A CATHOLIC’S MUSINGS ON EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED

(CONTINUED)

Written by Matthew Pejkovic

A major issue many scientists and critics have with Expelled is its claim that Darwinian Theory led to the atrocities of WWII by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party, and subsequently by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union.

The two key talking heads which Expelled interviewed on this issue were Richard Weikart, a professor at California State University and author of From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany, and mathematician David Berlinksi.

(Note: Both Weikart and Berlinksi, along with every other pro-Intelligent Design scientist mentioned in this article, are apart of the Discovery Institute, a think tank based in Seattle, Washington, who are advocates of Intelligent Design and hold anti-evolution views).

The both hold the view that Darwinian ideology provided the Nazi’s with one of their key justifications for sterilizing the “unfit” and kill the handicapped. They are also careful to pint out that there is no inevitable connection between Darwinism and what happened in Nazi Germany.

Similarly, several anti-religious scientists also hold the same view yet replace Darwin and Evolution with God and Christianity.          

The before mentioned Hector Avalos released a book in 2005 titled Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, in which he states “the Nazi Holocaust represents the synthesis of attitudes found in both the New Testament and the Hebrew scriptures”, and “Nazi ideology is similar to creationist ideology, which believes that scientific findings support the biblical stories of Creation and the Flood”.

Now, while Avalos’ extreme views may be seen as bordering on the ridiculous, it does raise an important point: juts as Weikart and Berlinksi can claim that the teachings of Darwin were the main cause of Nazi fascism, so to can Avalos and Dawkins claim that religious theology was the main cause that brought about the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, Salem Witch Burnings, and 9/11. But what neither side understand is that while Darwinian ideology and religious theology (along with any other form ideology) may run parallel with many of the atrocities that have taken place in our world history, hardly any have been the cause of said atrocities.

Hitler was a madman who twisted the teachings of Darwin to suit his means. The extinction of a species comes through the process of NATURAL SELECTION. Not through the process of systematic termination via the ravings of a tyrant.

Likewise, religious fundamentalists who commit crimes under the guise of having God on their side fail to understand that a true believer does not bend the will of God to suit their needs, but instead should shape themselves to the teachings of scripture and theology which are in accordance with secular morals and law. In short, instead of claiming God is on their side, they should be on God’s side.

I will leave the last word on this to Richard Dawkins: “No self respecting person would want to live in a society that operates according to Darwinian laws. I am a passionate Darwinist, when it involves explaining the development of life. However, I am a passionate anti-Darwinist when it involves the kind of society in which we want to live. A Darwinian state would be a fascist state”.

With both sides claiming that Darwin and theology are incompatible, it is interesting to note the number of scientists who believe in the process of evolution and also hold strong religious convictions.

Said individuals identify themselves as “Theistic Evolutionists”, which is the belief that evolution had come about under guidance of a supernatural creator.

Among those who take on this belief are: Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology at Brown University, author of Finding Darwin’s God, and practicing Roman Catholic; Frances Collins, Geneticist, director of the Human Genome Project, author of The Language of God: A Scientist Provides Evidence for Belief, and an Evangelical Christian who has been at loggerheads with those within his faith who deny the process of Evolution and use his ground breaking research into the human genome as the basis of belief in Intelligent Design; and Joan Roughgarden, a biologist who teaches at Stanford University and author of Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist.

Also of interest is the Catholic Church’s stance on science, with their STOQ Project, and documents such as Fides et Ratio which was released during Pope John Paul II’s tenure on the 14th of September 1998. The document speaks of the relationship between faith and reason, which is not only compatible but are essential together, as faith without reason leads to superstition, and reason without faith leads to nihilism and relativism.

When Expelled producers were asked as to why theistic evolutionists such as Kenneth Miller were not approached to be apart of the movie, they replied “that Ken Miller would have confused the film unnecessarily”. In other words, it did not fit with their agenda.

When Expelled was released on the 18th of April, producers had hoped it would take in $20 million on its opening weekend, and become the ID equivalent of Fahrenheit 9/11. It did not even come close, raking in $2.9 million, despite an aggressive ad campaign and opening in 1,052 cinemas.

Predictably, Christian publications endorsed the film, while scientific publications denounced it. Film critics all over the U.S. followed Roger Moore’s lead, stating that the film was less a documentary of fact and more of a stylish opinion piece.

Claudia Puig at USA Today called it “propaganda, a political rant disguised as a serious commentary on stifled freedom of inquiry”; Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times wrote that Expelled is “one of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time”; and Chicago Sun Times and At the Movies co-host Richard Roeper, who had to fight off allegations of a liberal bias for not reviewing Expelled – due to producers not screening the movie for critics – finally did so on his own dime and named it “a piece of garbage”.

As for myself, I eagerly await Expelled just to see if the criticism lobbed towards it was warranted. So far, a release date has not been set. However, with what the reaction seen in the States, I would not be surprised if a straight to DVD release was forth coming.