Darwin’s Dilemma examines the theory of evolution, raising questions about its validity in light of the Cambrian Explosion, which marked the sudden appearance of several major animal groups in fossils dated to have occurred 545 million years ago.

The American Freedom Alliance (AFA) has settled a lawsuit over the cancellation of a 2009 screening of its documentary on intelligent design, Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record, at the California Science Center (CSC) IMAX theater.

Now the AFA says it won’t show the film even though they have been invited back. Instead, the organization will move on after taking the $110,000 to be provided by the center’s foundation and its insurer under the settlement.

Attorney William J. Becker Jr., who represented the alliance in the case, said the AFA considers the “invitation an apology, a vindication of intelligent design, and the right of people to discuss it in a public forum.”

Becker added that the AFA declined the CSC’s post-litigation invitation because it came too late and the alliance has no desire to show an outdated film at that theater. To mitigate their damages following the initial cancellation, the AFA screened the movie at another venue, albeit one that did not have IMAX capabilities.

In its lawsuit, the AFA said the CSC violated its free speech rights. The alliance told The Christian Post that CSC officials “conspired to drop the event because they did not want the museum to be viewed as legitimizing intelligent design as a scientific theory.” The AFA planned a discussion after the film’s screening, and to show a pro-evolution film called We Are Born of the Stars.

Darwin’s Dilemma examines the theory of evolution, raising questions about its validity in light of the Cambrian Explosion, which marked the sudden appearance of several major animal groups in fossils dated to have occurred 545 million years ago.

The CSC canceled its contract with the AFA after it learned a third party, the Discovery Center, which supports intelligent design, was promoting the event.

“The First Amendment forbids government preference for one viewpoint over another, yet evidence disclosed in this case shows the CSC, Smithsonian Institution, and L.A. County Museum of Natural History attempted to stifle dissent from Darwinism,” Casey Luskin, an attorney and policy analyst with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, told The Christian Post.

Becker pointed out that much of the scientific community misunderstands intelligent design and its relationship with creationism: “Intelligent design theory is based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence. . . . It is based on research that does not discuss who the intelligent designer is, whereas creationism is based solely on the belief that the Bible’s Book of Genesis is accurate.”

Brittany Smith is a graduate of Grove City College and recently spent a year in Spain. She is an intern for WORLD, living and working in her hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
@Copyright 2011 WORLD Magazine – used with permission