#29 on my list, Watch 30 new documentaries (#1, 2, 3, 4)

I had not originally intended for this to be a very long post, however, I noticed that though I've had a slide show of documentaries that I've watched so far rotating on my blog, I had not actually posed any info, or reviews on them. Those that I've been remiss in posting will have a brief synopsis at the bottom of this review.

Who should be "Expelled", in my opinion not the scientists that have simply dared to suggest that there is a possibility that we didn't come from nothing. That there was in fact an intelligent designer (BTW, God is very intelligent).

Ben Stein, most notably of Ferris Buler fame, explores this subject in this documentary. Most of the scientists in the movie don't argue the intelligent design "theory" from a religious perspective, however, they merely want to introduce a new idea and study it out, as any scientist worth his/her salt should want to do. I think that this is one of the reasons why this movie should be appealing to all types of people, not just those, like myself, who are proponents of a 6 day creation (on the 7th day God rested, Genesis 2:1). Even if intelligent design is not something that you espouse to believe, the movie is worth watching because of the logical questions that these scientists propose, like the one David Berlinski states in the film. Mr Berlinski states "Before you can ask if Darwinian theory correct, you have to ask the preliminary question of is it clear enough so that it could be correct?" That sounds like a completely reasonable question, but one that evolutionists refuse to want to try and answer.

But what about those that believe that life originated from crystals (a popular belief within the evolutionary community). Even crystals had to com from somewhere. And what about Nobel prize winner Francis Crick who proposed that life was "seeded" on earth? Does that mean that we were planted here by Aliens, ummm I think not. But they would rather take those as a probable theories than look for a more simple explanation.

Probably my favorite part of the film is at the end when Richard Dawkins, author of numerous evolutionary books and self proclaimed athiest calling religion "primative superstition", actually back pedals his stance and actually does leave room for the intelligent design theory. Ben Stein asks Mr. Dawkins "What do you think that the possibility of intelligent design might turn out to be the answer to some issue in genetics?" Mr. Dawkind bables for a while about some inteligent life evolving from Darwinian means and the seeding life as we know it on earth, but then follows that up with the statement that "in those means we might find the signature of some kind of designer, and that that designer might be a higher form of intelligence in the universe." In essence intelligent design is OK as long as God wasn't the designer.

I could go on and on, but sufficeit to say I think that people should see this film. Ben Stein does an excellent job of asking intelligent questions to intelligent people in the search for what the truth is. He interweaves his interviews with film footage from Communist Russia and Socialist WW2 Germany to artistically illustrate the point that the intelligent design theory is trying to be suppressed and silenced like Nazis and Communists tried to do with liberty and the Jews.

I'm including the Expelled super trailer so you can take a look for yourself.

If I seem like an alarmist I appoligize, but I do believe that we were created and that it was God that did so. I alo have a specific invested interest in theory since once upon a time when I was in HS. I challenged my 9th grade biology teacher and was sent to the vice pricipals office for it. As I recall the debate it went something like this. The teacher started talking about how we evolved from apes.I raised my had and said if we cam from an pe then how come we don't see that happen today? The answer I got back was "Because we are all that there is and are at the top of the evolutionary scale." She tried to continue her lecture, but my hand went up again for another question, which went like this "Well then if evolution then does exist like you're teaching and we have evolved from apes and if evolution coninutes then shouldn't we be seeing people evolve into other life forms, since the world is supposed to be billions of years old?" Of course she didn't have an answer to that, and since I was the voice of dessention she opted to send me to the vice princilpals office rather than look for a reasonable answer to a perfectly legitimate question. I'm no scientist, actuallly it's not my strongest subject at all, but science is all about asking reasonable questions in order to find out how something works, right. Of course that's not my first dessenting view from a class that I've been in. I'll have to tell you all about the feminist teacher I had for my women's literature class my senior year of HS. Now those were some fun times.

So that's my review and my life experience with this topic. I'll be glad when I'm done with my final science class this quarter!!! I hope that you all get a chance to rent the movie. I got mine from Netflix, but I'm sure you can find it at your local viseo store as well.

Now here are some of my other reviews . . .

2. Famous Authors: Jane Austen: Arguably the most influential novelist of her era, Jane Austen was born in 1775. She never married and spent most of her life within her family circle. But her quiet country existence belied the novels she wrote, literary masterpieces rich with satirical wit and insight into women's lives. Through period documents, artwork and other archival material, this program explores the sheltered life and enduring works of the treasured British author.

Unfortunately this was not a great documentary:( And I feel bad for subjecting my friends to it's boring nature. This documentary is why documentaries get a bad rap.

3. The Fanny Crosby Story: Blinded soon after birth, Fanny Crosby adapted to her disability and went on to pen more than 10,000 hymns, more than any other person in history. This biography follows Crosby's life from her extraordinary childhood and her ability to memorize complete books of the Bible to her formal schooling and speech to the U.S. Congress, her role as a wife and mother, her selfless work as a nurse during the cholera epidemic and her prolific hymn writing.

This documentary doesn't have a lot of flashy graphics, but neither is it dry. It was interesting to learn about he life and if you like reading books about Christian figures in history you'll like this documentary. It's amazing to see what God can do with a willing spirit. I only wish that the producers had dedicated more time to looking into her salvation testimony.

4. Do you Believe in Miracles?: In February of 1980 amidst growing Cold War fears, the U.S. hockey team created an unforgettable moment of national pride when they miraculously beat the Soviets on the ice. Revisiting lake Placid twenty-one years later, this film takes a look at the team's emotional climb to gold while exploring the tumultuous political and social landscape of the time.

I love a good underdog story, especially when it comes to sports, and this one is one of the best. If you've seen the movie Miracle with Kurt Russel then you're well prepared for this documentary. It's enjoyable to see the hockey players as they are today and what they remember. This documentary also does a good job of explaining the back story of the politics and economics of the time, so that those of us that didn't live through it can get an idea of what's going on. They also do a good job of explaining how imposing the Russian team actually was at the time, which makes it even more astounding how they one. However, just so you know, this was not the winning game of the 1980 Olympics. Team USA actually had to play one more, against Sweden I think, rent it to find out what happens;)