A professor at a prestigious university posed a question to his class: "Did God create everything that exists?"
A student answered, "Yes, he did!"
The professor then asked, "If God created everything, then God created evil. Since evil exists, and our works define who we are, we can assume God is evil."
The student fell silent. Pleased, the professor boasted that he had once again proven the Christian faith to be a myth.
Another student raised his hand. "May I ask a question, professor?"
"Of course," replied the professor.
The student stood up. "Professor, does cold exist?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The class snickered.
The young man replied, "In fact, sir, cold does not exist. According to physics, what we call cold is the absence of heat. Absolute zero is the total absence of heat. We created the word 'cold' to describe how we feel without heat."
He continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"
"Of course it does," the professor responded.
"Once again, you're wrong. Darkness does not exist either. It is the absence of light. We can study light, but not darkness. Darkness is a term humans use to describe the absence of light."
Finally, the student asked, "Sir, does evil exist?"
Now uncertain, the professor said, "Of course. We see it every day in man's inhumanity, crime, and violence. These are manifestations of evil."
To this, the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, at least not as an entity unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is a word man created to describe the absence of God's love in human hearts. God did not create evil. It is the result of what happens when love is absent, just as cold comes from no heat and darkness from no light."
Finally, the professor sat down and asked, "Young man, who are you?"
"Sir, my name is Albert Einstein."