Question:
Not sure if this a true story, but it sounds good:
A 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 faith in God is 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.
Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits 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. We can study light,
but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light
into many colors and study the various wave lengths 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 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 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 student's name -- Albert Einstein
Chaim,
That is beautiful, thank you for sharing it. I have a lot to think about and I think if everyone in the world can read this, it would be a better place!
Ditto---------
Granny
hi chaim
that was good. alittle to much for my brain this early in the moring but it was very good.lol thank you for sharing it.
have a good day all
richard :D
[SIZE=3]Thanks for sharing that...Wonderful!!![/SIZE]
I love it. It sounds just like my English class!
Interesting take on the above:
http://www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp
Jody
Chaim,,,,,,I've read that before,,,this is so very true,,,,and a nice way to remind people,,,,, THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT!!!!
Sometimes reading stuff like this straigtens me up a little.
That was good and I can see the message in it, but let's take it a bit further.
This story begs the question (to me anyway), at what point does something stop being good and start to become evil?
Where's the line of demarcation between good and evil?
I consider myself to be basically a good person, but what is the least amount I can get away with in order to become evil? In other words, if I go out tonight and steal a loaf of bread from a store, have I turned into an evil person. What if the reason I stole the food was to give it to some homeless person. Have I still turned into an evil person? What if I felt guilty and snuck it back into the store without telling anyone that I ever did it. Is that evil?
Anyone want to tackle this one?
Yes Jor-el,,,I'll answer this one,,,I'D ADVISE YOU TO BAKE THE BREAD!!! :D
JoR-eL, I would have to suggest going back into history a few years and I seem to remember a story about 2 people, a fruit, a tree, and a snake. That would be my answer....
you have a good mind jor-el, lets go deeper.
how many grains of sand in the world or have you ever tried counting the stars? In order to count the stars you need to be in country, city sky doesn't do god any justice. Just lay back, relax, and count them all.
Yes Jor-el,,,I'll answer this one,,,I'D ADVISE YOU TO BAKE THE BREAD!!! :D
Yes, and while you got the oven on and the batter mixed, make a few more loafs and give them to someone in need or to someone who's sick or just needs a little help.
Why steal it when you can make it yourself. Heck, this is america, you'd be surprised on how many loafs of bread you can get for free if you just ask for it.
I was once in las vegas walking down the strip with my wife. I am conservative so I use coupons and happened to have about 5 coupons for free hot dogs at the Westward Ho. So this begger is sitting on the side of the road and asks me for money for food. I told him to come with me a block down the street and I'd get him one of those big Westward Ho hot dogs. He passed on the offer. I guess he wasn't very hungry? I mean those hot dogs aren't the best but heck if I was starving I certainly would eat one.
Jor-EL
Stealing is stealing-
No matter how little or how big,
how cheap or how expensive
and no matter what you do with it after you take it-
if you take something that is not yours-you stole it
You broke the law, man and God's law. Didn't your Mama teach you that?
Does that make you evil? Can you live with the knowledge that you stole something? Not me! If you can't live with that-why not?
You know-even if someone doesn't believe in God, Jesus or Moses-----
if we all lived by the 10 commandments, it would be a more wonderful world to live in.
Granny
So you're saying that if I stole a loaf of bread to feed a homeless person, I've done an EVIL thing thereby qualifying me as an EVIL person.
Did I understand that correctly?
Jor-El you are a very good person! Actually, the way I see things is that we all are not perfect. That means we all do or think bad things during our existance here on earth. Its just the way we are. I guess we consider this another genetic disorder to add to our list of ailments.
Jor-El, be nice.....drop the intent thing. not everyones a lawyer. heck we got way to many of them as it is.
Lets get away from stealing and back on track with good. Focus on the good. You have a sharp mind, keep coming.
[SIZE=3]Rationalize-To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (ones behavior).
Too many people Rationalize their behavior...In too many ways!!!
Evil-Morally bad or wrong; wicked...Causing ruin, injury, or pain, harmful.
I guess if it were me seeing a starving person, it would really bother me and I would probably ask the store person if I could have the bread for the person...that is if I didn't have any money with me...It boils down to...Does a wrong make a right???
Just my 2 cents...[/SIZE]
Jor-EL,
I don't know if you are evil-only you can know that.
Just think about what I ask you-
Can you live with the knowledge that you stole something? If you can't live with that-why not?
You don't need to answer me-just think.
If I wanted to feed a homeless person, I would ask the owner of the bread if WE could help the person.
