Roger Ebert on Ben Stein

Roger Ebert has written a column on Ben Stein. He once wrote a column on creationism that was so subtle that most people (including myself) probably would have taken it seriously, had there not been some advance warning. That post is here. This new column is not subtle:

Ben Stein, you hosted a TV show on which you gave away money. Imagine that I have created a special edition of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" just for you. Ben, you've answered all the earlier questions correctly, and now you're up for the $1 million prize. It involves an explanation for the evolution of life on this planet. You have already exercised your option to throw away two of the wrong answers. Now you are faced with two choices: (A) Darwin's Theory of Evolution, or (B) Intelligent Design.

Because this is a special edition of the program, you can use a Hotline to telephone every scientist on Earth who has an opinion on this question. You discover that 99.975 of them agree on the answer (A). A million bucks hangs in the balance. The clock is ticking. You could use the money. Which do you choose? You, a firm believer in the Constitution, are not intimidated and exercise your freedom of speech. You choose (B).

Squaaawk!!! The klaxon horn sounds. You have lost

He is not exaggerating on the percentage of scientists who agree on it. Biologists and geologists at any rate. Ebert spends the rest of the column taking apart Ben Stein's approach to making the picture but ends with a haunting paragraph that strikes at the heart of those of us who have accepted evolution and are Christians:

He takes a field trip to visit one "result" of Darwinism: Nazi concentration camps. "As a Jew," he says, "I wanted to see for myself." We see footage of gaunt, skeletal prisoners. Pathetic children. A mound of naked Jewish corpses. "It's difficult to describe how it felt to walk through such a haunting place," he says. Oh, go ahead, Ben Stein. Describe. It filled you with hatred for Charles Darwin and his followers, who represent the overwhelming majority of educated people in every nation on earth. It is not difficult for me to describe how you made me feel by exploiting the deaths of millions of Jews in support of your argument for a peripheral Christian belief. It fills me with contempt.

I have stated that I want to see this film. With a review like this, I am not so sure, anymore. Those that have taken the Hitler=Darwin meme do not wish to correct their information. It is easier to hate Darwin when you think he was responsible for one of the largest genocides in history. Why bother to get it right? Hat tip to Little Green Footballs.