One student was sharing some of their hopes and fears as they move toward graduation. And I said to them, ''Well, good luck.''

Only later, I questioned why on earth I said that, ''Good luck," since I don't believe a word of it. It's not because they are so bright and blessed that they'll never need any help outside themselves to make it. It's just that the help you need outside yourself has nothing to do with luck.

Let me explain.

Harvard Biologist, Stephen Jay Gould, great writer, though bad speaker, offers an engaging image of God's eviction from the world. Gould writes:

''Two scenes from Florence ... illustrate the power of the scientific revolution to alter our view of ... existence. A painting by the Fifteenth Century artist Michelino hangs in the great cathedral of Santa Maria de…