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 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."
"But HE knows the way that I take. When HE has tested me, I will
come forth as gold." Job 23:10