Brad,
No, we are not perfect but once I thought I made a mistake-but I was wrong! ;)
We can try to be the best possible.
Granny
I'm a person that does not like to see the world in black and white. The world is black, white, and an infinite range of grays and colors in between.
Let's take the stolen bread story a little further.
Do you really think that loaf of bread will ever be missed by that store? Considering on the huge amount of food lining supermarket shelves in this land of plenty, it hardly think it will be missed at all. One supermarket will throw away more food in a week than I eat in a year. They won't even bat an eye.
On the other hand, that same loaf of bread that I had stolen and gave to the homeless person may have been just enough of an act of kindness to restore that homeless person's faith in humanity. Enough so that the person sought help and got it, got him/her self a job and and a place to live and went on to become an upstanding member of society. Sometimes reaching out with a small act of kindness can go a long ways.
Now, the other side of this story......
If I didn't steal the bread to give to a homeless person, that person may have gone on to die in loneliness and despair three weeks later because no one ever attempted to reach out.
And on the shelf, that same loaf of bread has just been thrown out by the grocery cleark because no one ever bought it.
I just can't see anything as this is good and that is bad, The world we live in is far too complex for that.
Ten Commandments was mentioned.
The sixth Commandment states: "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
Is that true in ALL cases?
I ask you to think about this at length before you answer.
Please don't force me to bring up soldiers fighting in wars.
It doesn't matter why you steal- stealing is stealing.
I think you might want to start an argument-
You would never understand what I think about the homeless or hungry.
Or the difference in killing and obeying the laws of your land.
So rather than arguing, I'll say-
I hope your psoriasis is better and that your conscience is free of guilt.
Love ya,
Granny
Jor-El, it all depends upon the circumstances and how you go about it. A person on the good side should have the proper guidance to do the proper thing. I was in the air force and carried a weapon. If the country called upon me to fight in the war I would be working as an agent of the government and thus I would not be "killing" so to speak. You need to read more of the bible to understand the 10 commandments. It does however apply to a situation in which you and I may have a disagreement. If you don't have a copy of the bible I can provide you with one at no charge. You should read the book of revelation, wow....this book even gets mentioned on the art bell show, now george norey. Talking about deep, that one will get you thinking. I'm not no big bible pusher, but if you want to read it you may find something interresting in it, in any case you would be able to say you've read it.
I was raised Christian. I don't practice at church much, I think I got scared away a little from the church, but still carry the beliefs. They're not bad and not hard to understand. Actually, what I believe, is that all you need to do is believe 1 simple thing to be perfect again someday. Thats the simple way to look at it.
But, we all, like with psoriasis, are different and different strokes for different folks. Doesn't hurt to take a peek at what others are doing. If the meds don't work for you, try something else.
Oh, by the way. If we (the police) catch you stealing bread, we just write a report, its up to the judge or jury to decide your fate.
Jor-El
I was going to drop this but after reading what Brad wrote-
If you are serious about this, I would strongly recomend a New American Standard Bible and a Greek Dictionary. I would help with the expense, if needed.The Bible I mentioned has a wonderful study guide and a Greek Dictionary will help with meanings of words in the context where they were used.
One example-killing as in the commandments=murder
A lot of people want to know how I know that God or Jesus existed. The same way people believe that George Washington was around! The study of history and evidence.
Granny
Jor-El,
Here is another "side" to consider if we are to keep getting deeper into this conversation.
What if, the security guard at the market where the bread was stolen, was already on suspension for whatever reason and the fact that you stole the bread and, (I'm assuming), got away with it was the last straw for him. He gets fired. Lets say he is the sole supporter of a family of 6 that is already deep into debt for whatever reasons. Now there is a family of 6 on the street starving with no medical coverage. Do you still feel confident in the choice you made to steal the bread?
I really don't want an answer. I guess I'm just trying to make the point that to dig deeper and deeper into any thought can totally bring us to a place very far away from the original conversation.
I think we all live our lives the best we could and we mostly make our choices based on whatever beliefs we have in us all. What is stealing to someone is helping to someone else. Afterall, Robin Hood helped many people, but he hurt many people, too.
I think the original message from this post was meant to make us stop and think about the paths we are currently taking and if they still hold true with the beliefs we have inside ourselves. Then again, maybe not...and I'm just blabbering away.
A 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 faith in God is 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.
Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits 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. We can study light,
but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light
into many colors and study the various wave lengths 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 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 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 student's name -- Albert Einstein
Answers:
Chaim,
That is beautiful, thank you for sharing it. I have a lot to think about and I think if everyone in the world can read this, it would be a better place!
Answers:
Ditto---------
Granny
Answers:
hi chaim
that was good. alittle to much for my brain this early in the moring but it was very good.lol thank you for sharing it.
have a good day all
richard :D
Answers:
[SIZE=3]Thanks for sharing that...Wonderful!!![/SIZE]
Answers:
I love it. It sounds just like my English class!
Answers:
Interesting take on the above:
http://www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp
Jody
Answers:
Chaim,,,,,,I've read that before,,,this is so very true,,,,and a nice way to remind people,,,,, THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT!!!!
Answers:
Sometimes reading stuff like this straigtens me up a little.
Answers:
That was good and I can see the message in it, but let's take it a bit further.
This story begs the question (to me anyway), at what point does something stop being good and start to become evil?
Where's the line of demarcation between good and evil?
I consider myself to be basically a good person, but what is the least amount I can get away with in order to become evil? In other words, if I go out tonight and steal a loaf of bread from a store, have I turned into an evil person. What if the reason I stole the food was to give it to some homeless person. Have I still turned into an evil person? What if I felt guilty and snuck it back into the store without telling anyone that I ever did it. Is that evil?
Anyone want to tackle this one?
Answers:
Yes Jor-el,,,I'll answer this one,,,I'D ADVISE YOU TO BAKE THE BREAD!!! :D
Answers:
JoR-eL, I would have to suggest going back into history a few years and I seem to remember a story about 2 people, a fruit, a tree, and a snake. That would be my answer....
you have a good mind jor-el, lets go deeper.
how many grains of sand in the world or have you ever tried counting the stars? In order to count the stars you need to be in country, city sky doesn't do god any justice. Just lay back, relax, and count them all.
Answers:
Yes Jor-el,,,I'll answer this one,,,I'D ADVISE YOU TO BAKE THE BREAD!!! :D
Yes, and while you got the oven on and the batter mixed, make a few more loafs and give them to someone in need or to someone who's sick or just needs a little help.
Why steal it when you can make it yourself. Heck, this is america, you'd be surprised on how many loafs of bread you can get for free if you just ask for it.
I was once in las vegas walking down the strip with my wife. I am conservative so I use coupons and happened to have about 5 coupons for free hot dogs at the Westward Ho. So this begger is sitting on the side of the road and asks me for money for food. I told him to come with me a block down the street and I'd get him one of those big Westward Ho hot dogs. He passed on the offer. I guess he wasn't very hungry? I mean those hot dogs aren't the best but heck if I was starving I certainly would eat one.
Answers:
Jor-EL
Stealing is stealing-
No matter how little or how big,
how cheap or how expensive
and no matter what you do with it after you take it-
if you take something that is not yours-you stole it
You broke the law, man and God's law. Didn't your Mama teach you that?
Does that make you evil? Can you live with the knowledge that you stole something? Not me! If you can't live with that-why not?
You know-even if someone doesn't believe in God, Jesus or Moses-----
if we all lived by the 10 commandments, it would be a more wonderful world to live in.
Granny
Answers:
So you're saying that if I stole a loaf of bread to feed a homeless person, I've done an EVIL thing thereby qualifying me as an EVIL person.
Did I understand that correctly?
Answers:
Jor-El you are a very good person! Actually, the way I see things is that we all are not perfect. That means we all do or think bad things during our existance here on earth. Its just the way we are. I guess we consider this another genetic disorder to add to our list of ailments.
Answers:
Jor-El, be nice.....drop the intent thing. not everyones a lawyer. heck we got way to many of them as it is.
Lets get away from stealing and back on track with good. Focus on the good. You have a sharp mind, keep coming.
Answers:
[SIZE=3]Rationalize-To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (ones behavior).
Too many people Rationalize their behavior...In too many ways!!!
Evil-Morally bad or wrong; wicked...Causing ruin, injury, or pain, harmful.
I guess if it were me seeing a starving person, it would really bother me and I would probably ask the store person if I could have the bread for the person...that is if I didn't have any money with me...It boils down to...Does a wrong make a right???
Just my 2 cents...[/SIZE]
Answers:
Jor-EL,
I don't know if you are evil-only you can know that.
Just think about what I ask you-
Can you live with the knowledge that you stole something? If you can't live with that-why not?
You don't need to answer me-just think.
