A science
professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "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," the professor replies.
"There's heat." "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 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."