Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:57 pm Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

seedplanter, ID is not science. There is no evidence for ID. You cannot go down in to the fossil record, or map a genome and point to someone's initials and say "HA, here is the proof!"

What science do you have to back ID, because, there is no science in Expelled. There are only baseless claims and arguments that push the emotional buttons on the viewer. That is the deception. Science is not about emotion or philosophy. It is about discovering answers to complex problems. If Expelled wanted to be a truly great movie, they would have presented real evidence just as the scientific community does and used it to refute the evidence of Evolution.

Instead they chose to use false representations and deceit in their movie. They make the claim that people where silenced or let go because of their views on intelligent design. These stories are easily refuted and have documentation to back it up. They purposely try to make the scientist in the film look bad. I could go on and on about this. All the information is out there available to you. Take the time to look at some of it.

If the makers of Expelled want to be honest, then let’s have an honest debate on the evidence and models. They shouldn’t put a movie out that is shallow in it’s understanding of science, and then masquerade around as the end-all movie on Evolution.

This “documentary” not only insults the intelligence of people in science and academia, but also your own because it does not present the ideas in a truthful light.

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:22 am Agree: 4   Disagree: 1

I just want to make one thing clear. There is NO such thing as a "Darwinist" or "Darwinian". That's about as silly as calling someone a Newtonist, Einstenist, or Heisenberist. They are all scientist. Not theologians.

The reason why we "come out of the wood work" is to show how shoddy of a film this is and how it does not present it's story with any journalistic standard. It is made by a group of men that state that they have no back ground in science, yet they parade around like they do, bringing up points that most high school students can debunk.

This is like your garbage man who had no scientific understanding past a high school education explaining to you how the CERN hadron collider discovered the Higgs bison.

Anyone that says that Evolution has holes, or there are problems with the theory has either not done honest research, does not understand the process, or simply do not care what the evidence shows.

Besides, it's only your children's future in education at stake here. If we refuse to teach Evolution in schools which is the backbone of modern biology and linked to many, many other fields, then we forfeit any chance they have to compete in a global market. There are applications in Evolution, there are none in creationism.

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:44 pm Agree: 3   Disagree: 3

Here’s another fun fact:

"One section of Expelled relates the case of Richard Sternberg, who was a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and editor of the journal Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. According to the film, after Sternberg approved the publication of a pro-ID paper by Stephen C. Meyer of the Discovery Institute, he lost his editorship, was demoted at the Smithsonian, was moved to a more remote office, and suffered other professional setbacks. The film mentions a 2006 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report prepared for Rep. Mark Souder (R–Ind.), "Intolerance and the Politicization of Science at the Smithsonian," that denounced Sternberg's mistreatment.

This selective retelling of the Sternberg affair omits details that are awkward for the movie's case, however. Sternberg was never an employee of the Smithsonian: his term as a research associate always had a limited duration, and when it ended he was offered a new position as a research collaborator. As editor, Sternberg's decision to "peer-review" and approve Meyer's paper by himself was highly questionable on several grounds, which was why the scientific society that published the journal later repudiated it. Sternberg had always been planning to step down as the journal's editor—the issue in which he published the paper was already scheduled to be his last."

More lies. Why is lying necessary for this film?

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:18 pm Agree: 4   Disagree: 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNGK3y5Ypg

"In this episode Ben Stein is taken to task over his inability to distinguish science from free speech. Stein claims that those who question evolution are discriminated against, whereas in reality this 'discrimination' is merely people getting held accountable for demonstrating their pathetic grasp of both the scientific method and scientific literature.

In simple parody terms it would be like a medic claiming that 'I don't believe in sterilizing medical instruments, and if you say otherwise you are discriminating against me, and censoring my free speech.'

The scientific literature is an open arena. Anyone who can sustain their claim with research and reason will get a fair hearing.

Creationists think the only reason they cannot compete in this arena is due to prejudice, when in reality it is merely the fact that they don't do ANY research, let alone anything worthy of being published."

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:33 pm Agree: 3   Disagree: 2

The end product that the movie became is exactly the reason why they do not like to work with creationist with an agenda.

They know that they will be asked questions that have the only purpose of making them look foolish or to quote them out of context.

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:12 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Quecat,

Myers, dawkins, etc were all lied too. They were led on to believe that this was to be a "pro-science" movie. If they had known that this was going to be a non-scientific "documentary" they would have never agreed to being interviewed. Mark Mathis knew this and that’s why the game of bate-and-switch was played.

Also, the producers knew all along what they were planning to do. The movie idea had been around before 2007. Ben stein is quoted as saying,

"I was approached a couple of years ago by the producers, and they described to me the central issue of Expelled, which was about Darwinism and why it has such a lock on the academic establishment when the theory has so many holes. And why freedom of speech has been lost at so many colleges to the point where you can’t question even the slightest bit of Darwinism or your colleagues will spurn you, you’ll lose your job, and you’ll be publicly humiliated. As they sent me books and talked to me about these things I became more enthusiastic about participating." – Ben Stein, April 19, 2008

The producers knew all along. They knew they would have to deceive the researchers, professors, and scientist to get an interview with them. If the producers are willing to lie and cheat over something as simple as an interview, how can you trust any material in the movie?

Myths about 'Expelled'

w00t »

Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:17 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

In regards to point #1, here is the email that Mark Mathis sent out to people asking for interviews:

"My name is Mark Mathis. I am a Producer for Rampant Films. We are currently in production of the documentary film, “Crossroads: The Intersection of Science and Religion.”

At your convenience I would like to discuss our project with you and to see if we might be able to schedule an interview with you for the film. The interview would take no more than 90 minutes total, including set up and break down of our equipment.

We are interested in asking you a number of questions about the disconnect/controversy that exists in America between Evolution, Creationism and the Intelligent Design movement.

Please let me know what time would be convenient for me to reach you at your office. Also, could you please let me know if you charge a fee for interviews and if so, what that fee would be for 90 minutes of your time?

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,

Mark Mathis
Rampant Films"


They then used the interviews against the participants to make them look ridiculous.

Link: http://www.expelledexposed.com/index.php/background/interview-tactics

I thought we weren't supposed to lie?