Mark Mathis is Associate Producer of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a forthcoming documentary that says the Darwinists of American universities are suppressing scientific inquiry.

World on the Web: What makes Expelled different from other “radical idea” documentaries, like the ones Michael Moore has produced?

Mark Mathis: This film is not told from a conservative worldview, though that accusation will happen. Most of the documentary films that have been well done are driving an agenda that comes from the left side of the political spectrum. Films that do (come from this perspective) are less ambitious, more true to documentary form. Our agenda is that science needs to be free, and that the freedom’s not there. When you come to a Michael Moore or Al Gore film, the message is, “we have the answer; and everyone else, just shut up.” Expelled wants to do the opposite: stop the shutting down of scientific inquiry and return freedom to science.

WoW: Who is the film’s target demographic?

Mathis: Our target is the general public. The public is not aware of the materialist, atheistic agenda that is driven by elitists. We know that within the academic elitist institutions across this country, we are going to persuade almost absolutely no one. They’ve stopped looking at the evidence in an unbiased way.

WoW: And who do you think will be most interested in seeing this?

Mathis: People who care about freedom. People who are sick and tired of elitists dictate to them what truth is, people who believe that when they look at nature, they see reason to pursue scientific inquiry, and people who believe in God will have a strong interest in seeing this film. Having a free society will ultimately show us the truth.

WoW: In the documentary, you draw a connection between Darwinist scientists and the Nazi ideology. Do you think that approach will draw criticism?

Mathis: Should we shy away from the truth? People are uncomfortable that a materialist philosophy can lead to a phenomenon like Nazism. Just because it makes people uncomfortable doesn’t mean we should leave it out. All the more reason we should leave it in. It’s not a guaranteed outcome, and we’re not saying that. But…we know that Adolph Hitler was a staunch Darwinist, and those ideals consciously drove him. It was a consequence. The unfortunate thing in this is that there are far too many people have misappropriated Nazism to their own agenda. It’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” syndrome.

WoW: What was the most interesting interview you conducted, and why?

Mathis: The one with (Dr.) Will Provine of Cornell University. What I can’t say about most of the people I interviewed is that Will Provine is something of a model of what we should be seeing in most of the universities today. He believes that Neo-Darwinism is a fact and there is no God, but he allows people who disagree with him to speak in his classes. It’s very healthy for science, and it forces his students, who think like he does, to sharpen their arguments. That’s what science should do.

WoW: Why did Ben Stein seem a good choice to star in this film?

Mathis: Three reasons: one, Ben Stein is an accomplished person on multiple levels; an author of more than 30 books, a lawyer, an economist, an entertainer, a pitchman. He writes for the New York Times, and he’s a commentator for Fox News. Two, we wanted someone with a name in the culture, so when we talked about Expelled, it wasn’t just a documentary film. Three, we wanted to do a film where people weren’t going to see the film for a science lesson. They want to learn something, yes, but they want to be entertained along the way.

You could hear the roar from Time Square’s Military Island from a block away yesterday afternoon, as hundreds of teens rallied for ReCreate ’08. The rally was one of a series of “BattleCry” youth conferences led by TeenMania founder Ron Luce and featuring young voices speaking out against sexually-charged advertisement, online pornography, and violence in video games.

A succession of trendy young people stood in front of a chilly but enthusiastic crowd of New York and New Jersey youth, reading “The Top 8 Teen Concerns,” a list of pointed questions that ReCreate had mailed out to all the presidential candidates that day, including #6, “How will you ensure that my freedom to practice Christianity will not be taken away?” and #8, “I can’t get my ears pierced or tonsils out without my mom’s permission, should I be able to get an abortion behind their back?”

As speakers’ faces flashed across the Panasonic megatron, young artists painted bright images of the city on big canvases, representing the message behind ReCreate and TeenMania: “Inspiring (teens) to get on the internet, use their creativity to share their values, not be culture zombies,” Luce told WoW. Instead of simply protesting the objectionable in mainstream media, he said, he wants to inspire young people to replace it with wholesome art and content, letting “kids be the creative force in the culture.”

