Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, where he goes from goofy guy whose money you tried to win to crazy theorist fighting against the notion of evolution, has been shrouded in secrecy, screened only to organizations who agree that science is for sinners. Its buzz has been built, however, by various teaser trailers posted on YouTube, leading even to websites like Expelled Exposed, debunking the debunkers.
But might all the backlash Stein has received been aimed for the wrong reason? Throughout the Expelled ordeal that, we thought Stein just hated science. But it's what science breeds that's his real motivation.at the wrong reason? Sure
Kevin Drum recently saw the movie, and reported back that towards the end, the documentary veered into the insane: “Stein spends the final half hour wandering around Dachau and telling us outright that his real motivation for attacking evolution isn’t any real flaw in the theory, but his belief that Darwinism leads directly to Nazi-ism, eugenics, atheism, the breakdown of morals, and mass slaughter. Can’t have that, so evolution needs to go too.” [C&L]
Editorial Director
Analysis of recent Ben Stein interview on Hannity & Colmes:
Guess that link wouldn't post….here's an alternate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgdvdDXZog4
This is the part of the ID argument that is disingenuous. "It’s also true that the theory lends itself to justify atheism, abortion, euthanasia, and eugenics” –as Stein points out. Here is another quote from Mr. Stein, “Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people- Quote from Ben Stein.
Basically, Expelled tarnishes all Darwinist and evolutionists as maniacal murderers responsible for the worst atrocities of man. Linking Hitler and Darwinism is basically a specious argument, after all how many Christian Germans prayed to God that Hitler would triumph? Should we equate Christianity with the Nazis too? That's stupid and simplistic, right? Or do we just ignore the previous two thousand years of anti-Semitism in Europe and assume it had it had no impact on the holocaust or do we blame all Christians for the camps? Again, that's a simplistic answer.
To quote the Anti-Defamation League: “The film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed misappropriates the Holocaust and its imagery as a part of its political effort to discredit the scientific community which rejects so-called intelligent design theory. Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people and Darwin and evolutionary theory cannot explain Hitler's genocidal madness. Using the Holocaust in order to tarnish those who promote the theory of evolution is outrageous and trivializes the complex factors that led to the mass extermination of European Jewry.”
I agree that you can be a Christian and a Darwinist, too. To me, one is science and the
other is faith and they each have their place in life, one in a class room, the other in a church. If ID is truly a valid scientific theory then win the debate within the scientific journals not in the court of public opinion (and please don't give me that nonsense that the ID proponents lost their jobs, that was basically a Michael Moore liberty if I ever saw one.) To date, the arguments of irreducible complexity are not enough to allow ID to stand as a valid scientific theory. And even if it was what can you do with it as theory? What predictive models will come from ID other than to ask us to marvel at god’s handiwork?
Here's a quote from my http://www.millenniumwriting.com site that Jason provided from St. Augustine:
"For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion. [1 Timothy 1.7]“
Erik John Bertel
Author of Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot