There's a movie coming out in April, and I can't wait to tell you about it. It's called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."

Imagine what Michael Moore might produce if we forcibly administered sodium pentothal to him. That would be "Expelled."

It's a documentary in which my old friend and colleague Ben Stein takes on the role of Michael Moore under the influence of the truth serum. Stein tries to get to the bottom of our origin and whether there is any hint of design in our universe.

This is exposé-tainment at its best. "Expelled" covers the following key questions:

— Were we designed, or are we simply products of random chance, mutations and evolution occurring without any plan throughout billions of years?

— Is the debate regarding our origin settled?

— How should science deal with what appears to be evidence of design?

— What should be taught to children and college students about our origin?

— Is there any room for dissent from the evolutionary point of view?

— Is it appropriate for eminent scientists who depart from strict evolutionary dogma to be fired and blacklisted, as is occurring in academia today?

— Should government schools and other institutions be engaged in promoting the secular, materialistic worldview to the total exclusion of differing points of view?

— Is science so advanced and so certain that it should be exempt from the societal norms of open dialogue and free debate?

— Why is it simply inconceivable and unacceptable for some evolutionists to consider the possibility — no matter how remote — that our world might actually have a Creator?

At first glance, these topics may not offer an opportunity for uproarious entertainment.

But somehow, they do exactly that in "Expelled."

Stein doesn't just ask the obvious questions of the scientists who are dogmatic about evolution. He probes. He digs. He pierces. He penetrates. He is relentless.

The responses are amazing, even if you think you know what to expect. It turns out some of the most hardened, doctrinaire anti-design zealots in the scientific establishment — people such as Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion" and consequently the de facto leader of the worldwide atheist movement — aren't really opposed to the notion of design at all. They just can't accept God as the designer.

You will hear some of the world's most celebrated evolutionists admit design is possible — just not by the hand of God.

They will attribute the possibility of design to visitors from other planets and even to crystals. The two things they cannot tolerate are the consideration of God's role and any of their colleagues deviating from their own ideas about the universe's origin.

It's not so much the architects of evolution are opposed to religion. It's that they have formed their own religion — absent the God of Christianity and Judaism.

As Ben Stein explains it: "Big Science in this area of biology has lost its way. 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. It's anti the whole concept of learning."

You need to be on the lookout for "Expelled." It will get a healthy rollout in theaters beginning April 18. This is a movie you will want to see more than once. This is a movie for the whole family. This is a movie to tell your friends about.

It won't end the discussion about evolution. But it may give us a chance to revive the debate.

To find out more about Joseph Farah and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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