We finally got around to watching Ben Stein's wonderful documentary "Expelled". I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in the alternative to Darwinism taught as established fact. Since, it has never explained the origin of life, why can't some one put forth the idea that their is an intelligence behind life? PLEASE, please see this movie. If you homeschool, if you have teenagers with questions, if you are at all interested in the debate in the science community, see this movie! My son is studying Biology at this time in his 9th grade homeschool course. This movie fit in perfectly with the chapter on Darwin he just read. As can be predicted Darwin's unsubstantiated theory is presented as fact in his textbook. I was happy to present "Is Evolution Fit to Survive?" I am sure this informative book is available elsewhere but I got it through Kolbe Academy: http://www.kolbe.org/Biology___Is_Evolution_Fit_to_Survive__Book-p21819.html It is $14.50. My son asked why he need to learn about it. I told him that if he were to get anywhere in any scientific field or study biology in college, I want him to be prepared for such a discussion. We do not believe in sheltering our kids behind a homeschool wall. They have to live outside that wall someday and I want them prepared for anything.
Trailer and image from http://expelledthemovie.com/ Which also has the video for sale as well as wallpapers, academic freedom petition, and more. ONLY FOR THE INTELLIGENT AND OPEN MINDED!
7 comments:
You wrote: Since, it has never explained the origin of life, why can't some one put forth the idea that there is an intelligence behind life?
The origin of life, Abiogenesis, has nothing to do with evolutionary biology. How the first simple living cells developed is a different branch of science, and this natural process has been explained. Actually there's several explanations. One of them is explained in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6QYDdgP9eg
The Origin of Life - Abiogenesis
It's been 55 years since the Miller-Urey Experiment, and science has made enormous progress on solving the origin of life. This video summarizes one of the best leading models. Yes there are others. Science may never know exactly how life DID start, but we will know many ways how life COULD start. Don't be fooled by creationist arguments as even a minimal understanding of biology and chemistry is enough to realize they have no clue what they are talking about.
Your idea, invoking God to explain the development of the first simple living cells about four billion years ago, is something you can do at church. Scientists don't invoke God in the lab because that doesn't solve any problems, does it?
You wrote: As can be predicted Darwin's unsubstantiated theory is presented as fact in his textbook.
You probably wish biological evolution was "unsubstantiated" but wishing a scientific fact was false doesn't make it false. You can't wish the massive powerful evidence for evolution would go away.
A big problem for the evolution deniers is the powerful evidence from molecular biology and genetics. When biologists compare DNA sequences of different living species, they can see the history of life with their own eyes, and they can see that history in amazing detail. Thanks to this undeniable evidence, the basic facts of biological evolution have become the strongest facts of science. For example, DNA analysis has repeatedly shown beyond any doubt that people and chimps share ancestors who lived more than five million years ago. This is a fact that's been proven again and again and again, and as molecular biologists continue to compare the DNA sequences of the human ape and chimpanzee ape species, this powerful evidence continues to grow every day. If you're going to deny our common ancestry with the other ape species, you might as well believe the earth is flat.
You wrote: I told him that if he were to get anywhere in any scientific field or study biology in college, I want him to be prepared for such a discussion.
When your son attends a university it's very likely he will find out the facts of evolutionary biology are the strongest facts of science, and he will then figure out you're scientifically illiterate. Not to worry, there's still time to educate yourself so you can give your son a decent 21st century education.
To get started you could look at this video:
Evidence for Evolution, Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxLR9hdorI
Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) are the relics of ancient viral infections preserved in our DNA. The odd thing is many ERVs are located in exactly the same position on our genome and the chimpanzee genome. There are two explanations for the perfectly matched ERV locations. Either it is an unbelievable coincidence that viruses just by chance inserted in exactly the same location in our genomes, or humans and chimps share a common ancestor. It was our common ancestor that was infected, and we both inherited the ERVs. ERVs provide the closest thing to a mathematical proof for evolution. And remember, ERVs are just one of the millions of FACTS that support the theory of evolution. Think about it.
Ben Stein was a very funny guy in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but Stein is scientifically illiterate. He knows absolutely nothing about evolutionary biology, and he was very dishonest in the Expelled propaganda movie.
