Wednesday, January 21, 2009

REPOST: The link between man and God

An e-mail from a friend of mine...

INTERESTING CONVERSATION

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new Christian students to stand and...

Professor: You are a Christian, aren't you, son?

Student: Yes, sir

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 fella. 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 and God is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving and alive.

NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation... and if so... you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same... won't you?
Have a nice day!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

THE TIME OF MY LIFE

January 10… the first remarkable day of my existence this 2009! The time of my life!

Na-meet ko for the first time ang parents and younger sister ni Babe (that’s how I call my bf). So what’s new in meeting your bf’s parents and younger sis? Well, out of the country si bf, in short, mag-isa lang akong haharap sa parents and sister niya… WENDY MEETS BF’S PARENTS AND YOUNGER SIS!!! Whola!

First, noong malayo pa ang date kung kailan kami magkikita, everything is okay naman, actually, am so excited to meet them. I also told my officemates/friends about it and even some of my aunts. I often crack jokes pa nga regarding it… “how will answer their questions, ala-beauty queen ba?” “Do I have to stand up and hands on hips while answering their queries?” Kaloka…

Moving forward… the day came, January 10… Oh my goodness... Mula nang magising ako, may drum roll na sa dibdib ko and butterflies starts to play inside my tummy. Natatakot, nininerbiyos, nahihiya and other stuffs keeps coming in and out of my system. At siyempre, ayokong pumunta at i-meet ang parents ni bf na walang dala, so what I did, lahat ng souvenir item ng office dinalhan ko sila… san ka pa?! PA-GOOD SHOT! Naman! Kidding!

Meeting time, 3:00 pm… oh my goodness… 3:00 pm on the way pa lang ako to Makati kung saan kami magkikita. In short, late ako… WENDY YOU'RE ALWAYS LATE! Around 4:00 na ako dumating… MINUS 1,000 GANDA POINTS! Toinks!

Going back, habang nasa cab ako going to Makati, honestly I want to back out. I asked my self na tama ba ang gagawin ko, haharap ako sa parents ni bf for the first time… alone… no back up from bf? However, may briefing naman mula kay bf regarding his family, but still, anxiety is in my system… how will I deal with them? How will I talk to them? Do I have to beso them, kiss their hands? How will I address them, tito, tita... sir, ma'am? LIFE LINE: CAN I CALL A FRIEND?

On my way to Makati, text messages from my officemates/friends starts to boost my self-confidence... NO NEED TO BACK OUT! KAYA KO 'TO... AJA!

Sabi ng officemates/ friends ko, be your self. But how can I be my self eh ninenerbiyos ako? shaiks… iba ako kapag may daga sa dibdib, ‘di ako makapag-isip nang maayos. be my self... eh, medyo maarte ako... really promise... BIG NO NO, 'di puwede mag-inarte.

In a resto in Makati, doon kami nagkita… azuzzz… hindi pa doon ang major talk. Pagkatapos sa namin sa isang resto sa Makati, bf’s parents look for a cozy place in the open where we can share some stuffs… THIZ IZ THE MOMENTZZZZ!

No joke... mabait ang parents ni bf, but to be honest, ninenerbiyos ako sa parents niya and I don’t know why. 'Di ko lang ipinahalata na I am so nervous at sana ay ‘di nga nila nahalata… hehe.

Eto pa, we’re talking about smoking… suddenly, nabanggit ko na nag-i-smoke si bf. Then bf’s father asked me again kung nag-i-smoke si bf… ang I said yes dahil nag-i-smoke si bf. Then… oppsss… ‘di nga pala yata nila alam na nag-i-smoke si bf…. lagot si bf, alam na ngayon sa kanila na nag-i-smoke siya and it’s all because of my honesty… Hahaha

Hindi ko na idi-detail ang iba pang napag-usapan namin, somehow, so far so good naman lahat. Pero hanggang ngayon, ‘di pa rin nagsi-sink in sa system ko na na-meet ko na parents ni bf. Actually, puzzle na ako ngayon kung ano reaction ng parents ni bf after nila ako makilala… kumusta naman kaya ang rating ng lola n’yo? Though tingin ko okay naman ang naging conversation... pero feeling ko I messed around. 'Di ko alam kung nakasagot ako ng maayos sa mga questions nila... MY GOODNESS! Feeling ko rin kasi parang napipi ako, makuwento rin naman akong tao somehow pero bakit bigla yatang naglaho… Oh my goodness… TAKE TWO... TAKE TWO!


Thursday, January 08, 2009

2009... ANOTHER 365 DAYS OF JOURNEY!

2008 is over!

Am so thankful for I surpassed all the trials and challenges in the past year.
All the memories, be good or bad… lahat ite-treasure ko!
Sa lahat ng nakilala ko the past 2008 na nagpakulay ng buhay ko… thanks a lot!
Sa mga napawindang at nagpayanig naman sa 2008 ko… well, thank you for making me more tough.

I wasn’t able to post something about Christmas and New Year because… busy po, sensiya na! But FYI… tulad po ng lahat… super happy ng Christmas and New Year ko with my whole family! Aja!

Anyway… 2009… another 12 months… what’s in store for me? Nobody knows except HIM! More prayer na lang po and strive hard for better and fruitful 2009!

Any New Year’s Resolution? I don’t have! Wala lang… if there is something that I want to do or something about me that I want to change… I don’t know if it is right that I don’t want to force my self to do it. What I want is that, If there is something I want to do or change about me, about my life... I want to do it slowly, carefully and surely… May pagkukusa... ayoko ng binigla at pinipilit.

Moving forward… this 2009… am wishing everybody a very fruitful, meaningful and happy 365 days of journey around the sun! May all the the things that we want to achieve, hoping na makamit natin lahat with the grace and guidance of our Dear Lord!

To wrap this post… let me share this piece that my aunt often say to us…
BE GOOD, DO GOOD… AND EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL TURN OUT GOOD!