Previous Your Corner Contributions
Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Previous Your Corner Contributions

From November:

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

Back to Your Corner | Back to the Top

Email: tyles@u.washington.edu