The Two Trees I-2

Act I, Scene 2

Voice: Attention all students and library patrons. The library will be closing in thirty minutes.

Brian: Before you guys get into this, are we finished studying?

Nabal: I'm good, let's have this discussion Abel, no, I haven't heard of apologetics. But I definitely think you should apologize for reading the Bible.

Abel: That's not what "apologetics" means, the term refers to the systematic defense of God's existence and the truth of Christianity. It is the fundamental theme of the New Testament of the Bible.

Stewart: Are you guys sure you don't want to study for a few more minutes.

Abel: Well...

Nabal: I'm done, you guys study. What do you mean by "defense" of God's existence. How can you defend a falsehood. Don't you know that Darwin proved God didn't exist. You should really read some of the latest books on this, they'll clear you up in no time. Back me up here, Stewart, Brain, haven't you guys read Dawkins' latest?

Brian: Richard Dawkins?

Nabal: Yeah, now that guy knows the Bible—what a load of rubbish it is anyway.

Stewart: I beg to differ.

Nabal: What?

Stewart: That Richard Dawkins knows the Bible. He makes some mistakes in discussing it in The God Delusion. For example, in trying to assign motives to Matthew and Luke in writing each of their Gospels, he claims that Luke included kings worshiping Jesus as a child in order to impress the Gentiles who would read his Gospel.

Nabal: So?

Stewart: So, the Magi, or kings, coming from the east to worship Jesus was detailed in Matthew's Gospel, not Luke's. Dawkins made a mistake.

Nabal: Ahh, that's just a technicality.

Stewart: Also, I'd like to clear something up from before. You implied that I wouldn't be someone who reads the Bible. Well, I do read the Bible. Science is interesting and intellectually stimulating, and I'm glad we are studying it. But in order to satisfy something deep in me that longs for more, the Bible is just what I need. It sounds like Abel knows this as well. If you've never read the Bible, Nabal, you should at least give it a try. That's what any open-minded scientist would do, right? At least read something you want to disagree with to find out for yourself why it is wrong.

Nabal: That's why I read books by Richard Dawkins...

Brian: But that's just his point Nabal. If Stewart is right, Dawkins didn't even get all his facts straight when talking about the Bible in his book. I've never read the Bible either, but as a scientist, I would never dismiss something until I understood it's main point, and why that point is wrong. Isn't that what science is about—forming hypotheses, then testing them. It seems to me you've formed a hypothesis about the Bible, but are unwilling to test it.

Nabal: You guys are crazy.

Abel: No, they're just saying you need to read the Bible and understand it before you dismiss it. And when it comes to understanding the Bible, I'd be happy to help you.

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