Last year, the Church demonstrated the power grassroots support can make by propelling "Facing the Giants" to $10 million in box office receipts on a $100,000 production budget and modest marketing support. That is equivalent to a $10 million film—miniscule by Hollywood standards—pulling in $1 billion at theaters.

After seeing Ben Stein's documentary, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," last weekend, I hope pastors and church leaders recommend this movie to create the same kind of word-of-mouth campaign.

A good start

"Expelled" did nearly $3.2 million opening weekend, ranking it ninth nationally. Considering its production costs were only $3.5 million, it got off to a pretty good start.

An actor, comedian and former presidential speechwriter, Stein's dry sense of humor and effective use of old film clips make this movie one of the most entertaining documentaries you will ever watch.

To show you how impressed some are, last month Biola University presented Stein its "2008 Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth," named after the law professor who questioned Darwinism 17 years ago in "Darwin on Trial."

Critics abound

Not everyone agrees, as evidenced by the critical reviews and vicious attacks hurtling through cyberspace, notably on Richard Dawkins' web site.

Dawkins, the renowned British scientist and atheist whose book, "The God Delusion" has sold more than 1.5 million copies, was among a cadre of evolutionists who appear in the film.

Complaining early in his column about another scientist being evicted from an advance screening, Dawkins headlines it "Lying for Jesus?" Pretty funny, given Stein's Jewish identity.

Attack on faith

By not delving into a specific faith, the film develops a broader base. Christians, Jews, Muslims and other adherents to the idea that there is a God can see how their beliefs are under attack.

As the movie spells lays out, rabid supporters of Darwinism are every bit as rock-ribbed, unyielding and narrow-minded as any fundamentalist ever dreamed of being.

I suspect there are many evolutionists who don't embrace the atheistic views of Dawkins and some leading lights of academia, nor do they subscribe blindly to natural selection and other tenets of Darwin's theory.

Yet, they dare not go against the grain by publicly stating any disagreements, lest they wind up losing their jobs, which happened in the numerous cases Stein reviews.

Scary premise

One of the scariest moments comes when Stein interviews a professor at Princeton University who discusses how he lost his childhood faith in God studying evolution in college.

The outcome of embracing the evolutionary approach that the universe is a random act of molecules crashing into each other? The professor explains it (to paraphrase): "There is no God, there is no hope, there is no life after death, there is no moral authority."

I can only feel sorry for the man. But when countless numbers of college students are exposed to similar ideas ad infinitum, is it any wonder that so many who grow up in church walk away from it?

Faith affirming

There is another reason I recommend this film to the Church: it affirmed my faith. As I watched scientists ridicule the idea of an Almighty those who "follow myths," I remembered why I believe in God.

After going through a major state university and all the indoctrination it could offer, and living for self and all the world's pleasures, I reaped emptiness, a meaningless existence and the awareness that I didn't control what went on in this world.

Thus, "Expelled" reminded me of why I embraced faith in Christ more than 26 years ago. If it does the same for your congregations, that alone will make it worthwhile.