A Civil Debate

We had a good FFF (1st Fri. Fellowship) at TLBC and great services today. James Tweet preached Friday on "My Lord and My God". My sermon today was on "The God of all Comfort". See outline HERE. Pray for my sister-in-law Evelyn. She and her husband Gary were at the beach last Friday clam digging and Gary had a heart attack and died. Evie wants me to preach the funeral next Saturday.

A civil debate:


As the bell rings to begin class, a Professor walks around his desk. He pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
Professor: "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
Michael: "Yes sir."
Professor: "So you believe in God?"
Michael: "Absolutely."
Professor: "Is God good?"
Michael: "Sure! God's good."
Professor: "Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
Michael: "Yes."
Professor: "Are you good or evil?"
Michael: "The Bible says I'm evil."
The Professor, grinning: "Aha! The Bible!" The Professor paces back and forth.
Professor: "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?"
Michael: "Yes sir, I would."
Professor: "So you're good...!"
Michael interrupts: "I wouldn't say that."
Professor: "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."
Michael just looks at the professor blankly.
Professor: "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?" Michael remains silent.
Professor: "No, you can't, can you?" The Professor takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
Professor: "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"
Michael, hesitantly: "Er...yes."
Professor: "Is Satan good?"
Michael, without hesitation: "No."
Professor: "Then where does Satan come from?"
Michael, feeling awkward: "From God."
Professor: "That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?" Michael: "Yes, sir."
Professor: "Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"
Michael: "Yes."
Professor: "So who created evil? 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." Michael just stares at the professor with no expression.
Professor: "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"
Michael, looking down at his feet: "Yes."
Professor: "So who created them?" Michael does not answer.
Professor: "Who created them?"
Michael still will not answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom in front of another student. The class is mesmerized.
Professor: "Tell me; do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"
William: "Yes, professor, I do."
Professor, as he stops pacing: "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"
William: "No sir. I've never seen Him."
Professor: "Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
William: "No, sir, I have not."
Professor: "Have you ever 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?"
William: "No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
Professor: "Yet you still believe in him?"
William: "Yes."
Professor: "According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"
William: "Nothing. I only have my faith."
Professor: "Yes, faith; and that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith." Suddenly, another student in the back of the room stands quietly for a moment, until the professor looks in her direction.
Professor: Yes, Ashley. You have something to add to the discussion?
Ashley: "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"
Professor: "Yes. There is heat."
Ashley: "And is there such a thing as cold?"
Professor: "Yes, there is cold too."
Ashley: "No sir, there isn't." The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.
Ashley: "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 Fahrenheit, 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.
Ashley: "What about darkness, professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?"
Professor, without hesitation: "Yes, what is night if it isn't darkness?"
Ashley: "Again, that is inaccurate, 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 very interesting semester.
Professor: "So what point are you making, young lady?"
Ashley: "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. Professor: "Flawed? Can you explain how?"
Ashley: "You are working on the premise of duality. You argue that 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 not even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never been 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." The professor looks stunned.
Ashley: "Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?" Professor: "If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young lady, yes, of course I do."
Ashley: "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.
Ashley: "Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and can not 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?" The class is in uproar. Ashley remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
Ashley: "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.
Ashley: "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt 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. It certainly feels like an eternity before the professor finally speaks.
Professor: "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."
Ashley: "Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life. Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
Professor, now seeming a bit uncertain: "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."
Ashley: "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 sits down at his desk, obviously in deep thought.

This is a similar transcript to a discussion that actually occurred in a Philosophy classroom in America. The professor is now a Christian. Michael went on to become a philosophy professor, a Christian one. William became a pastor. Ashley became a biological engineer.