GOD & PHILOSOPHY & SCIENCE

"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."

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God is 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. "Ah! The Bible!" He considers for a moment, then he utters, "The Bible says many things that many of you Christians do not obey."

"Yes, Sir."

"Why then do you believe in someone that you do not obey?"

(No answer)

"What purpose does it have to serve a law that you are not to keep?"

"Well, I serve the law that the church has taught me."

"Then you are serving the church, not God."

(No answer)

"Here's another one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. If you can do it, would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't."

(No answer)

"He doesn't, does He? My brother was a Christian and he died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

(No answer)

The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Err... yes."

"Is Satan good?"

"No."

"Where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From... God..."

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't He?" The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking student audience.

"I think we're going to have a good semester, ladies and gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian. "Tell me, son. Is there any evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"

"Yes."

"Who created evil?"

(No answer)

"Is there sickness in this world? Ugliness, immorality, hatred? All the terrible things - do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"Who created them?"

(No answer)

The professor suddenly shouts at his student. "WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!" The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian's face. In a still small voice:

"God created them, didn't He? Just like He created a law that nobody keeps."

(No answer)

The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues, "How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?"

The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world.

"All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"

(No answer)

"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?"

(Pause)

"Don't you?"

The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God good?"

(No answer)

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you seen Jesus?"

"No, sir, I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us, have you ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus... in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"

(No answer)

"Answer me, please."

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"You're AFRAID you haven't?"

"No, sir."

"Yet you still believe in Him?"

"Yes..."

"That takes FAITH!"

The professor smiles sagely at the underling. "According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God does not exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"

The student does not answer.

"Sit down, please."

The Christian sits... defeated.

Another student raises his hand. "Professor, may I address the class?"

The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."

The Christian looks around the room.

"Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies, "there's heat."

"Is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No, sir, there isn't."

The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very quiet. The second Christian continues.

"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 than that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than negative 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. It's just the absence of it."

(Silence)

A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.

"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"

"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness? What are you getting at?"

"So you 'believe' in darkness?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, but science says you're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, lashing 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 and give it to me in a jar. But you can't give me a jar of darker darkness, can you, professor?"

Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him.

"This would indeed be a good semester, would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must be in error..."

The professor goes ballistic. "Flawed...? How dare you...?"

"Sir, may I explain what I mean?"

The class is all ears.

"Explain... oh, explain."

The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.

"You are working on the premise of duality," the Christian explains, "that, for example, there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad god, the law of God and the law of the church. You are viewing God as a concept, as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood them. 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, merely the absence of it."

The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor, who has been reading it.

"Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"

"Of course, there is, now look..."

"Again, I'm sorry sir, but you are wrong. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality. Is there such a thing as injustice? No, injustice is the absence of justice. Isn't the law of the church a man made version of the Law of God? Is there such a thing as evil?" The Christian pauses.

"Isn't evil the absence of good?"

The professor's face has turned an alarming shade of red. He is so angry, he is temporarily speechless.

The Christian continues, "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if He exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us that it is to see if each one of us will, believe in the righteousness of His son (the result of the love of God), over evil (the result of independence or the absence of the love of God)."

"There is nothing greater than love. God is love and God is good. If He is good, then the ultimate act of His goodness would be to give man the opportunity to experience the greatest thing that exists - love. This everlasting love of His is expressed in His eternal law and His willingness to give us the right to choose. Some choose not to obey Him and inclusive change His Law and others may choose to go as far as to deny Him as is your case."

The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or His law or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."

"I would have thought that the absence of God's Law, which is His moral code, in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Christian replies. "Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! 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, or are you placing your 'faith' in the unobservable?"

The professor makes a sucking noise with his teeth and gives the student a silent, stony stare.

The student replies, "May I follow up on the point you were making earlier to the other student?"

The professor wisely keeps silent.

"I believe you have a great mind, professor (fallen champion), but with all respect, let me ask the class a question regarding it. Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's mind, felt the professor's mind, touched or smelt the professor's mind?"

The class remains silent.

"No one appears to have done so. No one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's mind whatsoever. While I would not dare to imply it myself, but wouldn't the limitations of what you 'believe in' (the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable, protocol, science) say that you have no mind? Wouldn't the same apply to your emotions and your will? I believe your great mind is hidden within your brain although I cannot observe it within the small box, or within the limited parameters that you want to place God within. If I want to know your mind or better yet the real you (your mind, emotions, will and even your spirit), all I have to do, if you are willing to be known, is be willing to seek to know you and to spend time with you, at least to read about you. You can know that God exists... if you are willing. Are you willing, professor?"

(Silence)

The bell rings.

"Class dismissed," replies the professor. "Time is up!"