𝑁𝑜 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑘

C h a p t e r 3 3

Pinanatili kong nakababa ang tingin hanggang sa makarating ng classroom. Para tuloy akong biglang na-conscious nang pumasok ako. Eerie silence overcame the room, and with this I rushed to my seat, releasing a long breath as the stares one by one disappeared.

Oh Lord, no matter what. No matter what they say, let Your will be done in my life.

"Grace?" I heard Gabriel speak. Lumingon ako at tinignan siya. Pati siya usap-usapan na rin sa school ngayon. Some people doubt it, but some were obviously fascinated. Especially how his countenance seemed to light up.

"Hmm?"

"Ayos ka lang?"

"Ah," I forced a smile, "a-ayos lang."

"Prepared ka na ba para mamaya?" Tanong niya.

Lalong bumilis and tibok ng puso ko nang marinig and sambit niya. Naku, oo nga pala. Ako ang naka-assign na mag-share mamaya sa Bible Study. I released a shaky breath.

"Kinakabahan ako eh," bulong ko, "ngayon ko lang masusubukang mag-preach."

Ngumiti lang siya at tumango, "Oo, talagang nakaka-nerbiyos nga siguro 'yan. 'Di bale, I know it is the Holy Spirit who will speak through you."

Napangiti nalang ako sa sambit niya. Akmang sasagot na ako nang mahalata ang pagtahimik ng klase.

Nag-angat ako ng tingin at nakita ang teacher namin. Basta't nakikita ko itong teacher namin sa Science, hindi ko mapigilang ma-tense. Parang feeling ko palaging may question and answer nanaman akong mapagdadaanan kapag subject niya. Mula nang sumalungat ako sa teoryang niyang 'yon, he never seemed to let a day go by without pressuring me into it.

I was taken aback when he slammed a stack of papers on the table, eyeing each of us as he stood in the room's front.

"So!" He began, "I've been noticing a disturbing amount of intellectual suicide in this classroom lately. Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

Nagtinginan ang mga studyante sa classroom. I saw meaningful stares from some of my classmates that joined the Campus Bible Study, and with this I began to understand. Hmm, heto na nga bang sinasabi ko.

"Mr. Daw-as." The teacher called out, sending him as signal to stand as he spoke. Tumayo si Gabriel, gaze forward and intent as he met the teacher's gaze. "You are one of the smartest students in this classroom. I can always count on you to make the most rational and logical conclusions when it comes to this. Tell me," hinanap ng teacher and kaniyang papel at binasa ito, "this was not you who wrote this right? Or, were you feeling unwell when you wrote this essay?"

I saw his chest heave, taking in a breath before he spoke, "No Sir. I meant all that I had written in that paper."

The teacher shook his head, forcing a laugh as though he wasn't convinced of his answer. Lalo tuloy akong nagtaka. Ano kayang isinulat ni Gabriel sa essay niya?

"Mr. Daw-as, are you serious? In this essay, you were basically trying to disprove the most scientific theory that any rational person would hold on to. Why is that?"

"With all due respect, Sir." Ibinaba ni Gariel ang tingin at muling nagsalita, "It's called a theory, for the simple reason that, it's a theory, not a proven fact."

The teacher scoffed, a somewhat annoyed smile upon his lips. "We call it a theory Mr. Daw-as for technical purposes only. Any intelligent person would see that it's a proven fact! It's backed with science, with real-empirical data! What you were contending for in this essay of yours, requires a big leap of faith. The Creation Narrative has not been backed with empirical observation."

"Have you seen the Big Bang take place then, Sir?"

Lalong tumahimik ang klase sa sambit ni Gabriel. I lifted my gaze up to him. Was he really gonna keep up with this? Napalunok nalang ako at ibinaba ang tingin. The teacher was silent. Gabriel resumed to speak.

"I assume your silence means you have not Sir," He paused and released a breath, "The Theory of Evolution requires the same faith that the Creation Narrative demands. No one has seen the Big Bang take place, nor has anyone seen a primate turn into a human. It is not as 'empirical' and 'observable' as you say, Sir."

The teacher forced a smile, shaking his head before he spoke, "Good point, Mr. Daw-as, but you seem to be missing something." Ibinaba ni Sir ang papel ni Gabriel at sumandal sa Teachers table. "We may not have been able to observe the Big Bang and Evolution take place, but we have a ton of evidences that prove it."

"What evidences, Sir?" Agad namang sagot ni Gabriel. "Cause as of today, all the missing links that would seal this theory's accuracy are still unfortunately ... missing."

"What nonsense are you spouting!?" Tumaas ang boses ng guro, napapikit nalang ako nang marinig ito. Tension was so evident in the room, and as much as I try not to, the nervosity wouldn't go away.

I lifted my head and gazed up at the man beside me. Ano 'to? Was he planning on becoming an Apologist right now? He's starting to sound like Kent Hovind the more that he spoke! Para tuloy akong natakot para kay Sir. Gabriel was a smart guy, he knew exactly what he was saying, and the more the conversation progressed, I know he would inevitably put the teacher into embarrassment even if he didn't mean to.

I bit my lip and gazed towards the front. Paupuin mo nalang siya Sir! I wanted to speak, but doing so would not be very wise in this situation.

"All of the missing links were found and compiled, Mr. Daw-as!"

"Again, with all due respect Sir, these so-called evidences were disproved. Una, Sir; the Nebraska Man - an image of the missing link fabricated from a single tooth. Alam niyo po 'yon, hindi po ba?"

The teacher nodded.

"In 1927, scientists concluded that, in fact, the tooth was that of a species of prosthennops serus - an extinct wild pig, not of a pre-transition human. No missing link there."

Remarks of amazement and students nodding in percipience followed right after his statement.

"Next, we have the Piltdown Man, in 1912, Charles Dawson discovered a mandible and a portion of a skull in a gravel pit at Piltdown, England. They said then that this was the long-awaited missing link! But in 1953, Piltdown man was exposed as a forgery. The skull was one hundred percent human, and the teeth on the ape's jaw had been intentionally filed down and treated biochemically to make them appear old."

He came to a halt, as though waiting for the teacher's response, but the teacher only remained silent. A frown on his face as he looked at Gabriel.

"Same goes for Orce Man, Rhodesian Man, Java Man, and Peking Man, all were disproved, Sir." Huminga siya ng malalim at muling nagsalita, "This is why I came to conclude that the Creation Narrative is a much more reasonable explanation for how the world began. After all, according to the Law of Biogenesis, Life can only come from Life - and that is what we see in the Bible.

"It is the more rational worldview for me, Sir, because as what I've written it that essay; The Judeo-Christian Worldview provided answers that are both rational and liveable to the four questions of life - namely, the Question of Origin, the Question of Meaning, the Question of Morality, and the Question of Destiny."

Napatigil sa pagsasalita si Gabriel nang magsimulang maglakad-lakad sa harap ang guro. "So, are you trying to proselytize this class now, Mr. Daw-as?"

"No Sir." He sternly replied, "Truly Sir, I respect your views." He breathed, sincerity ringing from his voice. "I am not trying to force you, or anyone else to believe otherwise in that essay. I simply expressed what I resolved to be as Truth, because in my experience; One can read Science books, History books, and all types of academic books circulating today - this will undoubtedly help and increase one's intellect. But as far as my experience goes, there is only one book that when one reads It, It changes that reader's life - and that is the Bible."