'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely.'
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'
'Yes'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed
person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent.
'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of
water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Er..yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. 'From God'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me,
son. Is there evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make
everything, correct?'
'Yes'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued,
'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists,
and according to the principle that our works define who we are,
then God is evil.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there
sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do
they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'
The student does not answer again, so the professor
repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer.
Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the
classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto
another student.
'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes,
professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have
five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.
Have you ever seen Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him.'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not.'
'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus
or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of
Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable,
demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What
do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is
the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before
asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as
heat?'
' yes.
'And is there such a thing as cold?'
'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously
interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student
begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat,
super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or
no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to
458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any
further after that.
There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go
colder than the lowest -458 degrees.'
'Every body or object is susceptible to study when
it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter
have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total
absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe
the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can
measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the
opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in
the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a
thing as darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.
'What is night if it isn't darkness?'
'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not
something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light,
normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light
constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's
the meaning we use to define the word.'
'In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would
be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in
front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you
making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical
premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be
flawed.'
The professor's face ca nnot hide his surprise this
time. 'Fl awed? Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the
student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's
death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of
God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science
can't even explain a thought.'
'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never
seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the
opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist
as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the
absence of it.'
'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students
that they evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary
process, young man, yes, of course I do.'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still
smiling, as he realizes where th e argument is going. A very good
semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of
evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an
on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you
now not a scientist, but a preacher?'
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent
until the commotion has subsided.
'To continue the point you were making earlier to
the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'
The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone
in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class
breaks out into laughter.
'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the
professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according
to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol,
science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.'
'So if science says you have no brain, how can we
trust your lecture s, sir?'
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares
at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man
answers. 'I guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact,
faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there
such a thing as evil?'
Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course,
there is. We see it everyday It is in the daily example of man's
inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence
everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but
evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist
sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the
absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man
has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create
evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have
God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when
there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'
The professor sat down.
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