Ray Ciervo Ministries

Those of you who read, To the Source, will have read and enjoyed the interview with the producers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The film is scheduled for a Spring 2008 release but faces some hurdles. The theme reveals the battle between establishment Darwinists and closet Creationists. Evidently, the film catalogues many scientists who have either been fired, threatened, or blackballed because of their belief in Intelligent Design. It will prove to be an interesting movie.

The best part of the interview was the report of Ben Stein's interview of noted Darwinist, Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is adamant about intimidating Creationists, especially those of the Christian kind. His arguments are basically ad hominen. That is, he attacks his opponent's person and character rather than his arguments. Dawkins approach to arguments is usually uninformed ranting. Most of the "new" atheists' approach the discussion this way. Read their blogs for confirmation.

However, Ben Stein reportedly takes Dawkins to the woodshed in Expelled.  Here's the complete quote:

"Something rather shocking takes place when Mr. Stein asks Mr. Dawkins about the possibility that intelligent design might be useful in the area of genetics. Mr. Dawkins responds by laying out the "intriguing possibility" that life may have come into existence elsewhere in the universe and that this unknown intelligence seeded life on earth. Mr. Stein skillfully exposes the stunning contradiction in the foundation of Mr. Dawkins thesis. That is, Mr. Dawkins is "intrigued" about the possibility that there could be an intelligent designer in the universe-just so long as that designer isn't God. Anyone who would suggest that there is a God designer is stupid, ignorant or evil.

What's so important about this moment is that Mr. Stein doesn't just expose the double-speak of Mr. Dawkins, but also that of his fellow Darwinists. Mr. Stein exposes what's really going 0n in this debate. The controversy isn't about the science; it's about the atheistic, materialistic philosophy of the elitist establishment. If the Darwinists discovered evidence of an alien designer they would be giddy. If they discovered evidence of God, they would be crushed, and would do everything in their power to dismiss the evidence  as fraudulent or inconclusive."

Dawkins rants on his blog about the film, but never mentions this encounter. I find it hard to read anything by Dawkins and his fellow atheists, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Daniel Dennett, who is also of the new atheist movement, isn't usually as caustic. The reason I find it hard is that they rarely present any arguments. What they do is provide anecdotal evidence which neither represents a contrary argument nor is good evidence.

Not all atheists are of Dawkins' ilk. Some, no many are intelligent and intellectually honest. Editor of Skeptic Magazine, Michael Schermer has been outspoken about his doubts concerning the ID movement. However, he made this comment about Expelled:

Mr. Shermer told the producers: "Your film, by the way, was beautifully produced. The music, cinematography, and editing were drop-dead powerful. Good job. That's a lot of work to make that all come together into a coherent whole." Although Schermer wouldn't agree with the conclusions of the ID movement, he's objective enough for make honest appraisals.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed will be a lightning rod for debate and conversation. Hopefully, what it represents will bring the issue to the foreground for what it really is: a concerted effort to keep ID from being seriously reviewed in academia.