With our society being encouraged to remember the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of its secular saints, this production takes a fresh look at Charles Darwin’s life and his controversial theory of evolution. The hope is that the film will be shown in local churches especially. The DVD will be released in September.
This is a one-hour documentary produced by Creation Ministries International (CMI) and funded mainly by donations from supporters. It is a high quality production with historical re-enactments from key parts of Darwin’s life. There is a study guide available from the associated web site (www.thevoyage.tv).
The film was created with unbelievers and questioning Christians in mind. It seeks to give a fair view of Darwin and his work, but to raise legitimate scientific questions concerning the theory of evolution.
The documentary is made up of interviews with respected scientists, historians and philosophers, interspersed with historical re-enactments and footage of locations visited by HMS Beagle. These locations include the Galapagos Islands, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Britain.
Some of the interviewees have a creationist viewpoint and others are Darwinists. That this is not made clear in advance is a little confusing.
One of the DVD’s main points is that the uniformitarian view of geology (as described in 2 Peter 3:4: ‘all things continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’) is not supported by the scientific evidence. Catastrophes, including those caused by flooding, have clearly had a major influence on the earth’s rocks.
For those with some background knowledge of the arguments, this is a very useful tool to stimulate debate and further discussion. For those without such a background, the DVD provides a visually attractive introduction to ‘the Darwin controversy’.
