God is “Infinite Intelligence of which our own intelligence is merely a part.” I wrote those words many years ago. The entire recollection of my experience with God is as follows:
I had essentially a “near-death” experience some years ago, similar to what others have described, during which I experienced God . . . as an intense bright light at the end of a tunnel, and as Infinite Intelligence of which our own intelligence is merely a part. God was neither masculine nor feminine. My mother had died months before it happened, and I felt her presence and I knew she was with God.
From that moment forward, I have never doubted that God exists, or that God created everything—heaven and earth and everything in between. However, I continually seek to understand how God operates in my life, on a day-to-day basis. The closest I have come is my belief that God acts through us as faith, inspiration, prayer, miracles, and perhaps most of all, love. I believe that in expressing love, each of us is God in expression.[2]
In my mother’s Bible, she marked a passage that I discovered after her death:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3 (King James Version). In other words, God will keep you and me in “perfect peace”—not just peace alone—if we keep our minds focused on God, and trust in God.
Also, another passage from the Bible is important to me as well:
[W]alk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (King James Version). It was cited in a message that I read one day, which I have read almost every day since.
Its complete version reads as follows:
As a child, I needed someone to steady my bicycle when I first learned to ride on two wheels. As a teen, I had a parent or teacher in the car beside me as I learned to drive. In each case, there came a time when I had to let go of the need for support and put my faith in my own abilities.
Now when I have a decision to make or feel that I am being called in a particular direction, I might seek the advice of friends, family, or a professional, but I know that my strength comes in putting my faith in God within and trusting the guidance I receive through prayer.
As I pray, I let go of any doubt or fear or any thought of unworthiness, and I place my trust in God. Each step I take is a step in faith, for even though I may not know what the outcome will be, I know without a doubt that God is with me and all is in divine order.
I walk by faith with my heart open to the fullness of God’s love, and I receive the promise of unlimited possibilities and the assurance that every situation in my life will work out. The highest and best blessings are unfolding for my loved ones and me.
I surrender to God’s love and walk by faith.[3]
God is as close to you and me as our next thought or breath. God is present in a child’s laughter, and the rustling of leaves on a tree, and a bird in flight, and the love expressed by one human being or animal to another. What is God? Infinite Intelligence, and Love. Where is God? Here, there, and everywhere.[4]
© 2010, Timothy D. Naegele
[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass), the first black senator since Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War. He practices law in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates (www.naegele.com). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years. See, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles
[2] I added at a later date:
Once prior to that experience, and again many years later, I survived an auto accident that might have killed me, and I did not fall from the side of a mountain when I was hiking and had very precarious footing, which might have killed me too.
[3] This entry was for the “20th Day of Lent,” March 15, 2007, which appeared on page 33 of a booklet entitled, “Enter the Garden: Spiritual Preparation for Easter 2007,” which was published by Unity (see www.unity.org).
[4] Also, it worth remembering that all life is a miracle; and why be afraid of tomorrow when today is all we have.
For A Lovely Woman Named Cynthia Whose Faith In God Will Help Her
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote a book many years ago entitled, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” My distillation of what he said is that more often than not the bad things that happen are a result of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man.
But where was God in the midst of the most horrific events imaginable, such as wars and the like? Why didn’t God prevent them? God gave man free will, for good or evil. God was present, providing meaning to events that seem so random and unfathomable and hurtful at the time, and giving us the courage to go on, as Rabbi Kushner has written.
We do not fail God, nor does God punish us—or so I believe. And yes, God blesses each of us in very different and special ways. The fingerprints of no human being are the same as those of another; and so too, our paths to God are unique and very personal. No one has all the answers, or is even close.
There is no “magic” way to follow the yellow brick road. And yes, some things—like the loss of a child, the onset of a catastrophic illness, or being shot and disfigured—can never be explained or understood fully. They leave gaping holes in one’s heart and belief system. It is so easy to blame God, or to believe that God has deserted us or is punishing us when bad things happen.
If you have not read Rabbi Kushner’s book, I urge you to do so. I bought it and set it aside for several years, and did not read it until I was ready to do so.
See http://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Happen-Good-People/dp/0380603926 (Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”)
Also, I am reminded of the verse, “Footprints in the Sand,” by Mary Stevenson:
See http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/index.php?page=Poem/Poem.php
Stephen Hawking Baldly Asserts That God Did Not Create the Universe—Which Is Rubbish
The Wall Street Journal has published a rambling book excerpt by Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking and Caltech physicist Leonard Mlodinow entitled, “Why God Did Not Create the Universe.” This is nonsense. Even Einstein believed in a higher power . . . and Hawking is no Einstein—or Newton or Aristotle.
