Would you have stood up?
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". 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 has 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 and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All 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 twenty 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 hits 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 not born of
natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of GOD."
"But He knows the way I take. When He has tested me. I will come forth as
gold." Job 23:10
Please continue to pass this on from one Christian to the next as a message
of encouragement and hope.
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your
heart." -Psalm 37:4
(fwd) from e-mail
Email: tyles@u.washington.edu