Religion is a Red Herring November 6, 2008

After watching Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Ben Stein Documentary) I really got inspired to jot down some Ideas.

Background: I was a Biology major at MTSU. I was presented Darwinism at every turn and on all fronts. I was crazy enough to say in a Lab with all my peers: “I do not believe in evolution…” It was like someone died with the silence and hysteria that ensued after my passing comment. Then, in an effort to clarify, I said, “Don’t get me wrong, I think every being has a God-given ability to adapt over time.” Wow, talk about being labeled a heretic.

Expelled: I Love This Film! Being entrenched in the closed-system of Darwinism I have a deep appreciation for the “REBELS” in this documentary. The paradox of conservatives filling the role of “bra-burning radical,” screaming for freedom—really makes me laugh!!!

In a nutshell, this film sets out to highlight the suppression of freedom that the field of science has encountered and the high-jacking of research and education that has been in the wake of Darwin’s tsunami.

During the film, Stein interviews several scientists, to include, directors of the Discovery Institute (an institution devoted to the true, free, unabashed study of scientific concepts) the following comments were extracted during the interviews:
• Religion is a red herring. Christ has never been in the science classroom and this is not what we are attempting to accomplish. We simply want a debate on the evidence.
• From a Polish geneticist: America is much more restricted in its freedom of study in this area than Poland. (My comment: What, America is not free to weigh, evaluate, debate and instruct on scientific evidence…What, we are less free in this area than….POLAND???!!!!)
• Professor from Biola University: I have never received $ from Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. The questions that are presented with Darwinism never go away. They get loaded down with sorts of political baggage, but in a relaxed setting with scientists who embrace Darwin’s Theories (after a few beers) they admit there are major problems with his work. Any fundamentalist will agree to evolution as “change over time,” but that is not the same as Darwin’s Evolution which is defined as: “common descent of all life on earth from a single ancestor via undirected mutation and natural selection” and with this there are serious questions. So the alternative: Study of patterns of nature that are best described by Intelligence. This is not microwaved creationism but a MINIMAL commitment to a possibility of intelligence.***
• Super-smart professor in France: (I assume he moved there to have the freedom to teach whatever he wanted in the field of science) The question is not: “Is Darwinism correct?” The question is: “Is it clear enough?” That thing is a mess!

In possibly the most fascinating parts of the entire flick, Stein gets an interview with the self-proclaimed Atheist Richard Dawkins. A staunch Darwin supporter. Dawkins rejects the idea of Intelligence insomuch as it could possibly lead to any type of deity but would concede the possibility of life being “seeded” on earth through an alien force. Yes, that’s correct, no God but Aliens.

Finally, Stein is able to present through history those leaders and societies that have embraced Darwin’s Theories as fact, and the ultimate impact those ideas had sociologically. The list of characters sold out to preaching Darwin’s gospel through ideological and sociological manipulation includes: Hitler, Stalin, Margaret Sanger, and Dawkins.

Hitler: Although Darwinism was not a sufficient cause of Nazism, it was a necessary one. In Darwinism, if there is no purpose for any “unfit” life form, and if through the propagation of government we have supported the infirmed and imbiciled (who under Darwin’s model would not have been fit enough to survive) then the radical extermination of these “drains” would then allow for the “survival of the fittest,” accomplishing Hitler’s goal of an Utopian Germany society.

Stalin: Attempted to skew “evolution” to de-evolve man back to his “superhuman” strength whereby allowing for his political advantage through the Ape-Man. ( I am not kidding!)

Margaret Sanger: Founder of Planned Parenthood: she was a major proponent of a Darwinistic worldview and from her, Eugenics was birthed in the US. This is the means by which a society controls the population growth through various means of abortion and birth control. From this Darwinist’s vantage point, if we came from nothing and are going to nothing then life has no intrinsic “Quality.” There are no inalienable rights endowed to us from any “Creator” and it would be senseless to preserve the rights of an individual at the expense of another.

Dawkins: (this part of the film actually brought me to tears) I am praying for the soul of this blind man. The god of this world has him so blinded to any glimpse of truth it is very scary to me. Even scarier that his book, The God Delusion, has sold millions of copies. In the last blaze of glory for the film Stein asks Dawkins: What if you are wrong? What if you die and meet God and He says: Richard, Why? I gave you everything…millions of dollars…why could you not acknowledge me? And here Dawkins says: I would answer (he actually pulls a quote from another atheist) Why did you go to such pains to hide yourself???

Amazing…and as Stein closes the film he makes a very compelling statement, maybe science is key to seeing how many pains God has gone to in order to REVEAL himself? Could this be the reason for all the hostility and agenda? Good Question.
See this film. I would give it 2 Genetically Mutated Ape Thumbs Up! ☺