Posted by
Fabio S Nuñez on Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:00:00 AM
'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. Prof. '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 inthis 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 lecturerbreaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in JesusChrist, 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 toidentify 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 thatmatter?' '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 haswith 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 roomsuddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can havelots 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 wecan'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 transmitsenergy, 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, coldis only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measurecold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Coldis not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.' Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, soundinglike a hammer. 'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?' 'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if itisn't darkness?' 'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence ofsomething.. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashinglight, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it'scalled 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 makedarkness darker, wouldn't you?' The professor begins to smile at the s student in front of him. This willbe a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?' 'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed tostart with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.' The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can youexplain how?' 'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains. 'Youargue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a badGod. 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 fullyunderstood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to beignorant 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 evolvedfrom 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 realizeswhere the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.. 'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work andcannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you notteaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?' The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotionhas subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, letme give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. ' Is there anyone in the class who hasever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt theprofessor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appearsto have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical,stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, withall 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, hisface unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I guessyou'll have to take them on faith.' 'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists withlife,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see iteveryday It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is inthe multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. Thesemanifestations 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 theabsence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of whathappens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's likethe cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes whenthere is no light.' The professor sat down.
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Fabio Nunez
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