Troy Britain: Expelled! The <s>Movie</s> Rip-off and the Event at Biola

Posted 28 March 2008 by PvM

Biola University's 'Christian Apologetics' program announced a showing of Ben Stein's movie 'Expelled' for $10. However, when Troy Britain showed up, he discovered that the event was a 'backstage' event only.

It gets “better” though. After listening to Stein practically foam at the mouth (he almost seemed like he had a pulse for a minute there) about the horrible injustices supposedly documented in his film and a bunch of stuff about God, this despite the fact that one of the clips from the film was one of the Discovery Institute muckety-mucks prattling on about how they want to talk about science and that it’s the “people with no argument” who keep bringing up the “red-herring” of religion, the night was topped off with Stein receiving the Orwellianly titled “Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth” for 2008. All of this to no less than three standing ovations from the crowd.

While the DI is working hard to differentiate ID from its religious foundations, Ben Stein and other 'Expelled' people seem to be quite clear that this is all about God. Thank God, I say, for their honesty even though they are quite misguided about evolutionary theory and Intelligent Design and are doing science and religion a disfavor.

7 Comments

raven · 28 March 2008

$10 is too much. They will just use the money to try and set up a Dark Age.

See it for free on late night Xian Trinity Broadcasting TV. Or the local fundie church.

It probably isn't even worth seeing. From numerous reviews the message is:

Science=Evolution=Atheism=Mass Murder. Plus miscellaneous, routine lies that one can read on the internet every day.

Time is worth something too.

Frank J · 28 March 2008

While the DI is working hard to differentiate ID from its religious foundations, Ben Stein and other ‘Expelled’ people seem to be quite clear that this is all about God.
— PvM

I know they started out "working hard to differentiate ID from its religious foundations," but what have they done about that lately? Had they made it clear that "Expelled" was just sensationalist nonsense all about God and creationism, while ID was real science (just not developed enough to be taught) and that evolution was just a weak theory that in no way leads to what Stein claims it does, then I'd say that they're still "working hard to differentiate..." Unless I missed something major, I think it's time to give up that argument.

DBC · 28 March 2008

Frank J:...Unless I missed something major, I think it's time to give up that argument.

Have these guys *ever* given up an argument? I saw somebody break out moon dust = young earth two days ago. ID itself is simply Paleyism. Reason is the enemy, to these folks. It's not enough to damage science- they're just as happy to rewrite history to trivialize Nazism and Lysenkoism, and the horrors they led to. It's enough to make you despair after a while, isn't it?

Carrie · 28 March 2008

"Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth"

I won't be impressed until he gets the Casey Luskin Award.

Frank J · 28 March 2008

Have these guys *ever* given up an argument? I saw somebody break out moon dust = young earth two days ago.
— DBC

Who is the "somebody"? If that was a DI person, it would be big news. And it would support my point that the DI is not trying nearly as hard as before to distance itself from religion and YEC. IIRC, AIG gave up the moon dust argument (and several other YE arguments) years ago, and have criticized the more comical YECs like Hovind for clinging to them. Even as ID relaxes its "we're not creationists" line, there is still a radical difference in strategy between their "don't ask, don't tell" approach and the testable (but falsified) YE arguments. YECs occasionally criticize (politely, of course) other YECs, OECs, and IDers, but IDers refrain for the sake of the big tent.

Troy Britain · 28 March 2008

And please note that this event was an "Apologetics Event", part of the "The Christian Apologetics Program at Biola University". Biola being an acronym which stands for Bible Institute of Los Angeles.

But it has nothing to do with religion...

DBC · 29 March 2008

No, nobody so interesting, Frank J. Just a standard-issue YECist on another board (a board not having much to do with the topic, in fact). The mouthpiece outfits do their incompetent best to stay on message, but the rank and file Evangelicals in the US have no such compunctions. If somebody said it in church, that's Gospel, and nothing else matters. Turns out he thought the moon landings were a hoax, too. You're shocked, I know. ;-)

You bring up a great point about the limits of the Big Tent, though. I've feel like I've been seeing this come up more often lately- like folks on Ray Comfort's blog mentioning Behe's odd personal views, just this week. I know the Jehovah's Witnesses who come to my door (once a month, for seven years running; really nice folks) were genuinely taken aback to find out that Behe was nominally Catholic.

I wonder if the ham-handed recent efforts in Florida weren't partially bungled up by serious YECs who are increasingly unwilling to swallow ID's shifty abstractions.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and as these folks realize who they're in bed with, they may actually come to feel that their religion isn't worth selling for political gain. Not the money men, for sure, but most everyday YECists deeply *believe* this stuff. At some point, that has to come through.

Does anybody have a link to any recent data on the breakdown, by numbers? YEC vs. OEC vs. ID, and so on? The last Pew numbers I remember made it look very, very YEC out there. They might reject evidence, but they can be made to see that ID is not their friend.