God versus Science Dumnezeu vs.

stiinta In hopes that all our college students are able to articulate this well, read the following true story. In speranta ca studentii nostri vor fi in stare sa priceapa, cititi urmatoarea poveste adevarata In a College classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson....... Intr-o sala de clasa a unui colegiu, un profesor tine cursul de filozofie 'Let me e plain the problem science has with religion.' !he atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then as"s one of his new students to stand. #a va e plic care e conflictul intre stiinta si religie $rofesorul ateu face o pauza si apoi ii cere unuia dintre noii sai studenti sa se ridice in picioare '%ou're a Christian, aren't you, son&' 'sti crestin, nu-i asa, fiule& '%es sir,' the student says. (a, dle, spune studentul '#o you believe in )od&' (eci crezi in (umnezeu& '*bsolutely.. ' Cu siguranta 'Is )od good&' (umnezeu e bun& '#ure+ )od's good.' (esigur, (umnezeu e bun. 'Is )od all-powerful& Can )od do anything& ' (umnezeu atotputernic& $oate 'l sa faca orice& '%es' (a '*re you good or evil&' !u esti bun sau rau& '!he ,ible says I'm evil.'

,iblia spune ca sunt rau. !he professor grins "nowingly. '*ha+ !he ,ible+ -e considers for a moment. '-ere's one for you. Let's say there's a sic" person over here and you can cure him. %ou can do it. .ould you help him& .ould you try&' $rofesorul zambeste cunoscator. *ha+ ,iblia+ #e gandeste putin. /ite o problema pt tine. #a zicem ca e ista aici o persoana bolnava si tu o poti vindeca. $oti face asta. *i vrea sa il a0uti& *i incerca& '%es sir, I would.' (a, dle. *s incerca. '#o you're good...+' (eci esti bun. 'I wouldn't say that.' 1-as spune asta. ',ut why not say that& %ou'd help a sic" and maimed person if you could. 2ost of us would if we could. ,ut )od doesn't.' (ar de ce n-ai spune asta& *i vrea sa a0uti o persoana bolnava daca ai putea. 2a0oritatea am vrea daca am putea. (ar (umnezeu, nu !he student does not answer, so the professor continues. #tudentul nu raspunde, asa ca profesorul continua. '-e doesn't, does he& 2y brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to 3esus to heal him. -ow is this 3esus good& Can you answer that one&' 'l nu a0uta, nu-i asa& 4ratele meu era crestin si a murit de cancer, chiar daca se ruga lui Isus sa-l vindece. Cum de Isus e bun& $oti raspunde la asta& !he student remains silent. #tudentul tace. '1o, you can't, can you&' the professor says. -e ta"es a sip of water from a glass on his des" to give the student time to rela . 'Let's start again, young fella. Is )od good&' 1u poti raspunde, nu-i asa& 'l ia o inghititura de apa din paharul de pe catedra ca sa-i dea timp studentului sa se rela eze. -ai sa o luam de la capat, tinere. (umnezeu e bun& ''r..yes,' the student says.

$ai, da, spune studentul 'Is #atan good&' #atana e bun& !he student doesn't hesitate on this one. '1o.' #tudentul nu ezita la aceasta intrebare 51u6 '!hen where does #atan come from&' (e unde vine #atana& !he student falters. '4rom )od' #tudentul ezita. (e la (umnezeu. '!hat's right. )od made #atan, didn't he& !ell me, son. Is there evil in this world&' Corect. (umnezeu l-a creat pe #atana, nu-i asa& 7i-mi, fiule, e ista rau pe lume& '%es, sir.' (a, dle. ''vil's everywhere, isn't it& *nd )od did ma"e everything, correct&' 8aul e peste tot, nu-i asa&#i (umnezeu a creat totul pe lumea asta, corect& '%es' (a '#o who created evil&' !he professor continued, 'If )od created everything, then )od created evil, since evil e ists, and according to the principle that our wor"s define who we are, then )od is evil.' (eci cine a creat raul& $rofesorul a continuat. (aca (umnezeu a creat totul, atunci 'l a creat si raul. (in moment ce raul e ista si conform principiului ca ceea ce facem defineste ceea ce suntem, atunci (umnezeu e rau. *gain, the student has no answer. (in nou, studentul nu raspunde. 'Is there sic"ness& Immorality& -atred& /gliness& *ll these terrible things, do they e ist in this world&' ' ista pe lume boli& Imoralitate& /ra& /ratenie& !oate aceste lucruri groaznice, e ista& !he student s9uirms on his feet.

