A local minister has dived head-first into the culture war by producing a documentary equating Darwinian evolution with the Holocaust and Soviet communism.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed was described by the New York Times as "a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry" and "an unprincipled propaganda piece that insults believers and nonbelievers alike."

But in only three weeks since its nationwide opening, it has grossed $6.6 million, putting it in 13th place for the highest grossing U.S. documentary of all time, behind blockbusters like Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me.

The Rev. Logan Craft, who lives in Santa Fe and keeps a home in Dallas, is the executive pastor of Christ Church Santa Fe, and said his ministerial work is separate from his controversial filmmaking. "I've always kept my business and any kind of professional ministry stuff pretty clearly delineated," he said.

Craft credits his co-producer, Walt Ruloff of Vancouver, B.C., for his film's thesis — that proponents of Charles Darwin's theories are censoring "intelligent design." The theory holds that a higher power designed the universe and all life.

Craft said he is "agnostic" on the subject of intelligent design, but maintains that those espousing the theory have been oppressed. Expelled interviews scientists who say their exploration into intelligent design got them fired from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.; Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and other academic institutions, as well as acknowledged atheists such as evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who calls intelligent design nonsense.

Expelled is narrated by the smart-alecky Ben Stein, a former speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford, a valedictorian of Yale Law School, a published economist, an actor known for his portrayal of the monotone teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and the host of Comedy Central's Win Ben Stein's Money (1997-2003). Craft said Stein was picked because he is Jewish, not overtly religious and an intellectual with "pro-life" sympathies.

"If everything is simply the product of random mutation and life forms are not inherently or intrinsically in any way potentially sacred or valuable apart from being just another life form," Craft said, "I think that would influence somebody's view on abortion, wouldn't it?"

Craft said he personally opposes abortion, but is no "six-day" creationist and belongs to no political party. But some might find his professed moderation hard to swallow, given Expelled's us-versus-them mentality and its heavy-handed images demonizing Darwinians as the genesis of immorality, euthanasia, godlessness, birth-control and eugenics proponent Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood, Nazism and the Berlin Wall.

Craft said the film's provocative images were needed to grab attention. But since others have blamed the Holocaust on Martin Luther, who launched the Protestant Reformation, or even on Pope Pius XII, who remained silent on Nazi atrocities, "Why not Darwin's theory?" Craft asked.

"It's the metaphysical atheists who are taking Darwin's theory of evolution and they are using that as a bludgeon," he continued. "It's not so much that they are Darwinists; it's that they are atheists and that they are inappropriately trying to restrict science so that it has no interaction with any other metaphysic except the one that they have chosen."

Craft said he believes Darwin was correct in some of his observations. But like Karl Marx in economics and Sigmund Freud in psychoanalysis, he said, new theories need to be considered so evolutionary biology can expand. He said a scientific group convening in Austria this month is expected to criticize Darwinian evolution for imposing itself onto other disciplines.

Craft grew up in a wealthy family in Dallas and Houston. His father was involved with the steel industry. He studied business at the University of Texas and went to work as a marketing executive for Petrofina, before enrolling in the Asbury Seminary in Lexington, Ky., where he began to work with the homeless and indigent. After working for the family metals business in California and as an independent oil-exploration investor and marrying, he returned to theological studies at Regent College in Vancouver, where he met both his co-producers, Ruloff and John Sullivan.

After working as a pastor in British Columbia, Craft came to Santa Fe 10 years ago to work as an executive rector of Holy Faith Episcopal Church. Five years ago, he and the Rev. Martin Ban began Christ Church Santa Fe. The Presbyterian-affiliated congregation meets Sundays at the student union at Santa Fe Community College and next month will move into a remodeled church, formerly Capital Christian Church, on Cordova Road.

For three years, Craft hosted a television talk show here called Church and State that explored the interface of politics and religion on hot-button issues like abortion, marriage and homosexuality. The show ran on the Comcast public-access station in Santa Fe and other public-access stations around the state. He has also developed television commercials and hosted cable-television shows on hunting and wildlife. But Expelled is his first feature film.

Some critics have excoriated Expelled, but Craft said viewers give it high marks. The biggest backlash has been a lawsuit by Yoko Ono, who objects to Expelled's use of her late husband John Lennon's song "Imagine." Craft maintains no permission or license was needed to use 15 seconds and 10 words of the song proposing a world without religion. Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project has agreed defend the production company, he said.

Craft compares the controversy generated by his admittedly right-wing film to that of left-wing director Michael Moore. "I think you would see the same thing from one of the conservative groups that demonize Michael Moore," he said. "When I went to see his films, they raised interesting questions that made me pause and say, 'You know, let's think about this.' That's the goal for this film. If our film does that, then it would be doing its job."

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.



ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Name: Logan Craft

Age: 47

Personal: Grew up in Dallas, Houston and on a ranch near Blanco, Texas. Moved to Santa Fe 10 years ago. Married wife, Barbra, in Fort Worth 1995. They have two daughters.

Education: Business marketing degree from the University of Texas at Austin, theological training at Asbury Seminary in Lexington, Ky., and Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.

Professional experience: First-time film producer has worked as an oil company marketing executive and an independent oil exploration investor; he also worked with homeless people, ran an orphanage, and hosted television programs.

Religious experience: Grew up Presbyterian and Episcopalian. Came to Santa Fe as associate rector of Holy Faith Episcopal Church. For five years, he has been an executive pastor of Christ Church Santa Fe, a Presbyterian-affiliated congregation that meets at Santa Fe Community College and plans to move into a remodeled church, formerly Capital Christian Church, on Cordova Road in one month.