God vs. Science

This is really good. You have to read all of it to totally understand!
God vs. science

"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," the student says.

"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. "Aha! 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 him? Would
you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if
you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "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?"

The student remains silent.

"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 time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Sata n good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student : "From...God..."

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there
evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything,
correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "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."

Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues:
"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these
terrible
things, do they exist in this world?"

The student: "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his
question. "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 onto another student. "Do you believe in
Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice is confident: "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "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 actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or
smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus
Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the ru les of empirical, testable, demonstrable
protocol, science says your God doesn't 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."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a
question of his own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.
The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to
explain.

"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
don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 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 the
lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to
study when
it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or
matter have
or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 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 can measure in thermal units
because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir,
just the
absence of it."

Silence across the room. 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 without hesitation. "W hat is night
if it isn't darkness?"

"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, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him.
This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making,
young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is
flawed to start with, and so 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
explains. "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 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 absence of it."

"Now 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 begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he
realizes where the argument is going. 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 on-going
endeavour, are
you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a
scientist, but a
preacher?"

The class is in 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 room. "Is there anyone in the class
who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into
laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,
felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's
brain? 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, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have
no brain,
how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the
student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an 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.

Ending of Lent

Hey Everybody! I was just wondering how you all felt about Lent being over. Do you think it was a good thing for the Koinonia to do? I thing it was a good experience, because I feel like we all got closer to each other through praying and being each others accountability partners. We talked to each other more and encouraged each other more. Anyways, what do you think?

No Accidents

I'm taking this math class at MHCC and everyone in the class is part of a group made up of the people who sit at our same table. In our group we've got his lady named Nicole. We've got into some conversations before and I discovered that she was a Christian, which wasn't really a surprise because she was so helpful and sweet, yet I could tell she was a little rough around the edges. She has been through a lot. She has been divorced, has a little son, and is engaged again to be married to someone who used to be in a Portland street family. She's part of a church family in Portland that is made up almost entirely of drug addicts, homeless or college students (which could fall into either category actually). When she tells me what's going on in her life it is so encouraging to me. It is encouraging to see that Jesus is still at work in the world, and that the church still cares and works with him. It doesn't seem like there are any accidents in life to me, I don't think that God plays dice with his creation. So I view her presence in the class as something that God wants me to experience. I feel like God uses people every so often to remind me that I need to begin participating in the work of the church, that I can't fool myself into thinking that because I'm using my gifts of teaching and prophecy that that somehow exempts me from real service to others who need Jesus to reach out to them. I become so complacent, so dead to real life, the life that Jesus came to bring, and I often don't even realize it. I'm so thankful that God uses these appointments to wake me up from my comfortable slumber. Sometimes I wonder if I am trapped in the church in America. I wonder if we all are. It comes down to this: If Jesus spent his time with those in the margins, why in the world would we think we will find him anywhere else in the world today? I'm thankful that God has not given up on me, and he continues to urge me to join him in the work he wants to do in the world through his body, the church. Pray for me.

Jr. High Riot

Hey, just to let everybody know, Jr. High Riot is coming up May 9th-10th (a Friday and Saturday) at Corban College. Last year it was a lot of fun. Bill Clem was the speaker and spoke about our place in God's story. There was a great band that had some roots in George Fox University and was pretty high energy. We also did this sort of Amazing Race thing that included a bunch of challenges and messy activities. I have a hunch that this year they will provide us with just as much opportunity to grow closer to God and each other and have some fun in the process. Start saving some money if you'd like to join us for this overnight event. I'll fill you in on the details as I find out about them.

Disappointment with Lent

I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to be blogging right now seeing that I gave up all non-work-related Internet use, but I guess this qualifies as work-related. So, I've been thinking about Lent and wondering if it has really affected people in the way that it has affected me. I've been drawn to spend time with God and to rely on his Spirit much more than I have in a long while. However, when I asked people last Wednesday what they were learning in their fast, no one seemed to be learning much of anything. This was disappointing at first, but I realized that this is just our first Lent together and maybe I was expecting all of these amazing things to happen when, for most of us, it would simply be a sort of warm up for coming years. I'm a little more comfortable with it now, but I've got to say that I'm learning that spending time with God satisfies my soul in ways that TV, movies, and Internet doesn't. I'm slowly beginning to trust that God really is more satisfying that his good gifts. I'm glad we're doing Lent together. May he bless you with his presence and power in your life as you seek him in prayer throughout this season.