Monday, March 30, 2009

God vs. Science

I found this on one of the blogs I read, Generation Cedar.
I thought it was so good I had to pass it on. :) It amazes me at times how people will doubt that god is good. This story is so simple and and makes a lot of sense !



GOD vs. Science

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "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? Hmmm? Can you20answer 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? Uglines s? 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."

At the back of the room another student stands quietly for a moment before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"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 up 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."

"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 (-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 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. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evi l. 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.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Timothy Seaman on the Hammered Dulcimer

Katie and I got to see Timothy Seaman play while we were on vacation in VA. It was amazing! I had never heard or seen a hammered dulcimer played before so it was a completely new experience. The friend we went with was also a musician and he talked to Mr. Seaman for a while. It was great to hear him tell about where he gets the inspiration and creativity for his songs.

http://www.timothyseaman.com/

This is one of my favorite songs he plays. He also does Scarborough fair which sounds wonderful. :)



Behemoth

Behemoth is a website done by Vision Forum. Best description of it I can think of would be to call it a Christian copy of iTunes. They have music, movies, sermons, teaching and Audio books.
Some times they will have a free item of the day. This week I was able to get " Ten P's in a pod : The million mile journey of the Pent family " I read the book last year and thought the other kids would enjoy it as well. Just thought I would share a good site. :) That and the name is just fun to say. :P

http://behemoth.com/

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Photo Highlights

Here are some of the photo highlights from our trip to VA. Most of these are from Colonial Williamsburg.




This is in the entryway of the governors palace. There are well over a hundred arms in the entryway alone. There were several different kinds of swords done in different cross-over designs hanging on the wall.



This is at the spinner/ weaver/ dyers in CW. This woman was so much fun to listen to ! I learned a lot about the different colors, and the dyes used to get them. What color you wore would have been a sign of rank because some colors were much more expensive then others. She told us that purples fade within 2 years or so, dark blue was very expensive and how most of the dyes from that time came from South America. If you ever visit CW this shop is a must see !



This is my dream house ! Isn't it lovely ? The red shutters are just so pretty. :)
It's on a corner and there is a lamp post and a little stream in the side yard.
Every time I saw it I would take another picture :D





This was a well dressed couple we saw in front of the capitol. They were practicing for Revolutionary city. The mans coat was green to gold changeable silk, with gold braid and sparkly buttons. You could see him from quite a ways off ! lol



Myself posing on the back of the carriage. Funny story with this picture. I sat on the little seat/ bar they have for the footman to stand on. I sat down and took my feet off the ground right as the horses took a few steps backwards. It scared me so bad ! Tiffany and Katelyn were laughing so hard. We didn't even get a picture and I had to get on it again. :P



Katelyn managing to not fall off while getting her picture taken. :D



Snow around the glass covers in the garden in Colonial Williamsburg.



James B., Natalie and I posing with Mr. Jefferson. :)




This was in one of the gift shops and I thought it was just to funny !

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Home ! Wb Prt5

Here are some assorted thoughts to wrap up my vacation posts. :)
I will hopefully have pictures up in the next few days or so.


Monday was the scavenger hunt. I was a team leader again this week and this time we had a little more say so as to who was on our team. I was able to get Zack H. on my team so it was fun having someone on my team. Last week I didn't really enjoy the hunt very much, so I was a little discouraged as I started this time. I was not very enthusiastic but we ended up coming in 2nd place! I ended with 50 points and the winning team had 56. The next highest team had somewhere in the 30's.

We got to see people practicing for Rev. city too. One was a show I had seen last year where a man in the tavern is speaking against the king. The other on I saw was about the governor but I didn't see all of it.

