Are you Sure? | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Are you Sure? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
04/19/16
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

Stephen Cawley laced both hands behind his neck, focused on the spit polished shoes of his professor and frowned. “Are you sure you want to take that chance? This is a huge gamble.”

Professor John Howard shook his thick jowls, adjusted the glasses perched on his acquiline nose and wiped his wrinkled forehead with a checkered handkerchief. “I don’t care if it was Einstein himself who told you that the cosmological constant is one times ten to the two millioneth power. Nothing you say will convince me that there is divine intelligence behind what we see in this universe.”

The student leaned back against the doorjamb. “It just bothers me that you’re a professor in a Christian university and you’re saying that where humans come from has nothing to do with salvation, it has nothing to do with accepting what the Bible says, and it has nothing to do with what I accept by faith.”

The professor hoisted his thick black briefcase and thumped it on his desk. A paper fluttered to the floor but he ignored it. “Richard Dawkins and Laurence Krauss have shown that the evidence you are claiming is ludicrous when compared with the scientific evidence. Don’t you have any computer games you can distract yourself with? Just learn the material and stop thinking about it.”

Stephen shifted his armload of books onto his hip. “I’ve been reading science like you asked. Everything I see screams that the earth is young.” He stepped back into the classroom and set his books on a study table. “Think about the decay rate of the earth’s magnetic field, the fast paleomagnetic reversals and the lack of helium in our universe if it is old. There’s not enough salt in the sea or enough carbon 14 in coal. Even the geological data doesn’t make sense if you don’t consider the flood.”

The professor adjusted his glasses again and stared at the student. “Did you research all this or just download it off YouTube? There’s not a soul out there who cares about those numbers. All they care about is the numbers for their next lottery ticket.”

Stephen half stood up. “Surely, you can’t believe that?”

The professor grunted as he stooped down to pick up the paper off the floor. He stood up and dropped the paper on the desk. “Mr. Cawley,” he drawled. “I see you’ve decorated your last exam with artwork. You drew a Monarch instead of writing in the answer. Are you trying to gamble with your grade?”

Stephen sat on a chair and leaned forward. “Have you ever thought about the changes that happen during the time a caterpillar becomes a butterfly? How does evolution explain that? How do you explain human reproduction by chance?”

The professor picked up his briefcase and slid it off the desk. It swung in an arch at the end of his arm. “Ask Hawking… it could be that we’re products of stardust or aliens or the accident of a multiverse. There are explanations for everything and if there’s gaps in our knowledge it’s only a matter of time before we fill them in.”

“Have you ever believed in God?”

“Of course,” snapped the professor. “I wouldn’t have a job here if I didn’t. This isn’t Sunday School and I’m not your Sunday School teacher.”

Stephen picked up his books and shuffled toward the door. He looked out the windows where the rain was teeming down. “That is true,” he said. “My teacher was Miss Jenkins.” The student looked again at his professor who stuffed the loose paper into his briefcase. “When my mom died, Miss Jenkins made us supper and organized others to bring us meals. When my sister was sick she would come and read us stories from the Bible. She didn’t just tell us about God, she showed us what he was like.”

The professor stopped inches away from his student. “And what does that have to do with anything, especially my physics class?”

Stephen looked into John Howard’s eyes. “Miss Jenkins cared about the truth she told us. She didn’t try to twist our thinking and make us question all we believed. She didn’t care whether we thought she was smart or not. She didn’t gamble with our future.”

The professor pushed past Stephen into the hallway. “Too bad she didn’t gamble on you.”

Stephen smiled. “She did. Dr. Jenkins married my father and she tutors me in science. She’s now an astrophysicist with NASA.”

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.