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Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money
by SCIAM Observations
Thanks to SPS for the link.
Reposted from:
http://science-community.sciam.com/blog-entry/Sciam-Observations/Ben-Stein-Wins-Intelligent-Design/300009517
by Gary Stix
Ben Stein was the goofball host of the cable show "Win Ben Stein's Money." A Christian University in southern California has just announced that it is honoring Stein for his upcoming movie that makes the case for taking intelligent design seriously. The press release, issued today, declares: "Ben Stein Wins Money from Intelligent Design Community."
Stein is scheduled to receive from Biola University the Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth, named after a well-known creationist. "The award," according to the release," recognizes Johnson's pivotal role in advancing our understanding of design in the universe by opening up informed dissent to Darwinian and materialistic theories of evolution."
The release does not mention how much Ben Stein won, but it does cite Stein's upcoming movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed:"
"In his new movie "Expelled," Stein wonders whether humans were designed by an intelligent being or whether we were simply the result of an ancient natural accident. In his search for an answer, he discovers an elitist scientific establishment that punishes the scientific proponents of Intelligent Design because they reject some of the claims of Darwin's theory of evolution. 'Big science in this area of biology has lost its way,' says Stein. 'Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, no matter what the implications are. Freedom of inquiry has been greatly compromised, and this is not only anti-American, it's anti-science.'
"In light of Stein's contribution to the pursuit of liberty and truth, particularly as it relates to the field of Intelligent Design, he is being honored with the 2008 Johnson Award. The award ceremony will feature premiere clips from the forthcoming movie, the personal appearance of scientists who were expelled from their jobs because they are sympathetic to Intelligent Design, and will include a brief address by Stein.."
The movie is a potential setback to science educators' continuing efforts to set the record straight because Stein, the son of renowned economist Herbert Stein, lends a patina of respectability to neo-Creationist science as a result of his status as a minor celebrity. Perhaps more egregious than the movie is Stein's contention in his writing that "Darwinism, perhaps mixed with Imperialism, gave us Social Darwinism, a form of racism so vicious that it countenanced the Holocaust against the Jews and mass murder of many other groups in the name of speeding along the evolutionary process."
What can only be hoped is that a trenchant critical response by journalistic and science publishing institutions (and, of course, the blogging community)--will suffice so that Ben Stein never gets funding to make an Expelled II. 
Please download the recent National Academy of Sciences report "Science, Evolution and Creationism" to get the straight story.
Reposted from:
http://science-community.sciam.com/blog-entry/Sciam-Observations/Ben-Stein-Wins-Intelligent-Design/300009517
by Gary Stix
Ben Stein was the goofball host of the cable show "Win Ben Stein's Money." A Christian University in southern California has just announced that it is honoring Stein for his upcoming movie that makes the case for taking intelligent design seriously. The press release, issued today, declares: "Ben Stein Wins Money from Intelligent Design Community."
Stein is scheduled to receive from Biola University the Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth, named after a well-known creationist. "The award," according to the release," recognizes Johnson's pivotal role in advancing our understanding of design in the universe by opening up informed dissent to Darwinian and materialistic theories of evolution."
The release does not mention how much Ben Stein won, but it does cite Stein's upcoming movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed:"
"In his new movie "Expelled," Stein wonders whether humans were designed by an intelligent being or whether we were simply the result of an ancient natural accident. In his search for an answer, he discovers an elitist scientific establishment that punishes the scientific proponents of Intelligent Design because they reject some of the claims of Darwin's theory of evolution. 'Big science in this area of biology has lost its way,' says Stein. 'Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, no matter what the implications are. Freedom of inquiry has been greatly compromised, and this is not only anti-American, it's anti-science.'
"In light of Stein's contribution to the pursuit of liberty and truth, particularly as it relates to the field of Intelligent Design, he is being honored with the 2008 Johnson Award. The award ceremony will feature premiere clips from the forthcoming movie, the personal appearance of scientists who were expelled from their jobs because they are sympathetic to Intelligent Design, and will include a brief address by Stein.."