After the scavenger hunt Tiffany, Nick, Jonathan, Brianna, Katie and I went to a restaurant that the Tooley's had told us about. It was called Trellis and it's down in Merchant square. We sat outside and ordered deserts. Tiffany, Katie and Jonathan all got " Death by Chocolate" The dessert that the chef is famous for. Nick and I got "Diamonds over ice" and Brianna got some yummy looking strawberries. The waitress wrapped Katie and Tiffany's leftovers in the shape of a foil swan.
After dessert we did a bit more shopping and then we all squished into Jonathan's car to go back to the resort. Much later that night the above mentioned people and Josh, Kelly, Becca, and I all went for a walk before bedtime. a few of theme were leaving in the morning so we all had a lot to talk about. I think we walked about 10 miles that night! The air was cool and it was just perfect walking weather ! :) I told be self that I am going to have to keep that habit up now that I am home, it was such good exersize and I don;t want to lose all of that stamina that I built up!
;-)

While we were in WB we watched LOST a few times. :) The Hebert's and the Reynolds just happened to be at the exact same place in season 4 so we went up to the activities building and watched it on the big screen a few times. That was really fun for Katie and I because we have seen further ahead then they have. It was so fun to hear their predictions while we know what is going to happen next. Some of the Boulden's got hooked on it as well, just a few episodes and they were hooked! ;-)

Tuesday morning I woke up with a very sore throat and a headache. We had planned to go to a Cat & Dog theology class taught by Bob S. I decided to go and I was glad I did! The message was very interesting but I will share more on that later.
During the half break I decided I was feeling to bad to stay so I went home to get some hot tea and medicine. After doing that and an hour or so of rest I was feeling a lot better. ( at least I wasn't going to let it keep me down on my last day!)
Tiffany Katie and I went to Newtown to do some shopping. I really enjoyed walking around the nicer shops and the whole town square atmosphere. After that I had them drop me of and the Condo so I could pack and take it easy before the dance at the NewPort House. We learned several new dances, one of my new favorites being " Passing fancy" We have now nick-named this dance " fancy Pants" although I forget why we called it that know.:P I can't wait for our group here to learn it! Another fun one we did was " The President" after we left the Newport House and came home I started making the rounds to say good bye to every one. We will be seeing the Reynolds again in June fortunately, and I was trying to talk Kelly into coming with them. :D After the good byes came the now traditional Before-bedtime-walk , although this one was shorter with only one loop around the lake. ;-)
We then came back to the condo and used the hot tub for the first time since we had been there. It was a great relaxing way to end the day.


We were up (semi) early the next morning and left at about 8:30. we made it to the airport in good time and began our trip home. The Richmond airport was very slow but the Atlanta airport was very busy! Katie and I had Lunch at Moe's grill and then waited for our connecting flight. This was our first time to really fly and we liked the experience. Take off is probably the best part of the whole flight unless you want to count the amazing view of the clouds. :)

It was in the 70's when we left Richmond and even warmer in Atlanta. When we got to DFW it was dark raining and oh so cold ! lol, but rain or not we are glad to be home :D

Thursday, March 5, 2009

WB Part 4

Today has been a full day and it's not even over yet ! 
We were up to about 2:00 last night ( One of our earlier nights actually lol ) 
then we got up at 8:00, and dresses in costume to go to CW. When we got there we saw a program called "Order in the Court!" that was very interesting. They re-inacted a few items of business and picked people from to crowd to be part of the act. One woman did really well and was getting into the part. 

After that waled around for a while. We went to Tarpley's store and looked around for a while. The store owner came out and talked to us , he recognized us from the George Washington Ball.

We went down to the Capitol and watched about 15 people practicing for Rev. City next week. 
it was fun to see them working out there lines and positions. 
While we were there watching, Daniel Cross came over and said hi. 

Tiffany and I went to the Milliner and talked to the woman who was there for quite a while ! 
She took a bunch of clothes out and let us feel them and see how they were made.
She told us about who would would were what fabrics, how long fashions would last before changing and a bunch of other stuff that was really interesting. 