If I wanted to feed a homeless person, I would ask the owner of the bread if WE could help the person.
Brad,
No, we are not perfect but once I thought I made a mistake-but I was wrong! ;)
We can try to be the best possible.
Granny
Answers:
I'm a person that does not like to see the world in black and white. The world is black, white, and an infinite range of grays and colors in between.
Let's take the stolen bread story a little further.
Do you really think that loaf of bread will ever be missed by that store? Considering on the huge amount of food lining supermarket shelves in this land of plenty, it hardly think it will be missed at all. One supermarket will throw away more food in a week than I eat in a year. They won't even bat an eye.
On the other hand, that same loaf of bread that I had stolen and gave to the homeless person may have been just enough of an act of kindness to restore that homeless person's faith in humanity. Enough so that the person sought help and got it, got him/her self a job and and a place to live and went on to become an upstanding member of society. Sometimes reaching out with a small act of kindness can go a long ways.
Now, the other side of this story......
If I didn't steal the bread to give to a homeless person, that person may have gone on to die in loneliness and despair three weeks later because no one ever attempted to reach out.
And on the shelf, that same loaf of bread has just been thrown out by the grocery cleark because no one ever bought it.
I just can't see anything as this is good and that is bad, The world we live in is far too complex for that.
Ten Commandments was mentioned.
The sixth Commandment states: "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
Is that true in ALL cases?
I ask you to think about this at length before you answer.
Please don't force me to bring up soldiers fighting in wars.
Answers:
It doesn't matter why you steal- stealing is stealing.
I think you might want to start an argument-
You would never understand what I think about the homeless or hungry.
Or the difference in killing and obeying the laws of your land.
So rather than arguing, I'll say-
I hope your psoriasis is better and that your conscience is free of guilt.
Love ya,
Granny
Answers:
Jor-El, it all depends upon the circumstances and how you go about it. A person on the good side should have the proper guidance to do the proper thing. I was in the air force and carried a weapon. If the country called upon me to fight in the war I would be working as an agent of the government and thus I would not be "killing" so to speak. You need to read more of the bible to understand the 10 commandments. It does however apply to a situation in which you and I may have a disagreement. If you don't have a copy of the bible I can provide you with one at no charge. You should read the book of revelation, wow....this book even gets mentioned on the art bell show, now george norey. Talking about deep, that one will get you thinking. I'm not no big bible pusher, but if you want to read it you may find something interresting in it, in any case you would be able to say you've read it.
I was raised Christian. I don't practice at church much, I think I got scared away a little from the church, but still carry the beliefs. They're not bad and not hard to understand. Actually, what I believe, is that all you need to do is believe 1 simple thing to be perfect again someday. Thats the simple way to look at it.
But, we all, like with psoriasis, are different and different strokes for different folks. Doesn't hurt to take a peek at what others are doing. If the meds don't work for you, try something else.
Oh, by the way. If we (the police) catch you stealing bread, we just write a report, its up to the judge or jury to decide your fate.
Answers:
Jor-El
I was going to drop this but after reading what Brad wrote-
If you are serious about this, I would strongly recomend a New American Standard Bible and a Greek Dictionary. I would help with the expense, if needed.The Bible I mentioned has a wonderful study guide and a Greek Dictionary will help with meanings of words in the context where they were used.
One example-killing as in the commandments=murder
A lot of people want to know how I know that God or Jesus existed. The same way people believe that George Washington was around! The study of history and evidence.
Granny
Answers:
Jor-El,
Here is another "side" to consider if we are to keep getting deeper into this conversation.
What if, the security guard at the market where the bread was stolen, was already on suspension for whatever reason and the fact that you stole the bread and, (I'm assuming), got away with it was the last straw for him. He gets fired. Lets say he is the sole supporter of a family of 6 that is already deep into debt for whatever reasons. Now there is a family of 6 on the street starving with no medical coverage. Do you still feel confident in the choice you made to steal the bread?
I really don't want an answer. I guess I'm just trying to make the point that to dig deeper and deeper into any thought can totally bring us to a place very far away from the original conversation.
I think we all live our lives the best we could and we mostly make our choices based on whatever beliefs we have in us all. What is stealing to someone is helping to someone else. Afterall, Robin Hood helped many people, but he hurt many people, too.
I think the original message from this post was meant to make us stop and think about the paths we are currently taking and if they still hold true with the beliefs we have inside ourselves. Then again, maybe not...and I'm just blabbering away.
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