Subject: Does Evil Exist??
glasshouse
Posts: 1,762
> >
> > Does evil exist?
> >
> > The university professor challenged his students with this question.
Did
> God
> > create everything that exists? A student bravely 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 before such an
answer.
> > The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the
students
> > that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
> >
> > 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?" The students snickered at the young man's question.
> >
> > The young man replied, "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 degrees 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 colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. 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 every day. 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 evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that
exist
> > just as does light and heat. 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.
> >
> > The young man's name - Albert Einstein.
> > Does evil exist?
> >
> > The university professor challenged his students with this question.
Did
> God
> > create everything that exists? A student bravely 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 before such an
answer.
> > The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the
students
> > that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
> >
> > 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?" The students snickered at the young man's question.
> >
> > The young man replied, "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 degrees 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 colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. 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 every day. 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 evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that
exist
> > just as does light and heat. 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.
> >
> > The young man's name - Albert Einstein.
Athens, Greece: 2006/09/30
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
uhm sorry, but Einstein believed in God. plain and simple. I just read his biography - it's suppose to be common knowledge btw.
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
'It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.'
- Albert Einstein, letter to an atheist (1954), quoted in Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffman
There are many more similar quotes. The best that could be said is that Einstein believed in a non-personalised god, which is just another phrase for the majesty of nature.
Either way, Einstein did not have such an exchange with a professor as you origanally posted. that is an urban legend that has been made up and has since spread around the internet.
yes, he did - i was there.
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
Where were you sitting? Because I was up the back...
next to the man
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
And for my own part, I see it as a faulty analogy as warm/cold is something that can be sensed and have objective existence, while good and evil are value judgements made by humans to describe things they deem "moral" or not. So as the one is physical reality, the other is theoretical concepts.
But I guess, if one theoretically posits good, then it's opposite must also be adressed. Still theory, and can be avoided by not positing "good" in the first place.
Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
doesn't mean this nonsense was ever spoken by him in a classroom to a college professor. profs don't let you stand up and get on a soapbox.
I've known lecturers who'd let you take over for an entire day, if they could get back to bed and nurse their hangovers.
that's a bit different from a university prof supposedly being humiliated by a young einstein on the topic of god. this story reeks of urban legend. the epilogue is probly that the student went home to threatening atheist phone calls... only to discover those calls were coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE!!!
Einstein did not believe in the Christian God, EVER!!!!
Einstein was born a JEW and he renounced his Judaism in favor of Spinoza's God, which is nothing like Allah!
Albert Einstein named Spinoza as the philosopher who exerted the most influence on his world view (Weltanschauung). Spinoza equated God (infinite substance) with Nature, consistent with Einstein's belief in an impersonal deity. In 1929, Einstein was asked in a telegram by Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein whether he believed in God. Einstein responded by telegram "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza
Do some research. That story is a total fabrication. Another example of how religious zealots make shit up to advance their agenda. Meanwhile, rational people actually use facts.
http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c
After all, it goes:
hot/cold
light/dark
good/evil, no?
No. Relativity.
Good/Neutral/Evil, or view it as a bell curve, a gradient, a grey area, not black or white.
Just like with temperature, there is no two states Hot and Cold, there are many degrees. Cool your hand in a bucket of ice-water, then put it on something warm and it should feel hot, not warm, "HOT" is a reference to how we feel about the temperature.
Not to mention:
Hot/Warm/Cold
Light/Dim/Dark
Good/Neutral/Evil
The absence of Good would be Neutral, not Evil.
Good point, well stated, but that wasn't really what I was getting at.:D
My point was if you're working on the hot/cold angle, you get good/evil. God doesn't come into it.