The following is an excerpt from “Infinite Light” by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan ZTL.
A philosopher once came to Rabbi Meir and told him, “I don’t believe in God. I feel that the universe came into being by itself, of its own accord, without any outside help.”
Rabbi Meir did not reply. A few days later, he came to the philosopher, and showed him a beautiful piece of poetry, written in a fine hand on smooth white parchment.
The philosopher looked at the parchment and admired it. He asked, “Who is the great poet who wrote this lovely poem? Who was the talented scribe who copied it?”
Rabbi Meir shook his head and answered, “You are completely wrong. There was no poet. There was no scribe. This is what really happened. The parchment was lying on my desk next to a bottle of ink. A cat accidentally knocked over the bottle, spilling ink all over the parchment. This poem was the result.”
The philosopher looked at Rabbi Meir in amazement. He said, “But that is impossible! Such a lovely poem! Such perfect script! Such things do not come into being by themselves. There must be an author! There must be a scribe!”
Rabbi Meir smiled. He answered the philosopher, “You yourself have said it! How could the universe, which is much more beautiful than any poem, come into being by itself? There must be an Author. There must be a Creator.”
Amazingly, the modern atheist still views that it is more likely that the world came into being by itself than through the design of a purposeful Creator. The odds of all the molecules moving at the exact speed and temperature necessary for life to exist are infinitesimally small. Without a Designer, then there is no purpose in life, leading one to lead a life of nihilism and apathy.
However, the Infinite Creator is so patient that He is willing to listen to so many deny his handiwork, yet graciously accept all that eventually see the light back into His good graces.