I don’t know if the following interaction between a professor and his class actually took place or not, but either way it is a great dialog that proves a great point. I hope you enjoy it.
Science Teacher vs Christian Students
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’s good.
Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?
Yes.
Are you good or evil?
The Bible says I’m evil.
Ahh!The Bible. 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.
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 who 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]
No, you can’t, can you?…. Let’s start again, son. Is God good?
Er… Yes.
Is Satan good?
No.
Where does Satan come from?
From… God…
That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he? I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen… Tell me, son. Is there 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? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness. All those terrible things – do they exist in this world?
Yes.
Who created them?
[No answer]
WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!…. God created all evil, didn’t He, son?
[No answer]
Tell me, how is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time? All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the 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? Don’t you? Is God good?
[No answer]
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”
Yes, professor. I do.
Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you seen Him?
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 smelled 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! According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?
[The student doesn't answer]
Sit down, please.
[The Christian sits and another Christian raises his hand]
Professor, may I address the class?
Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering.
Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I’ve got a question for you if that’s okay. 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. You can have lots of heat, super-heat, mega-heat, white heat or a little 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 — 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. 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 say there is such a thing as darkness?
Yes…
You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright 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 me a jar of it. Can you…give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?
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.
Flawed? How dare you!
Sir, may I explain what I mean?
Explain… oh, explain.
You are working on the premise of duality that for example 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 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. Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids you can buy, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?
Of course there is, now look.
Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality. Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil? Isn’t evil the absence of good?
[The professor's pauses in anger]
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 it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil.
As a philosophical scientist, I don’t view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God 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 moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going. Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you believe that we have 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? All previous attempts to explain how the process works have failed. 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 priest?
I’ll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished
So you don’t accept God’s moral code to do what is righteous?
I believe in what is – that’s observable science!
Ahh! Science! Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. What you call science too is a premise which is flawed.
SCIENCE IS FLAWED!?
No sir, I mean-Your view of science is flawed. To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean? Sir, the basic law of physics says matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and yet you in spite of that believe in spontaneous generation of the entire physical universe! Spontaneous generation of vermin was disproved centuries ago. Talk about straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel! Sir, biogenesis is observable science as you say and life has only been observed to come from other life of like kind and yet you apparently still believe that that is exactly what happened in spite of science that life somehow came from non-life and that animals gave birth to children of other kinds!
Young man, I believe that science will eventually…
…that science will eventually prove that matter can be created, that life can come from non-life. Sir, that’s not science–that’s faith! What you believe is the exact opposite of observable science! Your faith is in what you are calling science, my faith is in God who created science. Make no mistake, Professor, we’re both operating from faith. And sir, don’t You create failure?! I mean, you set a standard for passing this class, and those who don’t meet it, fail! Isn’t that right? So by setting a standard and utilizing your previously expressed philosophy you create failure! Professor, I mean has anybody ever flunked this class?
I may well be looking at such a someone right now!
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s mind? The class breaks out in laughter. Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s mind, felt the professor’s mind, touched or smelled the professor’s mind? No one appears to have done so. It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor’s mind whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol and science, I declare that the professor has no mind.
[The Christian sits and begins filling out a drop slip]
The End.
I don’t know where you sit after having read something like that but I think it is a great demonstration of how blindly some follow what the world teaches as sound truth. Consider the following verse from the Bible;
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8