See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467921609024244.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEADNewsCollection; see also http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/stephen-hawking/8515639/Stephen-Hawking-heaven-is-a-fairy-story-for-people-afraid-of-the-dark.html (“Stephen Hawking: ‘heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark’”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106025/Stephen-Hawking-visits-California-swingers-sex-club.html?ITO=1490 (Physicist Stephen Hawking frequents sex clubs); but see http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god
It is tragic what has happened to Hawking physically, but as he approaches the end of his life, it is no time to blame God for his infirmities. He should be reveling in the wonder and splendor of God’s works, not denying them. Men (and women) are not “the lords of creation,” as Hawking and Mlodinow would have us believe.
Hawking is like the emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Everyone was afraid to challenge him until one little child said at last: “But he has nothing on at all.” Sadly, the same is true of Hawking’s latest fanciful observations. Yet, nowhere in the article do Hawking and Mlodinow deny that God exists.
See, e.g., http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes
Hawking and Mlodinow are like two atheists baying at the moon.
Chilean Miners Rescued
What a miracle!
See, e.g., http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11489439#video
In a world beset by wars, economic tsunamis, and other calamities that destroy the human spirit, this rescue effort is truly a breath of fresh air.
God did not create the miner’s problems, but it is truly a miracle that they survived and were rescued!
. . .
In an interview with miner Mario Sepulveda, he said:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321230/Chilean-miners-World-exclusive-interview-Mario-Sepulveda.html
True Heroes In Life
In the wake of the tragic shootings in Tucson, which killed six people and injured 13, media attention has turned to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and her seemingly-miraculous recovery. USA Today has an article about Army Captain Patrick Horan and his wife, Patty; and his road to recovery after suffering brain damage similar to that of Giffords, having been accidentally shot by an Iraqi soldier in July 2007. The article is worth reading.
See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-26-head-wound-patient_N.htm
My mother was sick and in a wheelchair, and almost died when I was a kid. Yet, she recovered after having her right leg amputated, and went on to live a full life. Indeed, she and my father are my only heroes in Life. I suspect that Patrick and Patty will be heroes too—to lots of people whom they do not know—just like a lovely woman named Cynthia is a hero as well.
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/#comment-426
78 Percent Of All Americans Believe Jesus To Be The Son Of God
The highly-respected Rasmussen Poll has found that “78% of all Americans believe [Jesus] to be the son of God who came to Earth to die for our sins.” It added:
See http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/holidays/april_2011/78_believe_jesus_christ_was_the_son_of_god
Regardless of one’s religious beliefs—or if there are none—I believe each of us is a child of God.
As I concluded in the article above:
And in the footnote that followed:
Thank you for the information and your opinion. Quite meaningful and nice to read on this Holy Saturday.
I have been reflecting today and found this verse from Revelation. I like it immensely and it helps to know those who deal with pain, will one day be free from it. From the book of Revelation 21-4:
Cancer-Stricken Father Beats Disease By Stopping Chemotherapy Because God Told Him To Do So
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019403/Miracle-Cancer-stricken-father-defies-odds-beats-disease-stopping-chemo–God-told-to.html; see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2105122/I-willed-Timothy-beat-cancer-In-diary-extracts-raw-emotion-SHANE-SPALL-reveals-film-star-husband-overcame-terminal-cancer-fulfilling-vow-deathbed.html (“[H}usband overcame 'terminal' cancer and is now fulfilling a vow he made to [wife] on his deathbed”)
I know miracles happen, and that turning to God in prayer works, because it has happened to me more than once. For example, in anticipation of a painful divorce and the prospect of not being with my two kids full time whom I loved deeply, I developed unbelievable anxiety attacks and thought that I was losing my mind. My doctor prescribed Valium, which I took until it was “doping” me up, and then I stopped. I had no idea that they were addictive too.
One day driving home from work, I got a sense that I must turn my life over to God, and I did; and that made all of the difference.
It is difficult for me to reply to this one. Without a doubt when stricken with a major crisis in our lives, many of us turn to God. Perhaps He has been with us always in every aspect of our lives, but when the “big ball drops”, we CLING to Him. He embraces us and holds us in the “Palm of His hand.” He does not judge our past, but rather welcomes us and of course never wants to lose us either.
Science and Faith abide with each other, but that is not what is professed in a secular society. As I read about this man’s life and and what he did, I cannot in good conscience suggest others do the same. I have never directly had a call from our Lord saying “Mary do this or do that, or this is what will happen in your life because I have directed it to be so.” Never have I been instructed as this man has to not do something. He believed, and it appears he received instructions not to continue chemo, which we know is often used to prevent cancer from spreading and killing the recipient. It goes against medical intervention and healing in today’s cancer remedies. Why this man even had children when on all accounts he should have been sterile.
