THERE IS NO GOD? There is no God. All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made the billions of stars. They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course. The earth spins by itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun. It gave itself night and day and tilled itself so that we get seasons. It stays the perfect distance from the sun, so that we don't fry or freeze to death. Why does snow sit on mountaintops wailing for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops on the fields below lo receive water to grow? Also, how does each tree know when it's time to burst into leaf in the spring and when lo drop the leaves in the autumn? These built-in clocks of nature are all timely accidents, Who taught the bees how to form themselves into highly structured societies and how to communicate with each other where food is? How did the bees and the trees begin lo cooperate with each other, so that one produces honey and the other bears fruit, both for the benefit of people? Did beautiful flowers invent themselves just so that we can admire and enjoy them? How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas? Il maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy. Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die. The human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without stopping. How does il gel sufficient rest between beats? A kidney will filler poison from the blood and leave good things alone. How does il know one from the other? Who gave the human tongue the flexibility to form words and the brain the ability to understand them, but denied all this lo other creatures? Who showed a womb how to take the love of two persons and to keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in lime, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, toes, eyes and ears, all in the right places, and come into Ihe world when il is sirong enough to sustain life? There is no God? Discuss the questions: What is fhe writer's purpose in this article? Do you believe in God or in some other power over your life? What are some of the wonders of nature mentioned in the Does religion or having faith in God make one's life easier? artic'e? Do you think it is good for people to believe in God? What other amazing things in nature can you think of? if there is a power in control of our lives, do you Ihink one How do you think that they originated? can or should resist it? Why? Vocabulary accidental (a) fsksi'dentl] — happening by chance or accident and not deliberately intended................................................., almighty (a) [orl'maiti] — all-powerful....................................... burst into leaf (phr) [twist intu li:f] — to suddenly open with leaves ....................................................................................... coma (n) [ksums] — state of deep unconsciousness................... deny (v) fdi'nai] — to refuse to give............................................ drop (v) [drop] — to lei fall......................................................... kidney (n) [kidni] — organ that removes waste matter from the blood and sends it out of the body in urine............................ ovum (n) [auvom] — woman's reproductive cell which is fertilized by a man's sperm lo produce a child...................... purpose (n) [p3:pss] — reason for something............................ resist (v) [ri'zist] — to stop or prevent: lo fighi or oppose spin (v) [spin] — to turn quickly around a ceniral poinl split (v) [split] — to divide into two or more parts..................... steady (a) [stedi] — without interruptions and not likely to change quickly......................................................................... sufficient (a) Isa'fijnl] — enough or adequate............................ sustain (v) [sss'iein] — to continue or maintain......................... UK (v) [till] — to move into a position with one side higher than the other................................................................................... womb (n) [wu:m] — part inside a woman's body where a baby grows before it is born............................................................ 92