Ultimately, he said, Christians needed to win hearts: “If we make (youth) feel valued, they’ll come to us.”

Luce has united with churches from various denominations across the country to spread this message. Next year’s goal, he said, was to have 1,000 churches in New York and New Jersey alone double the size of their youth groups, based on the BattleCry plan and message. With 400,000 teens involve in BattleCry now, he hopes to continue to expand the movement.

The rally concluded with a two-day conference in New Jersey’s Izod Center, featuring Christian music artists such as David Crowder and Phil Joel, as well as other Christian contemporary culture icons, such as Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera.

Successful new programs for correcting juvenile offenders are gaining national attention, and the most innovative solutions may also be the simplest. The Missouri juvenile detention system has replaced large prison-like youth correction facilities with 42 smaller centers emphasizing individual attention, community and mentorship. Criteria for release are based on character change, not time served, and support for youths continues as they readjust to life in society.

Compared to programs nationwide, the outcome of these programs is staggering: youth recidivism rates of seven to nine percent, compared to a national average of 33 percent, and up to 75 percent in some states.

Don Smarto, president of Youth Direct Ministries, a national outreach to high-risk youth, used the Missouri system as one of five examples of success in a November presentation on juvenile re-entry at the White House. Among juvenile offenders, Smart told WoW, there are clear trends: “We usually see males around 15 to 20 years old and very disjointed from their family.” About 80 percent of delinquents nationally, he said, have no father present, and most share feelings of being unwanted or unloved.

Because of this, he said, the most effective way to change delinquent youth is individual mentorship: “What you need is a relationship with an adult: a woman for a young girl and a man for a young boy. Where the mentor plays a really crucial role is when they’re going back to a chaotic (family) environment. The mentor gives a release valve, a semblance of a healthy relationship.”

Many youth mentors and volunteers, Smarto said, come from local churches, which he encourages to adopt a youth and form an accountability team to mentor and disciple him. Since programs like Missouri’s make such extensive use of volunteers, they are the least costly as well as the most effective.

In most programs, Smarto said, “You could be sending (youth offenders) to MIT or Harvard for as much money as we’re spending. The things that are working don’t cost any money.”

Last Wednesday, New Jersey voters surprisingly rejected a ballot proposal that would have allowed the legislature to borrow $450 million for stem cell research. Many, including Senate President Richard Codey, attributed the defeat to public frustration over the state’s debt and poor fiscal policies. But Dr. Robert George of Princeton University said that is only part of the story: “The margin of victory was supplied by mainly Catholic and evangelical voters who turned out to the polls to defeat this referendum.”

Two Sundays before the election, George said, priests at all Catholic churches in the state were instructed to show a documentary film, produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the science and ethics of stem cells. This awareness, coupled with efforts by New Jersey Right to Life, the New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC) and others, toppled the initiative.

Voters considering the stem cell issue should know two things, George said: “One, that embryonic stem cell research involves the taking of human life. Two, that while adult stem cells have produced many helpful therapies, not only have embryonic cells not been used in therapies, they haven’t even reached the clinical trial stage. Embryonic stem cells have a tendency to cause tumors and nobody knows how to solve that problem.”

Len Deo, president of NJFPC, said in the 20 years since stem cell research was legalized in New Jersey, scientists have found 73 cures using adult stem cell research and none using embryonic stem cell research.

Though the overturn was a victory for NJFPC, Deo said the ballot initiative on Wednesday only concerned the funding for legislation that pro-life advocates have termed the “Clone and Kill” bill. “It allows for a cloned embryo to be inserted into the uterus of a woman, then (aborted for research),” he said. “It’s horrific.”

Just days from their Monday night face-off in New York, neither Christian conservative Dinesh D’Souza nor outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens was expecting an easy win.

Hitchens and D’Souza have debated each other twice before on policy questions, but never on religion. Now, with the May publication of Hitchen’s book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and this month’s release of What’s So Great About Christianity by D’Souza, the God issue is timely. Both talked to WoW this week.