Tiffany and I then caught us with the others at the van for lunch, and decided to go see the Basket weaver. We took the long way ( of course) and stopped at the spinners. It was very cool, and the spinner talked about all the different dyes , where they came from and what each color was worth. She also carded ad spun wool while we were there. She told us there would be someone in the city who's only job was dyeing things.  Her example was after wearing a ball gown once , you would want to change it before the next ball. Changing the color was one of her examples. 
When we were done there we made it over to the basket weavers and listened there for a bit. 
 
Most of the Lil' kids wanted to go home by this time so everyone but Tiffany and I went home. I had not been in the Palace before so we went in for one of the tours. The entry way was probably my favorite room. All of the arms were soo cool ! Decorating with weapons.. wish it would come back into style. lol ;-P

Joel and James Boulden called and said they didn't want to go on a tour with their family so they came and hung out with us girls for about an hour. We saw another skit going on in the street, this one was even better. We saw part of it last year, were they drag a man out of the tavern and punish him for speaking against the king. we also made a quick stop by the apothacarys.

When Mrs. Boulden and Jonathen got back then little boys went home with her and Tiffany, Jonathen and I stayed to walk around for a while more. We went to the Cheese Shop and bought Ginger ales and then sat outside talking for a few hours.  
Right now I am in the middle of a very full, very loud living room full of kids playing 4 on a couch.   

Yesterday we went and saw Patrick Henry speak at the kimball Theater. I enjoyed it much more then the last time I saw him and I learned a lot. At the time of his death at 65 he had 17 children and 77 grandchildren ! He also gave some advice for anyone unmarried in the crowd . " Marry well, Marry rich ! LOL we all laughed really hard at that.:D  He told how he had married at age 18 and when he lost his wife 20 years later he remarried a a woman wealthier then himself and younger. She had 11 children , and he had 6 children by his first marriage. 

The weather was much nicer today. It was warm enough to go with out a coat in the middle of the day although there is still snow on the ground in some places. 
I don't know what the plans are for tomorrow. We are hoping to go shopping in Newtown. 

Well, my turn on 4 on the couch. gotta go ! 
<3>


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

WB Pt 3

 Today was scavenger hunt day !! 
It was very different this year, it took place all over Williamsburg and CW and the resort.
I think I came in 5th place. It was kelly Wilson Chris Hebert and some others who won. 
Each group had a designated driver to take them around the city. 

Tonight us girls went out for dinner for Beka Wilsons Birthday. Emily, Courtney, Kelly, Beka, Amy and two other girls I just met went out to a buffet for dinner. Lots o' fun. :) 

Yesterday was sooo cold ! 
I stayed home most of the day resting and catching up on stuff , then later in the day Nick and Emily and I decided to go swimming. Crazy I know. :) My wet hair actually froze some on the way walking home from the pool. lol 

Tonight we watched FireProof and most every one loved it. 
Right now Mrs. Reynolds is giving hair cuts and I am next in line so ta ta for now ! :D  
 

Monday, March 2, 2009

WB Pt 2

 ********** SNOW ! **********
It's snowing here ! We are all so excited, it's beautiful with the snow falling all around. 
Right now we are deciding wether we will brave the cold and go down down to Colonial Williamsburg and take pictures in the snow or wether we should just stay home and keep warm. 
it's currently about 30 degrees but with the wind chill it's 16. Brrrr!

On Sat. we went to the George Washington ball at the college of william and mary.
They had a live band and the music was lovely. The size of the crowd was about the same as last year all though there was hardly any young people. I saw the "Lord Foppington " the man who comes with the really elaborate costume and the white face.
I didn't take a picture though, I though he looked icky. :P 

Yesterday was the All-together-get-together. It was a much smaller group this year which was great because the introductions were shorter and didn't take as long. 
The dancing went really well and we ended with the Levi Jackson .     
Last night after the ATGT we came back to the condo and Mrs. Reynolds brought over Ice Cream and some cake and we watched LOST :D
So, If we do get snowed in we will be well prepared with food ad movie. :) 

I will hopefully get some pictures uploaded sometime in the next day or so. 
Rest assured that I am taking lots o' pictures.