Found a really good read while browsing around the internet. It is rather long and challenging to read at first, but has a very redemptive ending. It pinpoints one of the major Atheist arguments about there that states that if God created everything, then that means that He created good AND evil; If He created the world, then He created the evil in the world, and therefor isn't a "good" God. The article does an exceptional job in explaining why this concept is flawed. Check it out!
The Professor Teaches About Evil and Christianity
"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."
The professor grins knowingly.
"Ahh! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "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]
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?"
"Er... 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 lot of fun this semester, ladies and
gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian. "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 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, he asked, "God
created all evil, didn't He, son?"
[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 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?" 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 ever seen Jesus?"
"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 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 doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
[The student doesn't answer]
"Sit down, please."
The first Christian sits...defeated.
Another Christian raises his hand. "Professor,
may I address the class?"
The professor turns and smiles. "Ah,
yet 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 becomes
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 273 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 -273°C. 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."
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 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, flashing 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?"
Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young
effrontery before him. This will 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 toxic. "Flawed...?
How dare you...!"
"Sir, may I explain what I
mean?"
The class is all ears.
"Explain... ohhhhh,
explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain
control. Suddenly he is affability himself. 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. 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." 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..."
"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?"
The Christian pauses. "Isn't evil the absence of good?"
The professor's face has turned an alarming color. 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.1
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."2
The professor bridles. "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."
The Christian replies, "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 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?"
The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and
gives his student a silent, stony stare.
"Professor. 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 preacher?"
"I'll overlook your
impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite
finished?" the professor hisses.
"So you don't accept God's
moral code to do what is righteous?"
"I believe in what is -
that's science!"
"Ahh! SCIENCE!"
the student's face splits into a grin. "Sir, you
rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a
premise which is flawed..."
"SCIENCE IS FLAWED..?"
the professor splutters.
The class is in uproar. The Christian remains standing
until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the
point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of
what I mean?"
The professor wisely keeps silent.
The Christian looks around the room. "Is
there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's mind?"
The class breaks out into laughter. The Christian points towards his elderly,
crumbling tutor. "Is there anyone here who has ever
heard the professor's mind... felt the professor's mind, touched or smelt the
professor's mind? No one appears to have done so." The Christian
shakes his head sadly. "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, science, I DECLARE
that the professor has no mind."
The class is in chaos.
The Christian sits.
The Professor Teaches about Evil and Christianity
I love the whole thing about evil being the absence of good, much like cold is the absence of heat and dark is the absence of light. I think this is important for Christians and Atheists a like to remember.So what do you think?
God Bless,
Chris
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