Stein Says Science Kills

Ben Stein, one-note supporting actor, former game show host, and wanna-be economist, plays a leading roll in the new creationist propaganda film Expelled. The movie is filled with misinformation, much of it cataloged at the website ExpelledExposed.com. But Stein has been making the round with the most sundry elements of the far religious right in recent weeks and made some especially pernicious comments about science.

A few weeks ago, the producers of Expelled provided a private showing for Answer in Genesis, a young earth creationist think tank specializing in indoctrinating youth into believing that the Universe is only 6,000 years old and that Noah took all the animals, including dinosaurs, on the Ark during a worldwide flood only 4,000 years ago. Here's a picture of Stein meeting with Ken Ham, creationist kook that heads up AiG:

Ham had a glowing review of Expelled and had exuberant praise for Stein. Ham said Stein was a "a 21st-century Einsteinian figure" and went on to say:

Ken pledged AiG’s strong promotional support to Mr. Stein, indicating that AiG will use its multiple outlets to spread the word about his excellent film. After previewing the documentary last month, Ken declared that the film was “riveting, eye-opening, even astonishing. Ben does a masterful job of exposing the ruthlessness of evolutionists who will go after anyone who challenges or merely questions Darwinian orthodoxy. I was on the edge of my seat—entertained yet instructed.”

Stein was recently on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the cable televangelist station dedicated to separating people from their money. Stein had a conversation with Paul Crouch Jr, heir to the TBN empire. Here's the transcript excerpt of the interview :

Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [i.e. biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed  that was horrifying beyond words, and thats where science - in my opinion, this is just an opinion - thats where science leads you.

Crouch: Thats right.

Stein: Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.

Crouch: Good word, good word.

[emphasis added]

Einsteinian indeed. If there was any doubt the intelligent design creationism is not a revolution within science but an effort to destroy science, it should be explicitly clear where Stein and his ilk stand. They claim science leads one to kill people.

The man's a crank, molded from some caricature of a Dark Ages bishop hellbent on burning heretic scientists at the stake.