Subject: A matter of Faith-A Story

[Guest guest]

A matter of Faith

 

 

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem

science has with Jesus Christ.

He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

 

Prof: You are a Christian, aren't you, son?

Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to

heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But Jesus

didn't. How is this Jesus good then? Hmm?

 

(The student is silent.)

 

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella.

Is God good?

Student: Yes.

Prof{ Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything.

Correct?

Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?

 

(The student does not answer.)

 

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these

terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?

 

(The student has no answer.)

 

Prof: Tell me, son. Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Student: Yes, professor, i do.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe

the world around you.

Have you ever seen Jesus?

Student No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your Jesus?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus, smelt your

Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ or God for

that matter?

Student: No, sir. i'm afraid i haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science

says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. i only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

 

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.

 

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

 

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat,

megaheat, 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.

Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot

measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just

the absence of it.

 

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

 

Student: What about darkness, professor? Is there such a thing as

darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness 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? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make

darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there

is life and then there is 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

absrnce of it.

Now tell me, professor. Do you teach tour students that they

evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes,

of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

 

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the

argument is going.)

 

Student: 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 not a scientist but a preacher?

 

(The class is in uproar .)

 

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's

brain?

 

(The class breaks out into laughter)

 

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,

felt it, touched or smelt it?.....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, sir. With all due respect,

sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

 

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face

unfathomable.)

 

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.