For Hitchens, the question of God’s existence is behind all others: “I’ve always thought of it as the main argument. … Whatever you’re arguing about, whether biology or astronomy or genetics, you’re going to get to the point where you’re arguing about … what is good, what isn’t, what we are here for. That’s why I’ve been thinking about it all my life.

Hitchen’s fight against religion grew more urgent after the Ayatollah Khomeini ordered extremists to kill Hitchen’s friend, the novelist Salman Rushdie, “in the name of God.” “The great project of civilization is to demolish theocracy,” Hitchens said.

D’Souza says that Christians can no longer afford to remain silent: “A lot of Christians have retreated from the public square, hoping that it will remain neutral so they can practice their faith in private. … It seems to me that Christians have no alternative but to be engaged.”

Reason is the best counter to atheism, said D’Souza: “I would ask an atheist to make a list of the ten values or institutions that he regards the most. … I think the atheist would realize to his dismay that virtually none of these values would exist without Christianity.”

The debaters sized up the competition. “Hitchens tends to be a bit of a bomb-thrower,” D’Souza said. “I’m reviewing my strategies for how to beat him.” Hitchen said that unlike many apologists for Christianity, D’Souza knows the issues and is accustomed to debate. But he added, “I’ve never been told after these debates that I’ve lost one.”

Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens will debate at the Society for Ethical Culture in Manhattan on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The debate is sponsored by The King’s College and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact [email protected].

WORLD on the Web interviews Dinesh D’Souza, author of What’s So Great About Christianity.

WORLD on the Web: You call your new book the first comprehensive answer to people such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Did you draw from many Christian apologists, past and present, when researching, and if so, which ones?

D’Souza: Not particularly. There are some good apologists out there, but they tend to inhabit the church subculture. What I mean is that you’ve got guys like Lee Strobel and Ravi Zacharias. But have you seen Ravi Zacharias on Larry King? Have you seen them debate the leading atheists? I want to emulate C.S. Lewis: someone who has good academic credentials but writes for a mainstream audience.

WoW: Do you think What’s So Great About Christianity will have the effect of Lewis’ Mere Christianity for the 21st century?

It’s certainly written with that intention. I’m trying not only to inspire Christians but to engage the seeker. I love the idea of raising the difficult questions; not just refuting someone by saying, “you’re wrong because …” but also saying, “is it true that you believe…” Let’s be skeptical together … the Socratic approach.

WoW: You devote a lot of your time in the book to Darwinism and its effect on society. What is your opinion of forms of theistic evolution?

My main thought is that whatever you think about the subject, Christians should not feel that their faith is at stake. Christians are very defensive when it comes to the universe. We live in a designed universe, and it doesn’t really matter whether the dog and the wolf share a common ancestor.

WoW: You say that Christianity is growing and flourishing in the rural areas of America and in second- and third-world countries. What do you think is the future of cities like New York and Los Angeles?

I think that urban life is built on distraction. It tends to be a little bit hostile to traditional religious morality. However, as people enjoy the benefits of modernity, education, the cities, the thought that pops into the mind is, “is this all there is?” The feeling itself is a product of modernity. A lot of academics have thought that as a society becomes more modern, religion will wane. Just the opposite; (seeking) starts out with a real interest and a desire to know more. The real enemy of religion is not the atheist, but the one who is indifferent.

WoW: If there’s one aspect of the culture that you could see transformed or revived, what would you want that to be and why?

If I could transform one institution, I would probably start with education and schools.

WoW: What are some specific ways that you feel Christians have become apathetic or fallen short of their callings in recent times?

The Bible calls on all of us to be missionaries, contenders for the faith. Many Christians don’t have the right secular language to do that. If you’re talking to an atheist, he’s going to say, “I don’t care what the Bible says.” The point of reason is to remove the obstacles to faith. For many people, reason is a block. I’m not advocating reason as a substitute for faith, but as a prelude or preamble to faith.

WoW: What can the church be doing to transform the culture?

I would like to see the church be more explicit in providing debate and apologetics training. This wuld prepare people to not only be better Christians in the church, but also better Christians in the world. The church should train Christians to present their views in a secular culture.