"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? 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. 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 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
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.
If you
read it all the way through and had a smile on your face when you finished, mail
to your friends and family with the title 'God vs.
Science'
PS: The student was Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein wrote
a book
titled 'God vs. Science' in
1921....
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