Synopsis:

Big science has expelled smart ideas from the classroom... What they forgot is that every generation has its Rebel! That rebel, Ben Stein (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Wonder Years) travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe- inspiring truth... that educators, scientists and philosophers are being ridiculed, denied employment, and even fired – for merely believing that there might be evidence of "design" in nature. Many are being ostracized for proposing that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance. This thought- provoking documentary not only forces us to question what we have been taught but challenges us to ask, "What else is being kept from us?" Ben says "Enough" – And NOBODY messes with Ben.

The freedom to legitimately challenge the accepted view of “Big Science”…without persecution.

The debate over evolution is confusing and to some, bewildering: “Wasn’t this all settled years ago?” The answer to that question is equally troubling: “Yes…and no.”

The truth is that a staggering amount of new scientific evidence has emerged since Darwin’s 150-year-old theory of life’s origins. Darwin had no concept of DNA, microbiology, The Big Bang, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity or of the human genome.

Each of these discoveries has, in one way or another, led a growing number of scientists to reconsider the simple view espoused by Darwin that life is a random, purposeless, chance occurrence. The universe, and life itself – is turning out to be far more complex and mysterious – than Darwin could possibly have imagined.

Darwin’s theory isn’t a single idea. Instead, it is made up of several related ideas, each supported by specific arguments. Of the three, only Evolution #1 can be said to be scientifically “settled.”

• Evolution #1: First, evolution can mean minor changes in features of individual species – changes that take place gradually over a (relatively) modest period of time.

• Evolution #2: The Theory of Universal Common Descent - the idea that all the organisms we see today are descended from a single common ancestor somewhere in the distant past. This theory paints a picture of the history of life on earth as a great branching tree, from a single cell that “somehow” materialized.

• Evolution #3: A cause or mechanism of change, the biological process Darwin thought was responsible for this branching pattern. Darwin argued that natural selection had the power to produce fundamentally new forms of life. Together, the ideas of Universal Common Descent and natural selection form the core of Darwinian evolutionary theory. “Neo – Darwinian” evolution combines our knowledge of DNA and genetics to claim that mutations in DNA provide the variation upon which natural selection acts.

When you see the word “evolution.” You should ask yourself, “Which of the three definitions is being used?” Because arguments and evidence supporting #1 do not support #2 or #3!

The theory of intelligent design is simply an effort to empirically detect whether the “apparent design” in nature acknowledged by virtually all biologists is genuine design (the product of an intelligent cause) or is simply the product of an undirected process such as natural selection acting on random variations.

“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” rejects the notion that “the case is closed,” and exposes the widespread persecution of scientists and educators who are pursuing legitimate, but opposing scientific views to the currently accepted theory of evolution.

The Controversy & What's At Stake

Neo-Darwinian or evolutionary theory contends that life is the result of a random, purposeless process. This theory is often taught in schools as if it is the only plausible scientific explanation of how life originated and developed. Intelligent Design theory challenges evolutionary theory but is being suppressed worldwide.

Both are scientific theories, and the debate is therefore legitimate.

At stake are two very consequential views of existence: Is life purposeful, and intelligently designed? Or is it random and purposeless?

As a democracy we should be able to have free and open debate. So…why the suppression of scientific debate?

If in our educational institutions our children continue to be taught only this: that all life on earth is the result of a purposeless, meaningless and undirected process of random mutation and natural selection…

What are the consequences over time of teaching this one-sided worldview as if it were fact rather than theory?

• How will ideas of morality change, if life is thought to be purposeless and undirected?
• How will the role of Government change, if the individual is taught that one is accountable only to ones self?
• How will the role of “science” change, if “Big Science” alone determines our worldview?

It is apparent that such a change would represent a deeply troubling shift in our cultural identity, therefore the question remains - why shouldn’t this issue be open to debate?