Since I haven’t blogged for a while I thought I would respond to this annoying comment from Sean regarding Ben stein and Expelled:

“I have seen the movie and it was quite fascinating. The reason this movie isn’t popular is because it IS a documentary. Don’t compare it to the Michael Moore pseudo documentaries. This movie uses fact, not made up stuff to dramatize it.

Ben Stein is a genius. That is fact. It doesn’t mean he is always right, but it means he has the brain power to analyze data and make conclusions.

Spoiler Alert:
Ben Stein even gets one of the great atheist minds to admit that ID is very possible, as long as the designer isn’t God. And that is the point. The movie never talks about God. It only points out that evolution is so flawed as to be literally impossible. So what are the alternatives? Well, don’t talk about that or you will be expelled.”

Response:

Sure, Ben Stein is a genius. Sean, I would say Expelled takes as many liberties with the truth as Michael Moore’s does in his documentaries and that consequently does Expel does not get precluded from ticket revenue comparisons with “Sicko” or “Bowling for Columbine”. There are numerous blogs that have made the point that nobody in academia, never mind in the movie, has lost their jobs due to their ID or religious beliefs.

Besides what are you saying? There are more liberals that enjoy a documentary than conservatives? Why would say that that be unless you think there are more liberals in the US which is a hell of state of affairs after we have suffered through 8 years of the incompetent Bush administration.

As to the wisdom of Ben Stein well, to be honest with you, I just don’t get it. Nor do I see Richard Dawkins as one of the great minds of science either, atheist or otherwise. Dawkins basically rode the coattails of George Williams regarding the Selfish Gene and has basically suffered from hoof in mouth disease ever since.

As to Ben Stein this is the main who gave you these great quotes:

“It’s also true that the theory (evolution) 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.

Yes, love of God can lead to compassion and empathy but it has also led to religious wars, the Taliban, the Spanish Inquisition, pogroms, the extinction of aboriginal people and so forth. Science can lead to more efficient ways of killing people, it can even be an excuse for Antisemitism but it can also extend and improve the quality of life for billions of people. Not surprisingly, both belief systems are dual edged swords because, well guess what, man wields the sword.

In your mind evolution may be flawed but unfortunately ID and creationism is a non-starter as scientific process no matter how many mental contortions you go through. Trying to subject the world of science to a cartoon vision of the Bible is not going to cut it as rigorous scientific thought.

Really Sean, what though process do you go through when you a view or find a fossil? Oh, here is god directing nature so that he obtain his finest creation: mankind. How come no creationist never addresses my issue regarding when does God’s designing efforts interfere with our own free will? And if he so busy molding us and the world, you know reducing our jaw size and the like, is it too much to ask him to give the idiot colonels in Myanmar a blood clot in the brain while he is at it? Oh, yeah, he works in mysterious ways! Sorry, the function of science is to solve mysteries and not to perpetuate them.

Erik John Bertel
Author Flores Girl:The Children God Forgot

PS:  I still have yet to find a single Expelled Bootleg but there a ton of Michael Moore pirate copies!