Re: [asa] Expelled finale

On May 6, 2008, at 7:42 PM, David Opderbeck wrote:

> This seems to be a thorough and excellent review, even if I might
> quibble with some of the characterizations about academic freedom and
> the first amendement (key point: Schloss glosses over distinctions
> between public schools, public universities, and private schools that
> I think are legally and ethically significant). Can I object,
> however, to the "Expelled Exposed" graphic and link to the NCSE
> website? I don't think that's appropriate for the ASA's home page.

The graphic is directly underneath a graphic that goes to the official
Expelled web site. It struck me as the appropriate point/counterpoint
approach. Schloss does deal with private institutions noting Baylor
vs. Biola and the right for either to require opposite positions on
common descent precisely because they are private schools. Schloss
also takes the movie to task for not for not making any of these kinds
of distinctions. My sense is he would agree that these distinctions
and other important ones such as the demarcation question needed to be
addressed in the movie.

One of things that frustrates me is hearing my evangelical friends
including pastors not seeing how necessary it is to explore just what
ID is. Without that it is impossible to judge whether the expulsion is
legitimate whether universally or in particular contexts. As long as
something is rhetorically convenient I find amongst my evangelical
friends it produces such a great amount of incuriosity -- whether it
is this question or whether the actions of the producers were ethical
or not. I find such a response morally repugnant. The only question
they ask are "Have you seen the movie?" over and over and over again.
Or, dismissing my scruples as "red herrings".

Getting back to Schloss, just because he didn't answer the question
doesn't mean he is against raising the questions. In this regard, I
think you would have made a better producer of this movie because you
do raise such questions. In the end, what makes Expelled a bad movie
in my opinion is not what it does say but what it doesn't say, having
much sound and fury, but signifying nothing.

Rich Blinne
Member ASA

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Received on Tue May 6 23:18:54 2008