Some time this morning (April 17), the young-earth creationist organization Answers in Genesis posted the following text on its blog, identifying the text as an “e-mail blast” that would go out later in the day (please note that the “I” in the e-mail is apparently AiG frontman Ken Ham):

I urge you to go to one of the 1,000 movie theaters that will be showing the excellent and entertaining documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which starts tomorrow.

I have already attended two previews of Expelled, and I look forward to seeing it again—that’s how great this film truly is. It exposes how radical evolutionists will persecute those who don’t accept evolution. It gives many examples of scientists and others whose careers have been ruined by the “evolution police,” but at the same time manages to be humorous. That’s because of its witty host, the actor Ben Stein, and the insertion of funny movie clips.

Stein is not a biblical creationist and comes from a Jewish background, but we have found some common ground with him as he does a masterful job of exposing the scientific problems with Darwinian evolution as well as the ruthlessness of its defenders in suppressing academic freedom. It’s not a Christian film, but very much worth your time because you will get a better understanding of the creation/evolution battle of today and how it is at the front lines of the culture war. Plus you will see compelling evidence for design in the universe.

Go to the film’s website, and if you don’t see one of your local movie houses listed on the site, call the theater’s manager and urge that it be shown. Your recommendation can go a long way to getting the film played and having your community see it. Or ask your pastor to call and ask how the church can book a certain showing of Expelled and then fill the theater with church members and guests.

Previews of the film have been met with standing ovations. Go see it for yourself and be prepared to stand up and cheer. (By the way, look for the scene in the film where protesters are picketing our Creation Museum!) For the moment, watch a video clip of Expelled at:

http://www.wingclips.com/cart.php?page=expelled

Meanwhile, the old-earth creationist organization Reasons to Believe reportedly sent out the following on their mailing list (quoted here as forwarded to the ASA mailing list):

Dear RTB Chapter members,

With the impending release of “EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed” (April 18), the Reasons to Believe scholar team thought it best to prepare a statement of our position, a guide for answering questions from chapters, networks, and apologists. Keep in mind that the mission of RTB centers on reaching out to science-minded people with two purposes:

1. to bring the Gospel message to those who would not otherwise hear it, and

2. to strengthen the faith of those who fear that science conflicts with the Christian faith—equipping them for ministry in the process.

In order to accomplish these purposes, we must first earn the right to be
heard.

After previewing the promotional materials provided by the movie’s marketers, we were concerned that the movie took an adversarial approach to the scientific community. A number of RTB scholars and staff attended a prerelease screening in Los Angeles recently and confirmed that EXPELLED definitely does take such an approach. The movie draws an analogy between the Berlin wall and the scientific community’s response to intelligent design. By doing so, EXPELLED implicitly argues that the scientific community deems certain questions off-limits, particularly any question about the legitimacy of neo-Darwinian evolution. The movie further argues that academia, the media, and the courts all conspire as “thought police” to oppress any and all dissent from the party line.

Clearly some oppression and discrimination have occurred, but the experience of RTB scholars and many of their contacts refutes the movie’s premise that the scientific community systemically and unilaterally fosters these injustices. While individual scientists and institutions have behaved unfairly at times, this charge cannot in all fairness be leveled against the scientific community as a whole.

Regardless, from RTB’s perspective, the central question is this: when injustices do occur, how should we respond? Consider the response of Nate Saint to his son’s question, as depicted in the movie, End of the Spear. Nate, Jim Eliot, and three other missionaries were preparing to make contact with the notoriously violent Waodani tribe in Ecuador. Stevie asks if they will shoot the Waodani if attacked. Nate replies: “We can’t shoot the Waodani, son. They’re not ready for heaven. We are.”

If science-minded skeptics indeed represent a mission field, then we should not come out shooting. EXPELLED seems to do just that. While an entertaining movie, its main thrust runs counter to RTB’s mission of seeking to engage scientists in the scientific arena. Consequently, any endorsement of EXPELLED by RTB hinders our ability to spread the Gospel message to those we hope to reach.

Therefore, we ask all chapter members and volunteers to refrain from endorsing EXPELLED in any official way. This request does not extend to your personal interactions-only to any actions taken in association with or on behalf of Reasons to Believe.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

The RTB Scholar Team

I find these contrasting responses quite fascinating, not least because the general tenor of Reasons to Believe’s old-earth creationism has much more in common with the intelligent design model than does Answers in Genesis’s brand of young-earth creationism. Yet AiG makes common cause with Expelled (“B.S. isn’t a biblical creationist, and he’s not even a Christian, but since he’s an anti-evolution Jew, let’s pack the theaters!”), while RTB distances itself from Expelled after rightly concluding that the film vastly overstates its case for the “persecution” of ID advocates by an academic-media-judicial conspiracy.

So props to RTB, and slops to AiG. Even if you regard modern evolutionary theory as a pernicious evil that must be stopped, you still ought to value an honest debate that focuses on substantive issues instead of fearmongering through (sometimes wildly) exaggerated cries of “Victim!”—especially if your opposition to evolutionary theory stems from Christian convictions.