Just saw “Expelled” and thought I’d write a review for those who are interested. The movie is narrated by Ben Stein (actor and former White House speech writer), who travels the globe (well, at least America and Europe) to interview various players in the “Intelligent Design vs. Darwinism” debate. It opened yesterday in 1,052 theaters--about a third as many as a major blockbuster might.
I would highly recommend this film and found it to be suited for all ages (my 8 year old went with me and the overall message was not lost on him). It’s quirky; at times funny (as when Stein gets Richard Dawkins to admit he thinks intelligent aliens “seeded” earth with life), at times somber (Stein tours Dachau concentration camp and explores the Darwinian origins of eugenics).
What I found striking was how few Christian “apologists” were featured in the film—which I felt was not necessarily a bad thing. The fortress of evolution needs to be attacked from different angles. In this case, Stein seems to go out of his way to find accomplished Jewish detractors of Darwinism, which preempts the predictable charge that only backwoods Bible-thumpers question evolution. I was relieved that it was Dr. David Berlinski challenging Richard Dawkins on the big screen, rather than Ken Ham. (Not that Ken Ham doesn’t have his value, but this is a film about scientific wars being waged in the upper echelons of the academy).
The Berlin wall serves as the leitmotif of the film. Like the communists in East Berlin, the Darwinists don’t want any new ideas to flow to their side of the wall. You are only considered “correct” if you stand on the one side. And we all know what happened to that wall. Eventually, smart people get tired of being told what to think and they start chiseling away.
The film starts by cataloging several high-profile cases where critics of Darwinism have been “expelled” from the academy for their heresy. We then meet several proponents of intelligent design—William Demski, Stephen Meyer, Berlinski, Jonathan Wells, Gerald Schroeder--as well as some of the leading defenders of Darwinism, including Dawkins and Michael Ruse. Stein is on a quest to get one of the Darwinists to explain the origin of life, which makes for some amusing exchanges. Toward the end, Stein explores the implications of Darwinism, including racial cleansing, euthanasia and abortion. The film ends on a high note, interspersing images of the Berlin Wall coming down with various speeches about intellectual freedom, while The Killers sing their inspiring “All These Things That I’ve Done.”
While not explicitly a “Christian” film, this is an important documentary that will help open up the doors of academia to creation-minded scientists, if only by inspiring a younger generation of questioning minds. So take the kids, take the youth group, take the grandparents. The only objectionable content is one derogatory use of the word “hell,” a couple scientists openly denying the existence of God, and, well (if you’re a neo-fundamentalist), The Killers music.
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