'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 o 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 co ld?'
'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 th ing 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 cannot 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 the 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.
