By Harold Keller / L’Observateur / June 29, 1998

Standing up for Jesus in the face of the devil

The following, which was taken from the Internet, was given to me by my friend, Tammy Duhe. The author is unknown.”It Takes Guts to Say ‘Jesus'” 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 entiresemester attempting to prove that God couldn’t exist. His students werealways afraid to argue with him becuase of his impeccable logic.

For 20 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 hadever ‘really gone against him’ (you’ll see what I mean later). Nobody wouldgo against him because he had a reputation.

At the end of every semester, on the last day, he would stand up to his class of 300 students, “If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!” Most of the students were convinced that God couldn’t exist. Certainly, anumber 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 thisprofessor. He had to take the class because it was one of the requiredcourses for his major and he was afraid. But for three months thatsemester, 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 shatte his faith, he hoped.

Finally, the day came. The professor said, “If there is anyone here whostill 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. Theprofessor shouted, “You FOOL! If God existed, He could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the floor.”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 lef, and off his shoe. As it hit the floor, it simply rolled away, unbroken. The professor’sjaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man andthen 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. Three hundredstudents 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 comeforth as gold.” Job 23:10.

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