December 03, 2009.

Origins of life explored in a fair and carefully reasoned fashion.

Rating: 5
It tells the story of the birth of the modern Intelligent Design movement, making a strong case against Darwinian unguided evolution, featuring people like Dr. Dean Kenyon (evolutionary biologist and prestigious scientist), Dr. Michael Behe (biochemist), Dr. Paul Nelson, and many others.

The video starts with a very good overview of the history of Darwin's work, his visit to the Galapagos Islands, his development of his theory in 1895, and the publishing of his "Origins of Species". Many times Darwin is quoted, such as:

- "Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight, successive variations. She can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps."
- "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."

Darwinian supporters have taken his theory beyond his statements, with Natural Selection often used as a Designer substitute. While natural selection can explain some small changes, it takes an amazing leap of faith to jump to large scale changes at a level of an organism where new information is needed. Natural selection selects for advantage (not neutral changes) and it does not add new features but rather removes features that are not successful.

Some of the strong points of intelligent design are shown via the various molecular machines such as the bacterial flagellum. Other concepts like irreducible complexity are explained (multi-component systems that require all parts to function correctly; one part missing and we don't have ANY function, not lesser function as Darwinian Evolution would require). Precise sequence of assembly is also of key importance in building molecular machines, like constructing a building requires precise sequence of steps.

Bill Gates said: "DNA is like computer program, just much more complex". From all that we know, information is generated by intelligence and intelligent agents can produce information rich systems. At present there is no natural cause that produces information. Darwinist claim that we are not allowed to evoke intelligence in our analysis, but every day we do it in archeology (say Egyptian writings in pyramids, or Stone Hedge). On what basis do we make such thesis?

For further reading/ watching you may like to consider: Icons Of Evolution, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities (Cambridge Studies in Probability, Induction and Decision Theory), The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator's Artistry. The video is filled with great snapshots of animals in the wild, plus animations, something that smaller children will enjoy watching, as well!

December 24, 2008.

Case closed.

Rating: 5
A great production...well worth the money/time. It just proves that there is no way life could have evolved on its on. Creation is the only answer as to how life came about. The photography is stunning and will keep you interested throughout.

December 03, 2008.

Best video on ID.

Rating: 5
Probably the best video I have seen on ID. It shows the basic need of information for life and asks the question, "where do we get information from?" If you only have one video to answer the science question of ID, this would be the one.

December 02, 2008.

A well thought out documentary.

Rating: 5
I found this to be an exceptional documentary on some of the greatest questions that face humankind. There was genuine curiosity and well thought out scientific examination on the molecular/chemical level. The use of animated graphics brought not only cellular activity, but concepts to life in a palpable way. It is exciting to see the leaps and bounds science has made over the last two decades - very impressive. This video, when shown to young children, will excite their desire to explore and study life through the sciences. It is like a breath of fresh air against the stale-dated philosophies that have become redundant in many of our schools. I recommend this video to anyone who has an interest in exploring science and becoming updated on the new discoveries that are being made in molecular, biological and chemical areas. If the last time you thought about science was in high school - this video will be a pleasant surprise! The only dissapointment is that Unlocking the Mystery of Life is only one video, and not a part of a series. Congratulations to all the professors who made this documentry possible- job well done!

December 30, 2008.

A World of Collective Insanity.

Rating: 5
Nothing scares me more than the fact that I live in a world where people smirk and roll their eyes at the words 'intelligent design'. The idea that the world and complex living organisms show evidence of....(gasp!)....intelligent design is so 'beyond the pall' it can get you fired, blackballed, thrown out of a university and labeled a moron. This is a crystal clear presentation of the dazzling complexity of life, the mind-boggling inter-relatedness in which one part cannot accidentally arise independently of numerous other parts without forethought and design. Irrefutable.