"Let me explain the problem science has with religion" the Zurich Polytechnic Institute professor of philosophy says to his class as he 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?" "Yes, God is good." "Is God all powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes." "Are you good or evil?" The student replies, "The Bible says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment then continues, "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. Would you help him? Would you try?" "Yes sir, I would." "So, you're good" he concludes. "I wouldn't say that." The professor a bit puzzled continues his query, "But why not say that? You would help a sick or maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."
The student doesn't answer, so the professor continues, "He doesn't does He? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed for Jesus to heal him. How is Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one? 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 a chance to relax.
"Let's start again, young fellow. Is God good?" "Er, yes," the student replies. The professor continues to question, "Is Satan good?" The student doesn't hesitate on this one, "No!" "Then where does Satan come from?" The student falters a bit saying, "From God." "That's right. God made Satan, didn't He? Tell me son, is there evil in this world?" The student replies, "Yes sir." "Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, did He not?" "Yes sir," the student again replies. "So who created evil?" the professor pushed on to make his point. "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." The student stood answerless. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?" The student squirms on his feet, "Yes." The professor punches on, "So who created them?" The student stands silently, so the professor repeats his question for emphasis, "So 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 on to another student, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?" The student's voice betrays him and cracks, "Yes professor, I do." The old man stops pacing and he asks the second student, "Science says that you have five senses that you use to identify and observe the world around you with. Have you ever seen Jesus?" "No sir. I have never seen him." "Then tell me if you've ever heard your Jesus?" "No sir, I have not." "Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or even smelled your Jesus?" Again the student answered, "No sir, I have not." The professor leaned in and asked, "Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God the Father for that matter?" The student replied, "No sir, I'm afraid I have not." Incredulously, the professor asked, "Yet you still believe in him?" "Yes."
"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God does not 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."
But then a most surprising thing happens. The student courageously began to question the professor saying, "Professor, is there such a thing as heat?" "Yes." "And is there such a thing as cold?" The professor answers, "Yes, son, there is cold too." To which the student countered, "No sir, there is not." The professor turned to face this second student, obviously interested. The room became deathly quiet. The student began to explain, "You can have heat, extreme heat, super-heat, mega-heat, a little heat or even no heat at all, but we don't have anything called 'cold.' We can theoretically get down to 459 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 -459 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what make a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero [-459 F] is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."
The silence in the lecture hall is now deafening. 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 with hesitation, "What is night if it isn't darkness?" "You are wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, blinding 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 second student in front of him and said, "This will be a good semester. So what point are you making, young man?" The student replied, "My point is that your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, so therefore, 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 relates, "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 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 that your students that they evolved from a monkey?" "If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, then yes, of course, I do," the professor replied. "Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?" The professor began to shake his head, still smiling as he realizes where this argument is going. It is going to be 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 ongoing endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?" The class is now in full 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 lecture hall. "Is there anyone in this class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter. "Is there anyone here who has ever touched the professor's brain? Heard the professor's brain? Smelled his brain? No one appears to have so, sir. 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 again deathly silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after a seeming eternity, the old man answers, "I guess you'll have to take them on faith." "Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life." The student continues, "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?" Now uncertain, the professor responds, "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."
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has 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's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
The professor sat down speechless ... the year was 1897 and the young student he had just debated was Albert Einstein who would later rewrite the laws of physics.
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