THE HEN OR THE EGG?

A young skeptic once said to an elderly lady, “I once believed in God, but now, since studying philosophy

and mathematics, I am convinced that God is but an empty word.” “Well,” said the lady, “it is true that I have not learned these things, but since you have, can you tell me from whence this egg comes?” “Why, of course, from a hen,” was the reply.

“And where does the hen come from?” “Why, from an egg.”

Then the lady inquired, “May I ask which existed first, the hen or the egg?” “The hen, of course,” rejoined the young man.

“Oh, then a hen must have existed without having come from an egg?” “Oh, no, I should have said the egg was first.” “Then I suppose you mean that one egg existed without having come from a hen?” The young man hesitated: “Well, you see — that is — of course, well, the hen was first!” “Very well,” she said, “who made the first hen from which all succeeding eggs and hens have come?” “What do you mean by all this?” he asked.

“Simply this,” the lady answered, “I say that he who created the first egg or hen is he who created the world. You can’t explain the existence even of a hen or an egg without God, and yet you wish me to believe that you can explain the existence of the whole world without him!”