#tudentul se foieste 0enat. '%es.' (a '#o who created them&' (eci cine le-a creat& !he student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his 9uestion. '.ho created them&' !here is still no answer. #uddenly the lecturer brea"s away to pace in front of the classroom. !he class is mesmerized. '!ell me,' he continues onto another student. '(o you believe in 3esus Christ, son&' #tudentul iarasi nu raspunde, asa ca profesorul repeta intrebarea. Cine le-a creat& 1iciun raspuns. (eodata, profesorul incepe sa se plimbe in fata clasei. #tudentii sunt uimiti. #pune-mi, continua el adresandu-se altui student. Crezi in Isus Cristos, fiule& !he student's voice betrays him and crac"s. :ocea studentului il tradeaza si cedeaza nervos. '%es, professor, I do.' (a, dle profesor, cred. !he old man stops pacing. '#cience says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. -ave you ever seen 3esus&' ,atranul se opreste din marsaluit. #tiinta spune ca ai ; simturi pe care le folosesti pt a identifica si observa lumea din 0urul tau. L-ai vazut vreodata pe Isus& '1o sir.. I've never seen -im.' 1u, dle. 1u L-am vazut. '!hen tell us if you've ever heard your 3esus&' *tunci spune-ne daca l-ai auzit vreodata pe Isus al tau& '1o, sir, I have not.' 1u, dle, nu l-am auzit. '-ave you ever felt your 3esus, tasted your 3esus or smelt your 3esus& -ave you ever had any sensory perception of 3esus Christ, or )od for that matter&' L-ai simtit vreodata pe Isus al tau, l-ai gustat sau l-ai mirosit& *i avut vreodata o e perienta senzoriala a lui Isus sau a lui (umnezeu& '1o, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

1u, dle, ma tem ca nu. '%et you still believe in him&' #i totusi crezi in el& '%es' (a. '*ccording to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your )od doesn't e ist. .hat do you say to that, son&' Conform regulilor sale empirice, testabile, demonstrabile, stiinta spune ca (umnezeul tau nu e ista. Ce spui de asta, fiule& '1othing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.' 1imic, raspunde studentul. 'u am doar credinta mea. '%es, faith,' the professor repeats. '*nd that is the problem science has with )od. !here is no evidence, only faith.' (a, credinta, repeta profesorul. *sta e problema pe care stiinta o are cu (umnezeu. 1u e ista nicio dovada, ci doar credinta. !he student stands 9uietly for a moment, before as"ing a 9uestion of -is own. #tudentul ramane tacut pt o clipa, inainte de a pune si el o intrebare. '$rofessor, is there such thing as heat&' (le profesor, e ista caldura& ' %es. (a '*nd is there such a thing as cold&' #i e ista frig& '%es, son, there's cold too.' (a, fiule, e ista si frig. '1o sir, there isn't.' 1u, dle, nu e ista. !he professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. !he room suddenly becomes very 9uiet. $rofesorul isi intoarce fata catre student, vizibil interesat. Clasa devine brusc foarte tacuta.

