God vs Science
"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?'
'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? 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 down 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 cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? 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 lectures, 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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My comment: This has gone around on the internet for quite a while and it was said that Albert Einstein was the student which is not true. I have no idea who the author of this story is, regardless...I still find it to be a strong argument for faith. The biggest thing I got out of this is that evil is the absence of God. If you look at our world now and how the ACLU and atheists have fought to take God out of our life in general, it shows how the absence of God in the lives of people have been slowly turning our world into something that equals evil.
I know this much from my own experience: I have been a Christian my entire life and there was a 3-year period that I was so angry at God that I stopped talking to him. I no longer prayed, I had given up all hope. My anger overtook me and I became someone that people no longer recognized as Ronda. It was like I was living in a black hole. During that time, food became my 'god'. I gained over 100 pounds. My mom told me I needed to get help. I was in such a deep depression that she was scared I would do something stupid. I went to the doctor and was eventually put on prozac which I still take. I slowly started crawling out of the hole and started seeing the light again. I started talking to God and to be honest, I actually feel closer to Him now than I ever have in my life. During this time, it was apparent that the absence of God was obvious. He didn't give up on me though, I gave up on Him. I was empty without Him and this is what is happening in our world. People are pushing God away and leaving us in a black hole. There are those of us that refuse to let that happen and we have to stand strong. Take care and God bless!
My comment: This has gone around on the internet for quite a while and it was said that Albert Einstein was the student which is not true. I have no idea who the author of this story is, regardless...I still find it to be a strong argument for faith. The biggest thing I got out of this is that evil is the absence of God. If you look at our world now and how the ACLU and atheists have fought to take God out of our life in general, it shows how the absence of God in the lives of people have been slowly turning our world into something that equals evil.
I know this much from my own experience: I have been a Christian my entire life and there was a 3-year period that I was so angry at God that I stopped talking to him. I no longer prayed, I had given up all hope. My anger overtook me and I became someone that people no longer recognized as Ronda. It was like I was living in a black hole. During that time, food became my 'god'. I gained over 100 pounds. My mom told me I needed to get help. I was in such a deep depression that she was scared I would do something stupid. I went to the doctor and was eventually put on prozac which I still take. I slowly started crawling out of the hole and started seeing the light again. I started talking to God and to be honest, I actually feel closer to Him now than I ever have in my life. During this time, it was apparent that the absence of God was obvious. He didn't give up on me though, I gave up on Him. I was empty without Him and this is what is happening in our world. People are pushing God away and leaving us in a black hole. There are those of us that refuse to let that happen and we have to stand strong. Take care and God bless!
Hi Ronda, Just stopping by to say hello. Please forgive this comment if it comes off wrong. I don't mean to criticize. I really enjoy your posts, but I had a hard time reading this one, so I can't comment on its content. It wasn't what you wrote, it is related to my old wonky eyes. I have a hard time reading text without paragraph breaks. From the title, I suspect this was a really great post.
ReplyDeleteHey Rae...It did have paragraph breaks originally but it looked SOOO long I didn't think anyone would be interested in reading it. So, I'm going to change the font size and put in the breaks so you can read it. It's a very good read actually. : - )
ReplyDeleteAh, much better. Thanks for the changes. It's an excellent post and very thought provoking. I have been a Christian for many years. My faith has wavered at times, but one thing I know without a doubt is that God exists.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good post, gets me thinking about faith again.
ReplyDeleteThat was just great Ronda. I had never read this before and I loved it. Thanks for sharing it here and I am glad that you are no longer in the darkness. It's really nice having you here! Love Di ♥
ReplyDeleteI've not seen this before either and I had to read it several times to digest it properly.
ReplyDeleteI confess that I too got angry with God and ignored him for quite a while. It does take a strong person to return to faith.
Well done on getting there again and thanks for the post.
By the way I just have to say that I loved the comments you and Erik left on BodaciousBoomer's blog for me...you make a formidable double act :)