Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Faith

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. 
He asks one of his new students to stand and..... 
Prof: So you believe in God? 
Student: Absolutely, sir. 
Prof: Is God good? 
Student: Sure. 
Prof: Is God all-powerful? 
Student: Yes. 
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.  Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? 

(Student is silent.) 

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good? 
Student: Yes. 
Prof: Is Satan good? 
Student : No. 
Prof: Where does Satan come from? 
Student: From...God.. . 
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world? 
Student: Yes. 
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct? 
Student: Yes. 
Prof: So who created evil? 

(Student does not answer.) 

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they? 
Student: Yes, sir. 
Prof: So, who created them? 

(Student has no answer.) 

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. 
Tell me, son....Have you ever seen God? 
Student: No, sir. 
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God? 
Student: No, sir. 
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter? 
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't. 
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him? 
Student: Yes. 
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist.  What do you say to that, son? 
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith. 
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has. 
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat? 
Prof: Yes. 
Student: And is there such a thing as cold? 
Prof: Yes. 
Student: No sir. There isn't. 

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.) 

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no 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 . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat . We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.) 

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness? 
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness? 
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness 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? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make 
darkness darker, wouldn't you? 
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man? 
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed. 
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how? 
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is 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? 
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do. 

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir? 

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.) 

Student: 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 not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in uproar.) 

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.) 

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? 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,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir? 

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. ) 

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive. 

NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. ..and if so...you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same...won't you?.... this is a true story and the student was none other than........ .

.. 




APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India . 
orwardSourceID: NT0000767E 
ForwardSourceID: NT00006736

10 comments :

dharmabum said...

sw. chinmayananda says "faith is to believe in what you do not know, so that you get to know what you believe in"

Sandhya said...

Good one. Thanks. Kalam plays veena and is proficient in carnatic music and his 'ishta devathe' is Saraswathi. And is a vegetarian too.

my space said...

sandhya this is cool! and APJ has always been my hero

Sandhya said...

Yes, Aarti, he was the best President we had, who has got fans from school children to people who are in topmost positions in the world.

Renu said...

wow, ! i also have absolute faith in god, but icudnt win any arguement,In Hindi I say..aastha and vishwas tark ka vishay nahi ha...means..faith is not subject to arguenment:)

Sandhya said...

Renu, I believe in God, though don't do poojas etc. daily, seriously. I tell my son, who argues about god, to treat god as 'luck'. We always say, we are lucky to have this and that - I say we are lucky to have a son like you, etc.etc.!

Soul Searcher said...

I really enjoyed this post. Faith is one of the most powerful emotions. The story sounded familiar but was still very nice.

The sadder side of faith however is that more deaths have ocurred on tha battlefield on disputes in matters of faith than one any other difference.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such encouraging comments on my blog

Sandhya said...

We think that education will improve the mindset of people. Hmmm.

Your blogs are very very interesting. It was a pleasure to read them. I am still a learner. Thank you.

Swaram said...

Hv read this before but loved reading it again. I admire n respect him so much :)

Sandhya said...

Swaram: He is THE hero for all Indians, Swaram!

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