Below is the chain email, and below that my response.
----
Science
"Let me explain the problem science has with religion ."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? 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 Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one.. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. '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.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. '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 betrays him and cracks. '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 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 rules 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.
'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 down 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. Everybody 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. 'What 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 endeavor, 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 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. 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 Every day. 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.
If you read it all the way through and had a smile on your face when you finished, mail to your friends and family with the title 'God vs. Science'
PS: The student was Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein wrote a book titled 'God vs. Science' in 1921....
'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? 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 Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one.. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. '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.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. '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 betrays him and cracks. '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 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 rules 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.
'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 down 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. Everybody 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. 'What 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 endeavor, 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 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. 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 Every day. 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.
If you read it all the way through and had a smile on your face when you finished, mail to your friends and family with the title 'God vs. Science'
PS: The student was Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein wrote a book titled 'God vs. Science' in 1921....
First, what a jerk of a professor. I know there are professional atheists who make careers ridiculing the Ark story and such, but I hope the scrooge atheist image will slowly be replaced with the friendly atheist next door image. That's what I'm working on.
Secondly, I don't see god and science as opposed to one another. One is a matter of faith, the other of fact. If there is any disagreement, the rational person examines what their religion is saying- and they say all kinds of things. Did you know Mohammed flew up to visit heaven on a winged horse? There are others who find a disagreement- say, between a literal reading of Genesis and astronomy, geology and biology- and then do all kinds of work trying to disprove, discredit or twist established facts. I pity them. And I also resent the damage they are causing to bright young minds who could be the scientists we need to face the challenges of the future on a planet truly tested by a raging infection of insatiable humans. If there is a judgement day, I think it will be environmental or nuclear, and self-inflicted. But I hope not. We are better than that; or at least we can be.
Anyway; the professor starts with an argument that has been around at least since the Greeks-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma
The existence of evil and suffering does raise questions about a a god who supposedly loves people and is capable of answering prayers and delivering miracles and blessings- his distribution of those is questionable. If every prayer were answered, the word 'miracle' would not exist; to me miracles and good luck are the same thing, because you have to be lucky to get a miracle. Most people don't get them. It is tragic to say that there are child prostitutes raped 20 times a day who may still be praying for one; but again, there were kids in the great flood. There were entire elementary schools washed out to sea in the tsunami. God didn't cause that; but he did design the tectonic plates that slid to cause the undersea earthquake. Should have anchored those things! Anyway, I find such an idea of god, the micromanager, hard to reconcile with the notion of a just god.
My secular definition of the colloquial "miracle" is: an extremely unlikely fortunate event, possibly tied to a remarkable coincidence. The word "bless" perplexes me due to their uneven distribution. Africa? Significantly less blessed. Amputees? No miracles, unless you count the robotics man is developing. But I have heard in Christian as well as Buddhist circles the wisdom to accept your life and not ask why- I would say wise advice since there is no answer. The only scientific question is how- how did my life get this way? No cosmic puppeteer wishes disease, disability, disaster or murder upon good people. (Unless he is flooding the earth or destroying a city, which would even the babies of that ancient time were no good sinners). A Rabbi who lost his son wrote a book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. The best he could do was posit a god who created the world but now is letting it run its course (similar to the Jehovah's Witness narrative, minus the judgement day and bodily resurrection on earth). Another popular author just tells people they will find out "why" when they get to heaven. Anyway, I agree with anyone, of any faith or no faith, who advises: stop asking why. Few things drive me battier than people declaring with a beatific smile that everything happens for a reason. I always want people to finish a sentence for me, like: the child was raped so that/because ____________. The children were washed into the sea so that/because ____________. My grandfather was murdered so that __________________. (because: insurance money. Now that's evil.)
As for god creating evil, I don't believe in good or evil existing in the world outside of us; they are potentials we define and manifest in our behaviors, ideas, and societies. So, no blaming god for evil- it doesn't exist without people to do it and define it. But if life is designed, one has to ask about the genetically inherited diseases, parasites, and viruses that cause misery and death. These things are alive, therefore created. All things bright and beautiful, well, sometimes. God had to make the nasty creatures, too. No surprise there; check the Bible for why we speak so many langguages (so you won't be able to understand each other!!!) or why childbirth is painful (because of one woman's sin!!!) That god, the god of collective punishment, pardon the 80's youth parlance, a dick.
And why does god not kill the disobedient Satan? I was told god loves him; but secretly think if that god existed, he would need someone to blame the bad stuff on, someone to test and tempt us in his sick hunger game of free will, and someone to do his dirty work when the judgement express rolls down the tracks. God doesn't run a dungeon, but he knows someone who does. And just like a loving father, he will send you there if you disobey. Jesus, nice guy. But his dad is psycho. Just saying. I think that's why my wife's church generally de-emphasizes the old testament.