I don’t have answers, nor does he (the man written about), nor does the medical profession in this situation. I do have faith though. So did this man. But I would do everything medically possible to help someone get well for I believe through my faith journey that in this time of medical advances, our Lord would expect me to use all the expertise man has accomplished to help “make me well.” In our country we have the best means of doing so, and we are called upon, or so I believe to use those sources throughout life. Other countries don’t have the resources we do in all medical advances. We must use our talents for that is what is expected of us…………………and that means helping others get well.
Personally, I lost a brother to Cancer many years ago. He never blinked an eye when it came to the role his faith played in this sickness. When he went for his check ups, he could only marvel at the small children who were also there, energized, happy and examples to him of how one could make it through this struggle in life. He knew he would not see the same children again for their days were numbered. How appreciative he was to have lived several years before being stricken with a not yet curable disease. The children were always on his mind as he dealt with his sickness. I wonder, was that a miracle too? He died unexpectedly one day in August and my father’s words to all of us were, “we had him 12 years longer than originally thought. We just thought because of how well he was doing that he was cured.” The extra years were miracles. There had to be days when life was bleak for him, but he never let on. He showed us how to benefit from medicine, never taking an eye off the ball of our Creator. His doctors shared with us that he fought the invasion of cancer to the hilt and they believed his faith and family helped him through excruciating times. He showed peaceful strength. Jerry knew the Lord was always there. His calmness and great love for life indicated it always. So yes, I believe God is always with us, even when we question if this is so. As my brother once said to me, “He doesn’t want to lose you, Mary.”
Thank you, Mary, for sharing your thoughts . . . and especially your thoughts about Jerry.
Sir,
Thank you for sharing your writing. There is a wonderful book called The Hiding Place about two sisters in a concentration camp. They smuggled a bible into camp, and held bible studies with the other inmates. In giving thanks one sister thanked God even for the flea investation. It turned out the guards wouldn’t go into their bunks because of the fleas.
Thank you, Katherine, for your comments.
Yes, indeed, God works in often “mysterious” ways.
WOW, thanks Katherine for sharing a book with us. I will have to go out and get the “Hiding Place.”
Recently I attended a Memorial Service honoring a friend of mine’s father. My friend does have faith, but needs many prayers to help through this difficult time. You see, he has lost his mother, brother, sister, sister-in-law and father in the past two years, and is the only person remaining in the core family. At fifty eight years old, he finds himself without a family. This is a tough time for him. While knowing all of his losses, I couldn’t help thinking of those who lost their families during the Holocaust, so I have gained from your writing Katherine.
I’m praying my friend will not give up nor forget that our Lord is always there helping him, even when he doesn’t understand why all his family members were taken suddenly and quickly. Please pray for him.
Only God Is Perfect
None of the rest of us are.
A number of years ago, I had a law clerk who worked for me while he was a student at UCLA’s law school in Los Angeles. He was excellent, and ferreted out solutions to legal issues that none of my other talented law clerks could; and he remains a dear friend and someone whom I trust completely to this day.
Before he entered law school, he received his engineering degree, and had been an engineer in Saudi Arabia. One day when I was “hyper-critical,” and being a consummate perfectionist, I “climbed all over him,” verbally, for a relatively-minor mistake in a legal brief that he had drafted for me.
He stopped me mid-sentence, and asked if I knew how the Oriental rugs were made that are sold in Saudi Arabia, and I said “no.” He answered that they were made by hand or by machines; and that a mistake is made in each and every one of them, intentionally. He asked if I knew why this was so; and of course I had no earthly idea why.
He said that those who make the rugs believe that only Allah, or God, is perfect.
Indeed, he added that the Arab, Persian, or more generally, Islamic rug makers will always put a small flaw in their work, often in a corner. Other craftsmen will do the same in their trades (e.g., a mason making a wall will put a slight flaw in an out-of-the way portion of the wall). This is to show humility before God, his own maker, and the Master Craftsman of all Master Craftsmen.
I have remembered what he told me ever since that day; and each time that I have gotten angry or impatient with myself for some mistake or shortcoming, or with others, I try to remember what he said.
Only God is perfect; none of the rest of us are.
It is sobering, humbling and humanizing to realize this.
God gave us life and free will. Also forgiveness, which we ALL need.
Mary, I have offered prayers for your friend.
It seems to me often God will let us experience troubles in order for us to learn how to help another person. When my son was an infant, he was ill. The only way to give him medicine was drop by drop inside his cheek. Many years later as my father lay dying, I was the only one of my brothers or sister who knew how to give him the medicine to ease his passing.