!he student begins to e plain. #tudentul incepe sa e plice. '%ou 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'. .e can hit down to <;= degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. !here is no such thing as cold> otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -<;= degrees. 'very body or ob0ect is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what ma"es a body or matter have or transmit energy. *bsolute zero ?-<;= 4@ is the total absence of heat. $oate e ista multa caldura, mai multa caldura, super-caldura, megacaldura, caldura nelimitata, caldurica sau deloc caldura, dar nu avem nimic numit 5frig6. $utem a0unge pana la <;= de grade sub zero, ceea ce nu inseamna caldura, dar nu putem merge mai departe. 1u e ista frig A daca ar e ista, am avea temperature mai scazute decat minimul absolut de -<;= de grade. 4iecare corps sau obiect e demn de studiat daca are sau transmite energie, si caldura e cea care face ca un corps au material sa aiba sau sa transmita energie. 7ero absolut ?-<;= 4@ inseamna absenta totala a caldurii. %ou see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. .e cannot measure cold. -eat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, 0ust the absence of it.' :edeti, dle, frigul e doar un cuvant pe care il folosim pentru a descrie absenta caldurii. 1u putem masura frigul. Caldura poate fi masurata in unitati termice, deoarece caldura este energie. 4rigul nu e opusul caldurii, dle, ci doar absenta ei. #ilence across the room. * pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding li"e a hammer. Clasa e invaluita in tacere. /ndeva cade un stilou si suna ca o lovitura de ciocan. '.hat about dar"ness, professor. Is there such a thing as dar"ness&' (ar intunericul, profesore& ' ista intunericul& '%es,' the professor replies without hesitation. '.hat is night if it isn't dar"ness&' (a, raspunde profesorul fara ezitare. Ce e noaptea daca nu intuneric& '%ou're wrong again, sir. (ar"ness is not something> it is the absence of something. %ou can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called dar"ness, isn't it& !hat's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality,

dar"ness isn't. If it were, you would be able to ma"e dar"ness dar"er, wouldn't you&' (in nou raspuns gresit, dle. Intunericul nu e ceva> este absenta a ceva. $oate e ista lumina scazuta, lumina normala, lumina stralucitoare, lumina intermitenta, dar daca nu e ista lumina constanta atunci nu e ista nimic, iar acest nimic se numeste intuneric, nu-i asa& *cesta este sensul pe care il atribuim acestui cuvant. In realitate, intunericul nu e ista. (aca ar e ista, am putea face ca intunericul sa fie si mai intunecat, nu-i asa& !he professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. !his will be a good semester. $rofesorul incepe sa-i zambeasca studentului din fata sa. *cesta va fi un semestru bun. '#o what point are you ma"ing, young man&' Ce vrei sa demonstrezi, tinere& '%es, professor. 2y point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.' (a, dle profesor. :reau sa spun ca premisele dvs filosofice sunt gresite de la bun inceput si de aceea concluzia !8',/I' sa fie si ea gresita. !he professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. '4lawed& (e data asta, profesorul nu-si poate ascunde surpriza. )resite& Can you e plain how&' $oti e plica in ce fel& '%ou are wor"ing on the premise of duality,' the student e plains.. '%ou argue that there is life and then there's death> a good )od and a bad )od. %ou are viewing the concept of )od as something finite, something we can measure. #ir, science can't even e plain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but no one has never seen, much less fully understood either one. !o view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot e ist as a substantive thing. (eath is not the opposite of life, 0ust the absence of it.' '1ow tell me, professor. (o you teach your students that they evolved from a mon"ey&' Lucrati cu premisa dualitatii, e plica studentul #ustineti ca e ista viata si apoi ca e ista moarte> un (umnezeu bun si un (umnezeu rau. Considerati conceptul de (umnezeu drept ceva finit, ceva ce putem masura. (le, stiinta nu poate e plica nici macar ce este acela un gand. 4oloseste electricitatea si magnetismul, dar 1I2'1I nu a vazut sau nu a inteles pe deplin vreuna din acestea doua. #a consideri ca moartea e opusul vietii inseamna sa ignori ca moartea nu e ista ca lucru substantial. 2oartea nu e opusul vietii, ci doar absenta ei. *cum spuneti-mi, dle profesor, le predati studentilor teoria ca ei au evoluat din maimuta&

