"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 smelled 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. Everybody 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 its 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 smelled 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 every day. 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.
The student was Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein did write a book titled
God vs. Science in 1921
Submitted: February 11, 2010
© Copyright 2021 Spiritualtruths. All rights reserved.
Comments
Hi, I just posted my blog above you so here I am. I stopped reading your blog when I read: "Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes."
From my reading of the divine that is not the case!
The answer to "Can God do anything?" is only possible if it is logically possible and further God does not know about the future unless it is written in the laws of nature. As far as the human condition is concerned, free will denies God knowledge of the future (but God remains responsible for the future because God is responsible for "free will"}. Thus, God suffers along with everybody else (Whitehead's conclusion not mine) when behavior (bad behavior) manifests outside of the logic entailed by the logic of identity/existence. Identity/existence logic preserves God's existence(God therefore exists within the form/structure of "not not being") In order to be consistent with this logic one has to act in a manner that is also consistent with the proposition that God is the Absolute Affirmation of existence/freedom. "Goodness" follows from this proposition.
I really liked this story, it's very well written and interesting, fun to read.
Namaste,
Rose Bouquet
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davidduque
if u want read 2 Peter 1:2- 4 in the bible it says verse 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. Verse 1:3 his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Verse 1:3 though these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires
Thu, February 11th, 2010 8:31pmAuthor
Reply
Thank you for reading and giving your feedback. I really appreciate it. Be Blissful
Sun, February 14th, 2010 10:20pm