Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Premise Media Corporation

PG, 2008

One of the most controversial movies this year that has lawsuits flying in all directions is Ben's Stein Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Most people are simply opting out from watching this movie because Expelled is getting expelled by the movie critics. I find this ironic since the movie is basically about science teachers and journalists who have lost their jobs because they wrote an article or review of the intelligent Design (ID) arguments which went against the grain of Darwinian atheism. The two major themes of the movie are freedom of speech and let there be a conversation between Darwinian evolutionist scientists and intelligent design scientists. What the critics say the movie is about is teaching creationism in the public school system; saying Darwinian evolution leads to the Nazi holocaust; and smuggling religion into science, where the two should never meet. For those who actually see the movie, they will wonder what movie the critics were actually watching?

The movie is both serious and entertaining. This serious documentary raises many questions about issues of academic freedom and trying to promote a conversation between groups of people who normally don't get along. Throughout the movie, there are many commercial and movie clips thrown in to relieve the tension, promote laughter, and rest the brain from straining at the ideas in the movie. Overall, I believe the movie can be successful in promoting a conversation about faith and science that badly needs to happen in our country. The overall weakness of the movie is that it does present the issues from the extreme of those atheist scientists who despise religion. Although it also includes religious scientists who seem more balanced and easy going about the discussion that needs to happen.

But there are surely atheist scientists who are not too hostile to having a conversation with scientists over faith matters or the possibility of design in the universe. Surely some of the intelligent design folks believe in evolution as well, which the movie never reveals.

by Chris Criminger--pastor of a local church in Vallonia, Indiana, Chris has been a long-time commentator on many online discussion groups and will soon have a book out: Crossed Destiny: Rabbinic Stories for the Christian Soul.

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