share his point of view (which I often do), but you can't trust him not to play fast and loose with the facts on occasion to make his case.
Here are links to a couple things I've read.
Scientific American: link
blog of a Pepperdine religion professor: link
@johnmower: Oh, I think you are right about having a bias. However, I think that can be argued with just about any documentary. That's why I think it will be interesting to see how Christians and Jews respond to the film.
I'd have to say I agree with you on Michael Moore too. I don't really care for him all that much, but his films are compelling. Regardless of subject matter, I'd say Stein gives Moore a run for his money when it comes to the ability of simply piecing together a documentary.
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