Yes, it's true that the small handful of scientists who invoke intelligent design are ridiculed, laughed at, and fired. But the reason they are thrown out the window is because science requires natural explanations and only natural explanations. Intelligent design is OK in a church, but when a scientist is working in the lab he can't invoke miracles to solve scientific problems because that's not doing science. Intelligent design is theology, and it most definitely is not science.
I noticed you're a Catholic. You might be interested to know the previous pope and the current pope completely accept the facts of evolution, including our shared ancestry with the other ape species.
It's usually a complete waste of time when I write these long comments for evolution deniers. They usually censor me, ignore me, or deny everything I say. I should have learned my lesson many years ago and quit trying to reason with people who don't want to accept any science that conflicts with Genesis, no matter how the strong the evidence is.
Perhaps you will surprise me and make an effort to understand what I said. Thanks. See you later.
Bob,
I moderate ALL comments going to my blog. It has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with me. It has to do with nasty vitriolic comments such as those you put in your second comment. Which, as you can see, has NOT been published. That is precisely why I do not allow unmoderated comments. I hadn't even reviewed your first comment and allowed publication before you sent your hate mail. Only civility allowed on my blog.
Despite your hate filled opinion, I am neither an "evolution denier" nor a moron. Only ignorant people resort to calling perfect strangers names when they have nothing useful to say. I agree that much of evolution is of value but I disagree that the THEORY of evolution is a foregone FACT. Even Darwin said that his theory could not account for the complexity of the human eye. It could not have happened by pure chance.
Just because someone does not agree with YOU that doesn't make them stupid. Your hate mail is just the thing Ben Stein was talking about in his documentary--question the 'sacred cow' of science and get dumped on. Thank you for proving the point.
Next time, either be patient enought to wait for me to get a chance to read my mail or take your cowardly comments elsewhere.
Now Bob for your orginal comment:
[St. Walburga's Blog (SWG)] You wrote: Since, it has never explained the origin of life, why can't some one put forth the idea that there is an intelligence behind life?
[Bob] The origin of life, Abiogenesis, has nothing to do with evolutionary biology.
[SWB] Yes, Bob, and I am sure that it was just an accident that Darwin called his theory the **ORIGIN** of the Species.
[Bob] How the first simple living cells developed is a different branch of science, and this natural process has been explained. Actually there's several explanations. One of them is explained in this video:
[Bob posted] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6QYDdgP9eg
[SWB] Yeah, real object science there. It sure would be nice if the ignorant people who made that youtube video could view all sides objectively. Since, I am definitely NOT a "creation science" proponant, this video did not address what I was talking about in the first place.
[Bob cont] The Origin of Life - Abiogenesis
[Bob] It's been 55 years since the Miller-Urey Experiment, and science has made enormous progress on solving the origin of life.
[SWB] Well, now you've lost all credibility with me since that "experiment" was a complete and utter FAILURE.
[Bob] This video summarizes one of the best leading models. Yes there are others. Science may never know exactly how life DID start, but we will know many ways how life COULD start.
[SWB] AND one of the leading theories is INTELLIGENT DESIGN!!!
[Bob Cont] Don't be fooled by creationist arguments as even a minimal understanding of biology and chemistry is enough to realize they have no clue what they are talking about.
[SWB] I am not a "creation science" proponent but I believe they have every right to their opinion as you do. "Creation Science" in the modern term means one believes in an absolute literal interpretation of Genesis. I do not hold to that. I do not believe in a literal 7 24-hour days of creation of all life nor the so-called "young earth" (literal interpretation of the generations in Genesis to come up with a 10,000 year old earth). I happen to agree it is nonsense. THAT IS NOT WHAT INTELLIGENT DESIGN PURPORTS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
[Bob] Your idea, invoking God to explain the development of the first simple living cells about four billion years ago, is something you can do at church.
[SWB] Now you are just showing your ignorance of what intelligent design is. I plan to publish the EXACT meaning of the term on my blog--just for you Bob.
[Bob cont] Scientists don't invoke God in the lab because that doesn't solve any problems, does it?
[SWB] Intelligent design has NOTHING to do with invoking God in the lab, Bob. You are showing your ignorance of the other side AGAIN.
[SWB previously] You wrote: As can be predicted Darwin's unsubstantiated theory is presented as fact in his textbook.
