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Faith First
Let me explain the problem
science has with Jesus Christ." 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 them? 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?"
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.
"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, white heat, a
little heat or no heat,! But we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit
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 -458 degrees. 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 endeavour, 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."
With TRIALS, we grow stronger in faith.
With FAITH, we move closer to God.
With GOD, we can do all things.
Keep the Faith!!! |