The movie is a potential setback to science educators' continuing efforts to set the record straight because Stein, the son of renowned economist Herbert Stein, lends a patina of respectability to neo-Creationist science as a result of his status as a minor celebrity. Perhaps more egregious than the movie is Stein's contention in his writing that "Darwinism, perhaps mixed with Imperialism, gave us Social Darwinism, a form of racism so vicious that it countenanced the Holocaust against the Jews and mass murder of many other groups in the name of speeding along the evolutionary process."
What can only be hoped is that a trenchant critical response by journalistic and science publishing institutions (and, of course, the blogging community)--will suffice so that Ben Stein never gets funding to make an Expelled II. 
Please download the recent National Academy of Sciences report "Science, Evolution and Creationism" to get the straight story.
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Posted: Friday, February 15, 2008 | PermalinkComments 51 - 71 of 71 |
Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers52. Comment #128167 by Glen Davidson on February 16, 2008 at 11:54 am
However, in the sane world Ben Stein receives the respect that a piece of garbage like Expelled, and the blog for Expelled, deserves:You laughed at his affectless droning high school economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ; you may have enjoyed his repartee with Jimmy Kimmel or his command of trivial knowledge on “Win Ben Stein’s Money”; you may even have run out and bought some eyedrops on his recommendation. But don’t ask him about evolution, Charles Darwin, science, or any related topic, for on those Ben Stein is an ignoramus. Since he is demonstrably intelligent, it must be concluded that he is a willful ignoramus.
Robert McHenry, who was for five years the editor-in-chief of Britannica, continues here:
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2008/02/how-low-can-ben-stein-go/
While they've proven that they can be noticed if they shove enough propaganda at us, anybody who knows anything is going to react to their dishonest bilge like McHenry does (though of course this will "prove" a persecuting conspiracy to hacks like Ben Stein).
Glen Davidson
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Other Comments by Glen Davidson
53. Comment #128242 by TonyA on February 16, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Thanks, Glen. I enjoyed reading Robert McHenry's comments. Other Comments by TonyA
54. Comment #128245 by TonyA on February 16, 2008 at 3:40 pm
42. Comment #128044 by dkv
Faith is a advice.
Because of your poor grammar, I'm not sure which you meant to say. Surely, it was one of:
- Faith is bad advice.
- Faith is a device.
- Faith is a mind vice.
- Faith is a sad vice.
- Faith is an abominable surrender of reason.
It probably wasn't the last one, but it should have been.
Other Comments by TonyA
55. Comment #128265 by Spandrell on February 16, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Re: 50Wow. I hadn't heard about how the producers conned their way into all the interviews, but that's hella shady.
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/08/im_gonna_be_a_movie_star.php
Do you know if they can sue for fraud or some kind of willful deception if it could be proven that Crossroads was never intended to be released? It seems pretty obvious that Mathis obtained the interview under false pretenses.
Other Comments by Spandrell
56. Comment #128269 by Diacanu on February 16, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Spandrell-Indeed, there seems to be a lot of conning and shadiness on the christian side.
Lying for Jesus seems to be a common phenomenon.
Hey, there's a title for someone.
Other Comments by Diacanu
57. Comment #128270 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Lying for Jesus seems to be a common phenomenon.Extremely common: 100% of Christians do it.
Other Comments by Peacebeuponme
58. Comment #128272 by Diacanu on February 16, 2008 at 4:40 pm
TonyA-Lol, yeah, I thought that too, that's why I didn't answer his post, I was hoping to eventually crack the code, and then moved on to other things, and forgot.
Other Comments by Diacanu
59. Comment #128276 by Diacanu on February 16, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Peacebeaponme-Extremely common: 100% of Christians do it.
That's the bit that disturbs me about it.
I could aaalmost see it, if it were reasoned like "well, our faith is dying, there's a dark secular conspiracy out to get us, we're going to have to dirty our hands a bit to survive, hopefully Jesus will understand and forgive us".
Cuz, then there would be a speck of human guilt you could get through to.
But no, all of that is leaped right over, and they skip right to the bullshit and dirty tricks.
They think it's holy.
That's sick.
There are no words.
Other Comments by Diacanu
60. Comment #128283 by Diacanu on February 16, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Of course, you can see Jesus himself being a slippery obscurantist bastard in Mark 4:11-4:12. Other Comments by Diacanu
61. Comment #128357 by TonyA on February 16, 2008 at 8:17 pm
57. Comment #128265 by Spandrell
Wow. I hadn't heard about how the producers conned their way into all the interviews, but that's hella shady.