[Bob] You probably wish biological evolution was "unsubstantiated" but wishing a scientific fact was false doesn't make it false. You can't wish the massive powerful evidence for evolution would go away.
[SWB] Now you are showing how little you know about me or what I think. I don't wish evolution was false. But there IS so many holes in the THEORY it looks like so much swiss cheese. I have NO problem with evolution as theory. I have NO problem with evolution taught in schools. I have no problem with the study of biology. What I have a problem with is intolerant prigs who think they are the only ones with all the answers.
[Bob] A big problem for the evolution deniers
[SWB] THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE ME.
[Bob cont] is the powerful evidence from molecular biology and genetics. When biologists compare DNA sequences of different living species, they can see the history of life with their own eyes, and they can see that history in amazing detail.
[SWB] And yet CANNOT explain its complexity in the context of natural selection, Bob.
[Bob cont] Thanks to this undeniable evidence, the basic facts of biological evolution have become the strongest facts of science.
[SWB] No, Bob, it has become the strongest SACRED COW of science.
[Bob] For example, DNA analysis has repeatedly shown beyond any doubt that people and chimps share ancestors who lived more than five million years ago. This is a fact that's been proven again and again and again,
[SWB] The fact that we have such similar DNA can also be explained by intelligent design. It has been proposed by many a biologist and geneticist who are then shunned for poking the COW.
[Bob cont] and as molecular biologists continue to compare the DNA sequences of the human ape and chimpanzee ape species, this powerful evidence continues to grow every day. If you're going to deny our common ancestry with the other ape species, you might as well believe the earth is flat.
[SWB] Now you're just being silly as well as ignorant. Similarity of DNA does not an ancestor make. There is NO evidence of such an ancestor in the paletological record nor in the biological one. The "missing link" is still very much missing. Many of the pre-humans used to set up this sacred cow were FAKES (ie, peking man, et al)
[swb previously] You wrote: I told him that if he were to get anywhere in any scientific field or study biology in college, I want him to be prepared for such a discussion.
[Bob] When your son attends a university it's very likely he will find out the facts of evolutionary biology
[SWB] Despite your ignorant comments about my intelligence in your subsequent (as of yet unpublished) hate male, your are completely wrong about my son's education. His 9th grade biology book is published by Prentice Hall and used in MANY public schools. He is being taught "evolutionary biology" as a matter of his course in biology. Every word published in that book is what is taught in every public school and college in this country. The difference with his homeschooling is that he gets to hear ALL sides--unlike public school.
[Bob cont] are the strongest facts of science,
[SWB] Correction, STRONGEST SACRED COW.
[Bob cont] and he will then figure out you're scientifically illiterate.
[SWB] No, Bob the illerate one is you. It is clear from your rant that you have no idea what legitimate scientests are saying about intelligent design nor what civil discussion is about. It is quite clear that you have no idea about it whatsoever. A literate person knows and understands all sides of an issue then makes up his own mind.
[Bob] Not to worry, there's still time to educate yourself so you can give your son a decent 21st century education.
[SWB] As we used to say in junior high--that was so funny I forgot to laugh. I guarantee the quality of my son's high school education exceeds what passes for education in the public school mess.
[Bob] To get started you could look at this video:
Evidence for Evolution, Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxLR9hdorI
Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) are the relics of ancient viral infections preserved in our DNA. The odd thing is many ERVs are located in exactly the same position on our genome and the chimpanzee genome. There are two explanations for the perfectly matched ERV locations. Either it is an unbelievable coincidence that viruses just by chance inserted in exactly the same location in our genomes, or humans and chimps share a common ancestor.
[SWB] OR IT WAS INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNED THAT WAY!
[Bob] It was our common ancestor that was infected, and we both inherited the ERVs. ERVs provide the closest thing to a mathematical proof for evolution. And remember, ERVs are just one of the millions of FACTS that support the theory of evolution. Think about it.
[SWB] I have thought about it. It seems much more than you have since you have no idea what ID scientists have to say on the subject. And, you have no desire to learn, apparently.
[Bob cont] Ben Stein was a very funny guy in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but Stein is scientifically illiterate.
[SWB] That is your opinion and the same could be said of you in light of your comments here.
