expelled: a review
Today I had the privilege of taking a break from school to go see a documentary hosted by Ben Stein about the controversy surrounding the evolution/Intelligent Design issue. I was a skeptic at first, because I tend to oppose ID and creationist propaganda against evolution, which portray the theory as godless and evil–but this film wasn't like that at all. Rather, it was a fascinating look at what is happening in the world of science today. Highly acclaimed biologists like Richard Dawkins claim that science is all about skepticism, questioning, and self-examination, yet when it comes to challenging the fundamentals of modern scientific premise, the academies and universities have dismissed even the notion that the hypothesis of Intelligent Design could enter the arena of debate. Thus, many capable professors, biologists, and even physicians have undergone fierce scrutiny and rejection from the scientific community, often when the rejected are not proponents of Intelligent Design, but rather believe that their ideas should be heard and their questions answered in an open intellectual forum.
While I myself would side with proven, tried-and-true methods and widely-established scientific evidence, I certainly believe that anyone who challenges these discoveries in light of his own evidence-based discoveries has the right to be heard, even if ultimately his argument doesn't quite measure up. Intelligent Design isn't a religious institution, which is why it certainly should receive more serious consideration than Creationism, whose sole purpose is to forcibly squeeze science into their comically narrow-minded interpretation of Genesis 1.
Ultimately I do believe that there is a higher power, namely the Judeo-Christian God, who created the universe and all that is in existence. In that sense I certainly would agree with anyone from the creationist or ID camp that life is, unquestionably, intelligently designed, and absolutely saturated with evidence for it. Evolution may be perceived by many as a way to explain a universe without God. I think the very complexity of the mechanism of evolution, as well as the preciseness and exact order of events necessary for human life to come about, are definitely pointers to a designer, and an impossibly brilliant designer at that.
Expelled won't be in theaters much longer (today was its last day at the Metreon), but if its still playing near you, I'd highly recommend seeing it. It's a compelling documentary and a highly engaging and entertaining film.
While I myself would side with proven, tried-and-true methods and widely-established scientific evidence, I certainly believe that anyone who challenges these discoveries in light of his own evidence-based discoveries has the right to be heard, even if ultimately his argument doesn't quite measure up. Intelligent Design isn't a religious institution, which is why it certainly should receive more serious consideration than Creationism, whose sole purpose is to forcibly squeeze science into their comically narrow-minded interpretation of Genesis 1.
Ultimately I do believe that there is a higher power, namely the Judeo-Christian God, who created the universe and all that is in existence. In that sense I certainly would agree with anyone from the creationist or ID camp that life is, unquestionably, intelligently designed, and absolutely saturated with evidence for it. Evolution may be perceived by many as a way to explain a universe without God. I think the very complexity of the mechanism of evolution, as well as the preciseness and exact order of events necessary for human life to come about, are definitely pointers to a designer, and an impossibly brilliant designer at that.
Expelled won't be in theaters much longer (today was its last day at the Metreon), but if its still playing near you, I'd highly recommend seeing it. It's a compelling documentary and a highly engaging and entertaining film.
posted by John M. Harrell at 10:27 PM
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