This one too:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1693,Scientists-Feel-Miscast-in-Film-on-Lifes-Origin,Cornelia-Dean
Other Comments by TonyA
62. Comment #128359 by TonyA on February 16, 2008 at 8:21 pm
lol, out loud. As in the movie Idiocracy, I said, "I'm 'not sure'." Other Comments by TonyA
63. Comment #128379 by GroovinMastiff on February 16, 2008 at 9:53 pm
From the trailer: "Maybe we're more than just mud and lightning..."Hey, I'll take being made out of mud and lightning any day over being made by some celestial dictator.
Mud and lightning have never told me how to act, what to believe et cetera. Mud and lightning accept me for who I am.
Also, maybe, just maybe, the movie will bomb due to it not having the in-your-face obnoxiousness of Faux news that "average Americans" supposedly crave: I mean it is Ben Stein of all people.
Other Comments by GroovinMastiff
64. Comment #128492 by Stublore on February 17, 2008 at 7:18 am
Rofl! Johnson is a nickname for a certain male body part, so it's an appropriate award for Stein :) Other Comments by Stublore
65. Comment #128701 by IanD on February 17, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Re Comment 58 DicanuThere's actually a book by an Australian geologist called Ian Plimer called "Telling Lies For God"
IanD.
Other Comments by IanD
66. Comment #128707 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I thought the Holocaust against the Jews was all due to Roman Catholicism. Unless he meant the earlier Holocaust against the Armenians....no, he said Jews.Damn, never realised the Church was athiest!
Other Comments by Goldy
67. Comment #140861 by Duffman6 on March 8, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Behind every Anti-Evolution movement or media there is always an agenda to promote Intelligent Design, and is constantly being funded by a Christian organization. With every gap there is in Evolution, there is a team of Christians hovering over the sight with helicopters and news cameras. The next day, there's a book written about how Evolution is disproven and Intelligent Design wins.
The day after, they're refuted; they are litterally beaten over the head with evidence of Evolution and progressive scientifc theories that easily undercut their claims. The process begins again.
Thus only proves Intelligent Design is religion-based. The Discovery Institute, for example; a "Secular defense of Intelligent Design" is gargantuanly funded by Christian oragnizations.
...And they say we're the ones with the agenda.
Other Comments by Duffman6
68. Comment #140875 by irate_atheist on March 9, 2008 at 12:48 am
What can only be hoped is that a trenchant critical response by journalistic and science publishing institutions (and, of course, the blogging community)--will suffice so that Ben Stein never gets funding to make an Expelled II.Hmm. Does calling this self-confessed imbecile a 'fucktard' count as a 'trenchant critical response'?
Am I doing enough to stop the forces of ignorance?
Should I be more strident?
Other Comments by irate_atheist
69. Comment #140882 by Steve Zara on March 9, 2008 at 3:07 am
What can only be hoped is that a trenchant critical response by journalistic and science publishing institutions (and, of course, the blogging community)--will suffice
This made me think...
http://zarbi.livejournal.com/111722.html
"Ready, aim, blog"
Other Comments by Steve Zara
70. Comment #140885 by Geoff on March 9, 2008 at 3:32 am
irate_atheist: there are some people for whom "fucktard" is insufficiently descriptive.More strident, by all means.
Other Comments by Geoff
71. Comment #152832 by Bigorra on March 31, 2008 at 3:53 pm
In light of Stein's contribution to the pursuit of liberty and truth, particularly as it relates to the field of Intelligent Design, he is being honored with the 2008 Johnson Award.
What a contribution he is making, too. Ben Stein's contributes to the pursuit of truth only in the same way that 'The Flinstones' provide evidence to the 'theory' of Intelligent Design.
Other Comments by Bigorra
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51. Comment #128152 by Johnny O on February 16, 2008 at 11:20 am
We are apparently intolerant and do not allow free speech when it is against Darwin.
And there was me thinking it was US being shouted down for questioning faith based beliefs???
What a cretin, I wonder if he actually believes the shite coming out of his mouth... shocking
Other Comments by Johnny O