Faith

Hmmm, it's almost the end of the first week of the 2nd sem in uni. This week is one which I would call, quite eventful, even though it wasn't a really hectic one with packed timetables and dreary assignments (not that I'm complaining, of course :P). New PCL groupings this sem (although most of us would want our former PCL mates back) meant that we had to change how we did things during PCL sessions. New faces, new teaching & learning styles, etc. Oh, and if you don't know what PCL means, refer back to my first blog post!

Besides that, 7 meddies took sticker photos on Monday. Yeah, that's right... a bunch of meddies known collectively only as the MI7 with the aliases TCZC, SCMX, WJY, GTHL, ROWL, NHKY, and TLHY were seen by onlookers and described as a group of frantically anxious guys & girls staring at an unknown flashing object in a 1.5m x 2m x 2.5m box. :) Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit but truth be told, I know that you know it's me and 6 other meddies (you know who you are *winks*... don't ask me why I came up with MI7, best I could think of at the moment LOL). What was fun, or funny if you like, about taking them was not the outcome or the product, but the entire 'process' of it! We wanted the photos to turn out well and everyone wanted to look their best. I think the girls panicked the most and there were many memorable moments of "Ok, let's change position!" and "Oh, let's do the heart-shaped gesture!" Bad thing that the console was in Japanese, took us some time to figure out which button meant what. In the end. we took about 6 different pics, each of us with a different pose, position and style. After that, we designed the pics to our every whim and fancy, or TLHY's and GTHL's at least cos they did most of the designing :D The result: Each of us took back 4 photos each, 3 small and 1 not-so-small, which are too minute to be shown here.

Enuff of that for now, and in case you didn't know, The DARK KNIGHT was released in cinemas nationwide today. For all those comic book fans of the caped crusader, or movie-lovers who crave action, suspense and thrill all-in-one, this is a MUST-WATCH!! I repeat, this is a MUST-WATCH!! The Dark Knight is stunning, in every sense the word. Whether you look at the acting, the directing, the writing, or any other aspect of the movie, it's hard to find a weak point. I won't wanna spoil it for those of you that have not watched it yet so I will not elaborate further.

Why So Serious? (tagline for tDK)

Newae, on a more spiritual note, I recently read an e-mail (which I will share later) about faith, hence this post's title. Faith is believing in something that we cannot see (2 Cor. 5:7: "We live by faith, not by sight.") In the case of faith in God, it is believing that God EXISTS, and that His Son died for us on the Cross to save us from sin. 1 Peter 1:21 says, "Through Christ you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God."

Below is an interesting conversation that touches upon faith between an atheist professor of philosophy and one of his new students:

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 fellow. 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.

~Tim~