The Debate and Its Prelude

Herb, senior custodian at Westside High, is down to earth, practical, friendly, governed by common sense, and just can’t believe Ralph, a high strung and energetic biology teacher who can’t sit still when he learns that a student in his class believes in creationism. He instantly organizes a debate in order to squelch this anachronistic religious influence in his classroom. The only problem was that in his haste, he failed to identify someone to square up with his pro-evolution candidate, a power-hitting, man-eating, societally accomplished intellectual, skilled in debating tactics. Ironically, it’s Herb who saves the day by suggesting that Ralph follow up on his one and only lead—the father of the very student, Heidi, who provoked the whole campaign in the first place. Left with no other choice, Ralph concedes to Herb’s suggestion. Heidi’s father, Jim Britton, on the other hand, is a man with no aspirations for public exposure, a scientist working in the confines of a quiet laboratory, who genuinely loves God and the Bible, but is faced with a “crisis of faith” when he learns that his daughter nominated him to occupy the other podium.