The Professor & His Student
“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.
PROFESSOR: Are you a Christian?
STUDENT: Yes.
PROFESSOR: Do you believe in God?
STUDENT: Absolutely.
PROFESSOR: Is God good?
STUDENT: Yes, God is good.
PROFESSOR: Are you good or evil?
STUDENT: The Bible says I am evil.
PROFESSOR: Here is one for you. Let’s say there is a sick person over here and you can cure him. Would you help him?
STUDENT: Yes, I would.
PROFESSOR: So you are good.
STUDENT: I would not say that.
PROFESSOR: Why? You would help a sick person if you could. Most of us would if we could, but God does not.
The student does not answer so the professor continues. “He does not, does he? My brother who was a Christian died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. How is God good?” The student remains silent. “No, you cannot, can you?” The professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student some time to relax.
PROFESSOR: Let's start again. Is God good?
STUDENT: Yes.
PROFESSOR: Is Satan good?
STUDENT: No.
PROFESSOR: Then where does Satan come from?
STUDENT: From God.
PROFESSOR: God made Satan didn’t he? Tell me, is there evil in this world?
STUDENT: Yes.
PROFESSOR: Who created evil? 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. Is there hatred, immorality, and sickness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?
STUDENT: Yes
PROFESSOR: Who created them?
There is still no answer. The professor then breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. “Tell me,” he continues onto another student.
PROFESSOR: Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
STUDENT: Yes, I do.
PROFESSOR: Science says you have five senses to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?
STUDENT: No, I have never seen Him.
PROFESSOR: Then have you ever heard Jesus?
STUDENT: No, I have not.
PROFESSOR: Have you ever actually felt Jesus, smelt Jesus, or tasted Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ or God for that matter?
STUDENT: No, I am afraid not.
PROFESSOR: Yet you still believe in Him?
STUDENT: Yes.
PROFESSOR: According to the rules of empirical, testable, and demonstrable protocol, science says God does not exist. What do you say about that?
STUDENT: Nothing, I only have faith.
PROFESSOR: Yes, faith. 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.
STUDENT: Professor, is there such thing as heat?
PROFESSOR: Yes, there is heat.
STUDENT: Then is there such thing as cold?
PROFESSOR: Yes, there is cold too.
STUDENT: No, there isn’t.
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet and the student begins to explain.
STUDENT: 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 do not have anything called cold. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we cannot 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 matter is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy and heat is what makes the matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. We can measure heat in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, it is just the absence of it.
There was silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
STUDENT: What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?
PROFESSOR: Yes. What is night if it isn't darkness?
STUDENT: You are wrong again. 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 is called darkness, isn't it? That is 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?
PROFESSOR: This will be a good semester. So what point are you making, young man?
STUDENT: Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.
PROFESSOR: Flawed? Can you explain how?
STUDENT: You are working on the premise of duality. You argue that there is life and then there is death. A bad God and a good God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Science cannot 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?
PROFESSOR: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process. Yes, of course.
STUDENT: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes?
PROFESSOR: A very good semester, indeed.
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? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?
The class is in uproar but the student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
STUDENT: To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean. Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain? Is there anyone here who has ever felt, heard, smelt, or tasted the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, testable, and demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures?
The room is now silent. The professor just stares at the student with his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the professor answers.
PROFESSOR: I guess you will have to take them on faith.
STUDENT: So you accept that there is faith. In fact, faith exists with life. Now, is there such a thing as evil?
PROFESSOR: 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 nothing else but evil.
STUDENT: Evil does not exist or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like cold and darkness, words that man 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 is like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.
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