Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed
Over the weekend I rented Ben Stein's very-well-done movie highlighting the hypocricy, hatred, and insanity surrounding scientific learning.
What struck me most, while watching this movie, is the overwhelming sense of futility in bringing truth and open-mindedness to the ever-secular "leaders" of today. I heard a scientist during the movie. He said something like if science points us to Intelligent Design, and that's the conclusion, so what? Why would that matter to (human kind)? That's the absolute crux of the situation. People do not want to know. There's a certain safety and dare I say liberty in ignorance of man's special qualities. There's likely some comfort to the minds of folk to think there's no creator - no God - no special purpose for life being on this tiny planet in this place in the universe. What comfort would that be? The comfort in thinking nothing they do in life - no decision they make, no conditions of their hearts and minds will have consequence hereafter.
One particularly excellent interchange between Stein and Richard Dawkins:
Stein: What do think is the possibility that there then, intelligent design might turn out to be the answer to some issues in genetics... or in evolution?
Richard Dawkins: Well... it could come about in the following way: it could be that uh, at some earlier time somewhere in the universe a civilization e-evolved... by probably by some kind of Darwinian means to a very very high level of technology and designed a form of life that they seeded onto... perhaps this... this planet. Um, now that is a possibility. And uh, an intriguing possibility. And I suppose it's possible that you might find evidence for that if you look at the um, at the detail... details of our chemistry molecular biology you might find a signature of some sort of designer.
Stein:[voice over] Wait a second. Richard Dawkins thought intelligent design might be a legitimate pursuit?
Richard Dawkins: Um, and that designer could well be a higher intelligence from elsewhere in the universe. But that higher intelligence would itself would have to come about by some explicable or ultimately explicable process. It couldn't have just jumped into existence spontaneously. That's the point.
Stein: [voice over] So professor Dawkins was not against intelligent design, just certain types of designers. Such as God.
I also found the movie interesting in how it showed some of the social outcomes possible of complete Darwinism. In the minds of the motivated, such as Adolf Hitler, Darwinism directly or indirectly lead to the murder of millions during the rise and sustainment of Nazism. Even today, organizations such as Planned Parenthood were created by Darwinists who supported ideas such as Eugenics. Absolutely eye-opening. I'd heard it before - but to see the parallels of Nazism and Abortion-on-demand advocates such as PP were pretty surprising.
But whatever the conclusions about ID vs Darwinism - the main point of the movie is NOT to prove/disprove either, but to generate discussion. To call for at least an honest and open discussion. The reason no-such discussion happens is likely because of the fear of the answer on behalf of weak-minded or godless?
I'd show this movie to most Junior Highers and older. My elementary-school-aged kids couldn't keep interested.
Warning - Some of these brits have Literally BROWN teeth. it's nasty.
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Originally Posted by Missileman