Thank you, Katherine, for your prayers on behalf of my friend. I believe prayer is powerful in many ways. My friend shared this with me, so I will with you. He talked with his doctor, telling him he could not stop crying. The doctor said, now you are supposed to cry, let the tears come. After my friend told me this, I asked if he remembered that the priest read the passage that had the words, “the Lord is close to the broken-hearted.” He said “thanks, Mary, for telling me that because I don’t recall all that was said at the funeral service. Your remembering those words helps me right now.” I truly believe He is closest to us when we are in the most pain or suffering. It seems you do too. How wonderful it came full circle for you to minister to your father that which you had done for your sick infant. No matter the age, God surely plays His role in our lives. May your father be happy in heaven.
The Parents And Child Who Have Refused To Give Up
UK’s Daily Mail has a wonderful article about young Ryan Marquiss of Pennsylvania and his family, and how they have persevered. The photo above is of his sister and him.
He was born with his heart outside of his body, and only half a heart. Yet, doctors at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. never gave up; and Ryan and his parents never did either.
Please read the story. It is a miracle—and testimony to faith, and never giving up.
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2103342/Boy-worlds-survive-born-heart-outside-body.html
The Miracle Of Henryville
In an article entitled, “Terrified mother loses her legs after throwing herself on her children to save them from deadly tornado that flattened their home,” the UK’s Daily Mail reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2110513/Henryville-Indiana-tornado-2012-Stephanie-Decker-loses-legs-saving-children.html
So tragic, yet what an heroic woman. May God bless her and her family forever!
. . .
Once again, one wonders where God was when the deadly tornadoes struck, killing and injuring so many. Perhaps the best explanations are set forth in Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”
See http://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Happen-Good-People/dp/0380603926 (Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”)
Miracle: Mother Finds “Stillborn” Baby Alive In Morgue 12 Hours After She Was Pronounced Dead
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2128032/Analia-Bouter-finds-stillborn-baby-ALIVE-morgue-12-hours-pronounced-dead.html
The Power Of Hope
An article in the UK’s Economist about this subject is worth reading.
See http://www.economist.com/node/21554506
Hope and faith in God are needed today, and will be required during the balance of this decade, more than at any other period in our lifetimes. People will be tested like never before.
Compare http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-economic-tsunami-continues-its-relentless-and-unforgiving-advance-globally/#comment-2160 with http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ (see also the footnotes and comments beneath both articles)
What Is An Evangelical Christian?
I was asked recently:
I answered that the question was a good one; and I set forth what I believe are some of the characteristics that seem to apply to “Evangelical Christians,” recognizing of course that one size does not fit all. In making these comments, it is not my intent to belittle them or make light of their beliefs. It is wonderful that they believe in what they do.
First, among Evangelical Christians, there seems to be a need for “personal conversion,” or the notion of being “born again.”
Indeed, hand-in-hand with the need for one’s own conversion seems to come an imperative to convert others, and a belief that anyone who is not “born again” is somehow a lesser being, inferior and “defective.”
I find the notion of someone trying to force his or her views on someone else—much less a person’s religious beliefs—to be repugnant.
Also, my guess is that many if not most “born agains” have not “experienced” God—or Jesus—in any near-death or other similar experience. Yet, they hold themselves out as being superior to other Christians and “pious.”
Years ago, I had essentially a “near-death” experience, similar to what others have described, during which I experienced God. For a long time after it, I seldom if ever talked about it to anyone, because it was very personal—and it changed my life in many ways.
I did not write about it until I encountered so many Americans and people of other countries who genuinely did not believe in God or that God exists, and who were searching for some answers and meaning in their lives, and something to hold on to in troubled times.
Indeed, if I had not had my experience, I too might not believe that God exists today or have any faith at all. Certainly no “born again” or Evangelical Christian could convince me of that when such a person had never experienced God, but was merely reciting “platitudes.”
In the only article that I have written on the subject, which appears above, I do not try to convert anyone, or to hold myself out as a superior being—and others as lesser beings. The article was written so that “non-believers” in God might at least keep an open mind to the idea that there is a God after all, or some Higher Power than all of us.
Second, among “Evangelical Christians,” there seems to be a high regard for biblical authority, and a need to actively express and share the Bible. Once again, in many cases, this entails the imperative to convert others—or the notion of being “born again.”
Third, there seems to be a mixing of politics and religion, certainly in the United States. I believe strongly in the separation of church and state.
Fourth, in making the comments that I do here, I would be remiss if I did not add that I believe strongly in the idea of freedom of religion, which undergirds our great country’s strength. America is the world’s only true melting pot.
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/america-a-rich-tapestry-of-life/
With religious freedoms comes the freedom to believe or not, and then to choose what to believe. Most if not all of us are on a life-long individual path or journey to “belief,” and no other person is on that path with us. At the very least, it is a fascinating path to be on.
I have friends who are Christians of many different denominations, Jews, and other faiths; and I believe it is wonderful that they believe in anything. I am genuinely pleased about their beliefs, but generally keep my beliefs to myself. I certainly do not try to “convert” any of them.