[Bob] He knows absolutely nothing about evolutionary biology, and he was very dishonest in the Expelled propaganda movie.
[SWB] This is just YOUR unsubstatiated allegations. You've proven nothing. And, as he said, his documentary would not change the minds of those already made up--you've proven his point 100%.
[Bob] Yes, it's true that the small handful of scientists who invoke intelligent design are ridiculed, laughed at, and fired. But the reason they are thrown out the window is because science requires natural explanations and only natural explanations.
[SWB] Which ultimately leads to eugenics because, after all, we are no better than the other animals, are we?
[Bob] Intelligent design is OK in a church, but when a scientist is working in the lab he can't invoke miracles to solve scientific problems because that's not doing science. Intelligent design is theology, and it most definitely is not science.
[SWB] Now you are showing your ignorance AGAIN. That is NOT what intelligent design is--you have no clue. The only "religion" you've proven here is the worship of your sacred cow named "evolution".
[Bob] I noticed you're a Catholic. You might be interested to know the previous pope and the current pope completely accept the facts of evolution, including our shared ancestry with the other ape species.
[SWB] Now you are showing ignorance again. I am not anti-evolution nor an "evolution denier". I am however a proponent of free speech and allowing students to study ALL theories of life, the beginning of life, and the complexities of life.
The Church, despite anti-Catholic propaganda, has ALWAYS been a supportor of ALL the sciences. Yes, previous popes have said that evolution could be an explanation for the development of species. But if your idea is that "religion" has no place in science, then why are you invoking earlier popes? None of them claimed that all people must believe that evolutionary THEORY is proven fact. The popes you hint at proposed that science MAY have come up with an explanation. Not one of them defined evolutionary THEORY as a statement of dogma. Thus, ALL Catholics are free to agree or disagree as they choose.
[Bob] It's usually a complete waste of time when I write these long comments for evolution deniers.
[SWB] I AM NOT AN EVOLUTION DENIER, Bob. I believe in teaching evolution -but as THEORY because it is one.
[Bob] They usually censor me, ignore me, or deny everything I say. I should have learned my lesson many years ago and quit trying to reason with people who don't want to accept any science that conflicts with Genesis, no matter how the strong the evidence is.
[SWB] I don't deny science. I believe Genesis is an allegory for the origin of life on Earth. You don't even know enough about me or what I think to accuse me of this.
[Bob] Perhaps you will surprise me and make an effort to understand what I said. Thanks. See you later.
[SWB] I understand everything you said Bob. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I don't understand you. Understanding only means one conclusion? Really?
[SWB cont] The complete INSINCERITY of your last statement rang loud and clear when you sent your subsequent hate mail. Just because I had not read and published your comment fast enough for you, doesn't mean I was ignoring you. You will go farther in future if you try to engage in CIVIL debate and give the blogger the benefit of the doubt and not act like a spoiled brat.
[SWB] This is MY blog. You are a guest. You don't EVER have to come here or read anything here if you don't want to. NO ONE tied you to a chair and made you read my blog. If something disturbs you so much that you have be ignorant, insulting, and inane, move on--move on, please.
Usually I am fine with blogs linking directly to the images that I host (even though common net etiquette says that you should not do this).
However, given your positive viewpoint on this horrific and mind-numbingly ignorant movie I am asking you to please stop using my site for your movie poster image. Please remove all references to my site's image immediately.
Mr. Barron,
Obviously, I disagree with your ignorant comments. I will however, respect your wishes and remove and replace the image on my blog.
Cathmom5
To M. Barron,
[To the tune of "It's my party"]
"It's my party, and I'll post what I want to..." You can post to your heart's desire on your own blog. You don't ever have to come here again. No one forced you to come here or read my opinions.
I did as you asked and removed the picture with your link on it. However, in my opinion it is not very smart on your part. If you have an extremely alternate view I would think you'd want someone to go to your link and read it. I'll be more careful in future.
As for your comments they are ignorant in the extreme language. Their is far more 'horrific' stuff on film out there. A documentary on an alternate opinion to yours hardly qualifies. No one forced you to watch that movie either.
Go in Peace.
To whom it may concern--
Yes, I caught the their/there problem-after I hit send sorry. That actually is one of my own pet peeves.
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