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.' (aca te referi la procesul evolutiei naturale, tinere, da, evident ca da. '-ave you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir&' *ti observat vreodata evolutia cu propriii ochi, dle& !he professor begins to sha"e his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. * very good semester, indeed. $rofesorul incepe sa dea din cap, inca zambind, cand isi da seama incotro se indreapta argumentul. /n semestru foarte bun, intr-adevar. '#ince no one has ever observed the process of evolution at wor" and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir& *re you now not a scientist, but a preacher&' (in moment ce nimeni nu a observat procesul evolutiei in desfasurare si nimeni nu poate demonstra ca el are loc, dvs. nu predate studentilor ceea ce credeti, nu& *cum ce sunteti, om de stiinta sau predicator& !he class is in uproar. !he student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. Clasa murmura. #tudentul tace pana cand emotia se mai stinge. '!o continue the point you were ma"ing earlier to the other student, let me give you an e ample of what I mean.' !he student loo"s around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain&' !he class brea"s 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& 1o one appears to have done so. #o, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' '#o if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir&' Ca sa continuam demonstratia pe care o faceati adineori celuilalt student, permiteti-mi sa va dau un e emplu, ca sa intelegeti la ce ma refer. #tudentul se uita in 0urul sau, in clasa. ' vreunul dintre voi care a vazut vreodata creierul profesorului& Clasa izbucneste in ras. ' cineva care a auzit creierul profesorului, l-a simtit, l-a atins sau l-a mirosit& 1imeni nu pare sa fi facut asta. (eci, conform regulilor empirice, stabile si conform protocolului demonstrabil, stiinta spune A cu tot respectul, dle A ca nu aveti creier. (aca stiinta spune ca nu aveti creier, cum sa avem incredere in cursurile dvs, dle& 1ow the room is silent. !he professor 0ust stares at the student, his face unreadable. 4inally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I )uess you'll have to ta"e them on faith.'

*cum clasa e cufundata in tacere. $rofesorul se holbeaza la student, cu o fata impenetrabila. In fine, dupa un interval ce pare o vesnicie, batranul raspunde. -$resupun ca va trebui sa crezi, pur si simplu. '1ow, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith e ists with life,' the student continues. '1ow, sir, is there such a thing as evil&' (eci, acceptati ca e ista credinta si, de fapt, credinta e ista impreuna cu viata, continua studentul. *cum, dle, e ista raul& 1ow uncertain, the professor responds, 'Bf course, there is. .e see it 'veryday. It is in the daily e ample of man's inhumanity to man.. It is in !he multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. !hese manifestations are nothing else but evil.' *cum nesigur, profesorul raspundeC sigur ca e ista. Il vedem zilnic. 8aul se vede zilnic din lipsa de umanitate a omului fata de om. #e vede in nenumaratele crime si violente care se petrec peste tot in lume. *ceste manifestari nu sunt nimic altceva decat raul. !o this the student replied, ''vil does not e ist sir, or at least it does not e ist unto itself. 'vil is simply the absence of )od. It is 0ust li"e dar"ness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of )od. )od did not create evil. 'vil is the result of what happens when man does not have )od's love present in his heart. It's li"e the cold that comes when there is no heat or the dar"ness that comes when there is no light.' La asta, studentul a replicatC 8aul nu e ista, dle, sau cel putin nu e ista in sine. 8aul e pur si simplu absenta lui (umnezeu. ' ca si intunericul si frigul, un cuvant creat de om pentru a descrie absenta lui (umnezeu. 1u (umnezeu a creat raul. 8aul este ceea ce se intampla cand din inima omului lipseste dragostea lui (umnezeu. 'ste ca frigul care apare cand nu e ista caldura sau ca intunericul care apare cand nu e ista lumina. !he professor sat down. $rofesorul s-a asezat. 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 ')od vs #cience' (aca ai citit pana aici si zambesti cand ai terminat, trimite asta prietenilor si familiei, cu titlul 5(umnezeu vs. stiinta6 $#C !he student was *lbert 'instein $#C #tudentul era *lbert 'instein. *lbert 'instein wrote a boo" titled )od vs #cience in DEFD... *lbert 'instein a scris o carte intitulata (umnezeu vs. stiinta in DEFD.