I did like the physics lesson- absence of heat and light. But the kid was asking a philosopher physics questions, and just shifting from the colloquial meaning of a word to its scientific definition. Color me unimpressed- it didn't lead anywhere. And does the professor have a brain? Students did not see it or feel it only because nobody opened his skull.
Nobody has ever observed evolution- true. Until May of last year, nobody had seen inside an atom- new technology allowed for a photo of sorts. But atoms are real- just ask the operators of a nuclear power plant, or the residents of Nagasaki. Our senses are feeble compared to those of other animals, and even theirs pales compared to what we can detect with scientific instruments and processes. When one has "faith" in science, it is a bit different than the metaphysical in that the results of science are replicated many times before something is regarded as a fact. Evolution is one such fact; it is called a theory, and it is, a scientific theory- just like gravitation.
We never will observe one species changing into another, or a complex structure appearing. Evolution has progressed in incremental change over thousands of years. But I guarantee the ancestor of the giraffe had a short neck; the laryngeal nerve is clear proof. Evolution- slower than the imperceptible growth of a plant, with complex results; it is counterintuitive, thus misunderstood. Just remember, the earth going around the sun was also counterintuitive. Common sense is often not the best guide to the truth; just as often, our intuitions are dead wrong.
The building blocks of life- proteins, membranes, the stuff cells are made of- have been made from simple elements in the lab, and even found on asteroids. The fossils line up in an orderly progression from simple to complex. And we have observed, and can observe, genetic mutations that take place in a mouse, or a human- a mutation can be passed down to offspring in a single generation. We are missing some key pieces in the story, but a net doesn't fail to catch fish because it has a few holes. The evolution net, the story of the blind watchmaker, is robust and getting tighter every day.
Life is beautiful, and against the odds, but that is precisely because everything we see is a survivor, the recipient of countless years of success. Some species are pressured to change drastically over time; others (sharks) stick with old designs and do fine. 99 percent of all species in the fossil record ever 'created' are now extinct- so it is a ruthlessly selective process. Beauty, complexity and unlikelihood are cause for wonder, as is the unfathomable number of stars in the sky; but a feeling of wonder is not evidence for a creator. If nobody created God, the same can be said for the matter and energy of the universe. And from crystals to proteins, this matter has a strange tendency to organize itself. Some say the laws of physics are god; that the energy that animates life to reproduce is god; that god crafted the process of evolution. I think that's where that book I sent reference to was headed. Scientists of faith tend to view the entire earth and life as evidence of a creator; and the good ones who follow the scientific method also know it didn't happen with the wave of a wand 6,000 years ago. We don't get to say, "We don't know, therefore it's God" or "It's unlikely, therefore it must be god." That is not how science draws conclusions. And for those who want to play the math game- conditions are so perfect on earth, etc.- here's one: given the number of planets, what are the odds that at least one, probably many, have the conditions to support life? 100%. The lottery has a winning ticket; and if you pull it, it is not because someone loves you, but because you got lucky. Another way to look at it; people feel lucky they were born, lucky to be on earth out of all of those planets. But what are the odds you could have been born on any other planet? Zero. Life is delicate? There is life in near-boiling temperatures, life that lives off of toxic chemicals- so my question is, what environments can't support some sort of life? As we find it in less and less likely places, life seems less and less remarkable- like something that can happen when you put the elements on a planet with a decent temperature, some atmosphere, and add lots of time and energy. Life happens!
On a more personal note to the friend who sent me the Einstein story, I have heard that god is love. I will not revisit any of the genocides of the old testament here- I will just say that I love is a chemical reaction born of the need to bond as a social mammal. At its most grand, it is a profound outgrowth of empathy which can include all people, all life, the planet, the universe- it can give even people who don't believe in spirits a "spiritual" experience. But empathy is also something primates have, and it is perfect for surviving in small, social groups. People don't do so well alone- love holds us together, which is good for everyone. Fat and sugar taste good because they used to be hard to get. Love feels good because we need it. Though they can be subverted by gambling, drugs, our hunger for status and power, in general rewards in the brain are where we need them. Things feel good and taste good for a reason, namely that for thousands of years, the things that tasted and felt good brought a survival benefit to our ancestors. That is how the program we were born with was written- one painful line at a time. It's an unsentimental view, but it is no less wonderful- what an inheritance! And my view of love as a chemical doesn't stop me from experiencing it to its fullest, and sharing it.
I believe we are the most amazing species to ever live on this planet, and have hope that we can overcome our limitations and animal nature to realize a greater good which is in our collective best interest. I am not optimistic about that every day, but barring complete detonation of our nuclear arsenals or a good sized asteroid, there is ample evidence that life will go on, life will find a way, until the supernova. For me, hope and love are rational and need no heavenly hook to hang on. Gods are gods; and love is love. So, I'll continue to keep the divine chocolate out of my materialistic peanut butter.
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