The film was shot entirely on location in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Lowell, Michigan.  It takes on three current social and cultural issues: evolution vs. creation, end-of-life decisions, and religious discrimination against Christians on the college campus.  In each issue, the movie comes down on the conservative side of the argument without actually taking a position.  Rather, the intent is to open the door once again to a side of the discussion that hasn't had a lot of constructive public play lately.

Creation vs. Evolution (or, Faith vs. Science)

This particular argument receives the least direct treatment in the movie, but it is the major selling point of the trailers and a big part of the advertising campaign.  At issue here is whether physical cosmology (which accepts the Big Bang Theory and holds that the universe is approximately 15,750,000,000 years old) has it right, or whether the Ussher Chronology (which is based on the Bible and holds that the first day of creation was Sunday, 23 October, 4004 BC) is the correct answer.  Kerry's stand, revealed early in the story, is that creationism is right, and that science will eventually catch up with the Bible.

In order to be completely honest, I have to be clear about something here.  I'm a Confessional Lutheran (specifically, WELS), and as such I have a bit of a headache with an argument that essentially bends God's Word to suit man's intellect.  That having been said, I don't consider this a reason to not see the movie.  (As a matter of fact, I can show where Mel Gibson absolutely mangled Scripture in the storyline of The Passion of the Christ, but I didn't refuse to see the movie because of that.)

Nope, the point here, again, is to get the discussion started; and this movie does that brilliantly.

Mark Wells (Kerry's brother, played by Adam Chambers) and his colleagues, Lin Chen (Andrea Lui) and J. T. Bochner (Wes Robinson) use the phenomena of time dilation and cosmic microwave background radiation in tandem to explain how the two very different conclusions for how old the earth is can be harmoniously reconciled.  The explanation is brilliant (aided by some amazing graphic effects) without getting the viewer lost in the math and physics.  I submit that Albert Einstein would be very proud.

The result is a very plausible and easy to understand explanation for how both 6 days and 15.75 billion years can both be correct simultaneously, and establishes that God has the right answers even when man's limited understanding cannot grasp them.

Right-to-Life (specifically, End-of-Life)

Mention the right to life argument, and most people will reflexively respond with arguments or opinion on one side or the other of the abortion debate.  That's understandable, since the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was observed just over three weeks ago, and there have been at least five other high-profile SCOTUS decisions in the past four decades on the issue.

But right to life is about more than opposing abortion on demand; it's about building a culture of life in America.  It's about restoring the foundational belief that a human life, regardless of quality, has an inherently sacred and superior value assigned by God that attaches at conception and remains so until a natural death.  That, not surprisingly, is why the Founding Fathers identified life as first among the chief unalienable rights that every person is endowed with by their Creator.

On the other hand, evolutionary biology (which is based on Darwin's The Origin Of Species) by its very nature completely disregards the inherent value of human life in and of itself, choosing instead to superimpose a relative value assigned by those who are seen as being somehow superior to the masses.  It is this very abrogation that has spawned abortion on demand, sexual licensure, slavery in every form, and essentially the entire eugenics agenda.  The sophomoric arguments that support and advance these positions conveniently ignore Charles Darwin's own admission that his defining literary work was in effect all theory and little evidence.  (And by "sophomoric" I am referring to the literal translation from the Greek.)

But what of the person who lies in a hospital bed, comatose, unable to communicate his or her intentions or wishes?  Is there still "the divine flame which no man dare presume to put out, be his motives ever so humane and enlightened"?  At what point, if at all, does life support become an exercise in futility, denying The Creator the right to call a person home at any time he sees fit to do so?

End of life issues - including "pulling the plug" - are inherently tricky.  Advance Medical Directives (such as those offered by Christian Life Resources) are helpful, but they do little to stanch the emotional turmoil of the people (usually immediate relatives or very close friends) who must execute those directives.  Carl and Ellen Taylor (Ernest Borgnine and Louise Fletcher), Blake's maternal grandparents, are placed in the unenviable position of having to carry out a directive sworn out by their daughter, Beverly (Blake's mother, played by Susan Blakely), before the cancer ravaging her body reduced her to a comatose state.  Blake fights the directive, but Judge Hardin (Fred Thompson) ultimately rules against the motion for injunction; the scene in the court's conference room closes with Blake and his grandparents debating the merit of an appeal.

As the movie plot unfolds, we learn that there's a reason that Blake doesn't have much confidence in the power of prayer.  Kerry's persistent displays of faith eventually make their point, however, and Blake's appeal is ultimately filed (just not in a courtroom).

Religious Discrimination

I find it more than a little ironic that the same post-modern liberal intellectual elites who preach tolerance and understanding take the exact opposite approach when it comes to Christianity.  By their reasoning, all religions in the world are equal, all religions teach essentially the same message, and any religion you choose - as long as you practice it sincerely - is equally capable of getting you a spot in heaven.  Jesus had something to say about such people, and for those interested in his opinion I highly recommend reading Matthew 23.

Religious discrimination can take on many forms.  The peer pressure from Blake's teammates and the academic ridicule from Professor Campbell (Ben Murphy) is mild compared to the thinly veiled mockery and contempt leveled by Myra Allitt, Kerry's academic advisor (played by Catherine Hicks).

Tyler Ross (Danny Mooney), Shane Thomas (C. R. Lewis), and Chase Laughton (Michael William Freeman) are gradually worn down by Kerry simply and openly living the combined advice of Matthew 5:13-16 and 1 Peter 3:14-16; their mea culpa is a beautiful karaoke rendering of "A Soldier's King" by Shane.  The song briefly and ever so subtly touches on the two things that make Christianity both unique from and superior to every other religion humanity has ever known or will ever know (which simultaneously makes Christianity the most reviled religion humanity has ever known or will ever know).

As for Professor Campbell, a conversation at a shooting range between him, Blake, and Rev. Jerry Wells (Jerry Zandstra) show us that things are not always as they seem.  The discussion hinges on the comparison and contrast between microevolution and macroevolution, specifically relative to speciation.

Myra Allitt, however, is a horse of an entirely different color.  Her meeting with Kerry starts out with praise (3.9 GPA, straight A in her science classes, double major), but rapidly goes downhill from there.  Myra starts out by mentioning that she has some reservations in recommending Kerry for grad school.  Those reservations appear to be that Kerry is not particularly involved in extracurricular activity (outside of one on-campus Christian organization), has a religious background, and is outspoken about her faith in absolute biblical truth.  After establishing that, Myra then proceeds to systematically ridicule Kerry's faith in detail, treating it as an insult to postmodern intellectualism; her concluding argument is a misuse of 1 Corinthians 13:11.

Without giving anything away, let's just say that a follow up meeting goes considerably differently.

Final Thoughts

Jesus made it clear more than once that those who choose to follow him will be treated just as he was, with ridicule and persecution.  That's been very much so in postmodern America.  But we are also told that this treatment will provide opportunities for believers to testify to their faith.  Occasionally, those opportunities will arise when even governors and kings are listening.

The Genesis Code is a very worthwhile movie that effectively takes the fight to Hollywood and supports the conservative viewpoints and values.  It's billed as "the Christian movie of the year," and may well deserve that honor.  Whether we've noticed it or not, contemporary America is a nation where Christianity is under open assault on many fronts.  This film rebukes that assault on three different issues.

For what my opinion may be worth, I highly recommend that you take the time to catch The Genesis Code while it's in theaters.