Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a new documentary by Ben Stein that dares to look at the other side of the Darwinism vs Intelligent Design debate. He takes a very unpopular stance in this film, and I can’t wait to see it.
Although I am no longer religious at all, the notion of pure Darwinism has never sat right with me. I’ve also been amazed at how many scientists dispute fundamental Darwinism, non-religious scientists, and yet are quickly silenced.
To me, the real issue in this documentary isn’t Darwinism vs Intelligent Design, but rather an issue of free speech. We like to believe in our society we encourage open thought, open discussion and the comparison of ideas… but the cold reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. In our society, we only believe in free speech and the value of different ideas if we agree with them… which ultimately makes us no different that cold war communism or the nazis.
Much like in the old days when pro-creationism folks ruled the scientific establishments and silenced anyone with different ideas… today the reality is the pro-Darwinism folks are ruling the establishments and silence anyone with different ideas. And from that perspective, I’m dying to see see this movie.
Having an “open mind” doesn’t mean not having an opinion. But it does mean being willing to entertain and engage other ideas, even if they are opposed to the ideas you currently hold. That is something our culture sorrily lacks, and something I hope a film like this (regardless of it’s subject matter) can expose a little bit.
But there will always be ignorance, and people on both sides of every issue will decry anything put out by the other side as “propaganda” or “manipulation”, and no one just sits down to talk anymore or seems capable of understanding they MAY be wrong. Yay us!
So agree or disagree with darwinism or intelligent design, this movie looks fascinating to me:
