I
(RJS) saw Ben Stein’s “documentary” movie EXPELLED: No
Intelligence Allowed over Thanksgiving on DVD, or I saw parts of it anyway
– some of the family saw the entire movie.  I have also been asked about
this movie at church on occasion. I have to say, I found the movie very hard to
watch because of the format, which is designed for sound bites, entertainment
and sensationalism, rather than accuracy and information.

If you’ve seen this movie, I have
a question.

Do you think the movie
serves a useful purpose? If so why?

Certainly there is hostility
toward Christian or faith based thinking and a knee-jerk reaction to Intelligent
Design by some in the academy and the scientific establishment.  This movie, with it’s half truths, makes it worse. It gives rise to the same kind of indignation  that Christians feel over sensational documentaries on topics like the DaVinci Code, the Gospel of Judas, or the Jesus Ossuary.

There is also hostility in parts
of the church toward the scientific establishment  and scientists in general.  This film serves to
reinforce these stereotypes, intensifying the conflict.  Stein’s
movie is a success (i.e. makes money) because of the conservative Christian
market.

I must admit that I don’t think that it does any good to promote this “documentary” in a Christian setting. It seems to me that the half
truths and the format only serve to make a bad situation much worse. But what do you think?