Every now and then Christians are challenged to justify
their faith in God. Some people just do not believe things they can’t
understand. Here is a little story that may help you the next time you
find yourself in a conversation with a person who is trying to put you on
the spot.
DID GOD CREATE EVIL?
Once day a university professor challenged his students
with this question..."Did God create everything that exists?"
A student excitedly replied, "Yes, he did!"
"God created everything?", the professor
asked.
"Yes, sir," the student replied.
The professor answered, "If God created
everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the
principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."
The student became quiet by such an answer. The
professor, quite pleased with himself sat down. Another student raised his
hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"
"Of course," replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does
cold exist?"
"What kind of question is this? Of course it
exists. Have you never been cold", replied the professor. The
students snickered at the young man’s question.
"In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to
the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of
heat. 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 (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; all matter
becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not
exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no
heat."
The student continued, "Professor, does darkness
exist?"
The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong
sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of
light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton’s
prism to break white light into many colours and study various wave
lengths of each colour. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light
can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how
dark a certain space is" You measure the amount of light present. Isn’t
this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when
there is no light present."
Finally, the young man asked the professor, "Sir,
does evil exist?"
Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course
as I have already said. 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. Evil is just like darkness and cold. It is a word that man has
created to describe the absence of God," and with that the student
sat back down.
NOTE: It has been said that the student was Albert Einstein, but
there is no absolute proof of this. In any event, this may be a good story
to remember the next time you find yourself in a serious discussion with
someone who is questioning the goodness of God.
