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Courage
Author Unknown
This is a true story of something
that happened just a few years ago at USC. There was a professor of philosophy
there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required
class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't
exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his
impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever
had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but
no one had ever 'really gone against him' (you'll see what I mean later). Nobody
would go against him because he had a reputation.
At the end of every
semester, on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there
is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one
had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say,
"because anyone who does believe in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop
this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to
prove that he is God, and yet he can't do it." and every year, he would drop the
chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred
pieces. All of the students could do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the
students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of
Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to
stand up.
Well, a few years
ago, there was a freshman who happened to get enrolled in the class. He was a
Christian, and had heard the stories about this professor. He had to take the
class because it was one of the required classes for his major. and he was
afraid. But for 3 months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would
have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class
thought. Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped.
Finally, the day
came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God,
stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as
he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!! If
God existed, he could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the
ground!" He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his
fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off
his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken. The professor's
jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man and then
ran out of the lecture hall.
The young man who had
stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room and share his faith in Jesus
for the next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's
Love for them and of his power through Jesus. "Yet to all who received HIM, to
those who believed in HIS name, HE gave the right to become children of
God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's
will, but born of GOD."
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