GOD vs. Science
> 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.'
>
& gt; 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
> sens es 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.'
>
> At the back of the room another 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?'
>
>=2 0'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.'
&g t;
> 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=2 0nothing 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. |