One Good Friday and Easter Saturday I became inspired to say a few words about the Creator and tell how I know, not simply believe, that there is a God.  This question, plus the question concerning the existence of Heaven and Hell, becomes increasingly more important as we get older.  Since I’m old enough to be dead, and at 81 already have one foot in the grave, I thought I would pay my respects to the Big Guy/Gal/Spirit (God).

However, since my Blog emphasizes ”Independent Thought, I decided to make the case for God with no references to any of the World’s Religions or their Holy books.   Here goes…

I have many religious beliefs, some of which may not fit into any one religion, but they are beliefs, not certainties. But I do know one thing for sure, that there is a God.  He or she may be called by many different names but so what, it’s trivial, though I acknowledge that some religions make it a a big deal.

How do I know there’s a God?  The unbelievable vastness, complexity and orderliness of the universe alone convinces me, but you may need more proof than that.  I’ll explain how I personally know that God exists.  The following are my additional reasons, each one of which by itself doesn’t make the case alone so one needs to consider them collectively:

1. In the late 80’s, 90’s, and until about 2005 I lived on top of a 9000′ high mountain in the Colorado Rockies with my wife and cat.  I received a letter in the mail one Saturday requesting a donation of $500 to help the community pave the dirt road I lived on.  I wanted to do my part, especially since my property values would increase a lot if the road were paved, but I couldn’t afford it.   Therefore, I continued opening up my other mail, one of which contained a check for $520 from some investment I had made.  The amount and the timing were perfect but, of course, probably just a coincidence.

2.  Ten years later, I made a monumental blunder with my checking account, and somehow found my checkbook $1,900 short.  Two days later, in Monday’s mail, there was a check for a little over $1900 from some investment, another perfect amount as well as perfect timing.  Twice bailed out? Probably just another really lucky coincidence.

3. I took care of stray/homeless and even feral cats…with food, water, and medical care as part of the nationwide “Trap, Neuter, Return” program.  One Saturday a homeless pitch-black and friendly “Bombay” cat, with a little stub of a tail (later I named him “Bobby-Tail” because of his bobbed tail) came by my yard with a bad foot, trying to walk but limping very badly.  I brought him in and took him to my veterinarian, who found a cut on his foot and treated him.  The cost was $91, which I paid but couldn’t really afford right then.  Two days later I received a check in the mail for just over $91 for some refund from something.  The amount and timing was perfect!  A third coincidence?

On these three occasions, plus many more, the amounts and timing were perfect.  All times the money I needed was not for my personal use and was totally unexpected.  I was amazed…and after some thought I became convinced that they weren’t coincidences at all.  However, a really frightening incident that was the “slam-dunk” for me concerning the existence of God, happened back in 1968 and 69.  I even wrote a “first-person” article about it for Reader’s Digest but it was not published.  The weird but true tale follows:

4. I’ll skip the preliminaries; the “Amazing Kreskin” said that Quija boards only worked as a result of the unconscious mind that was actually moving the Ouija board pointer that spells out words as it goes from letter to letter and pauses between words.  Easy enough to test…I had the two board users face aside so they couldn’t see the board.   As I asked it questions, the pointer continued to move and answer them until my girlfriend, Maria, became so frightened by Quija’s answers, she refused to work the board anymore.  Here’s some of my exchanges with the Quija board:

“Quija, are you a man or a woman?”  Quija:”SPIRIT”

“Quija, are you a good spirit or a bad spirit?  Quija: “GOOD”

“Ouija, where do you get your power from?”  Quija: “SATAN”

“Ouija, everyone knows that Satan is evil, therefore how can you be good?  Quija: “GOODBYE”

“Ouija, when were you born?”  Quija: “I AM”

“Ouija, why do you talk to people?”  Quija: “PEOPLE NEED ME”

“Ouija, why do people need you?”  Quija: “TO MAKE THEM SUFFER”

“Ouija, I feel very sorry for you, how can I help you?” Quija:  “GIVE ME YOUR SOUL AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE ETERNAL POWERS OF EVIL”

I placed a set of Rosary beads onto the Quija board and asked: “Ouija, do you like me?”  Quija: “YOU ARE THE ENEMY OF THE SPIRIT WHO CAN CAUSE  SUFFERING BEYOND REALIZATION”

About a year after this encounter with the Quija board, I had a large brain tumor removed and was fighting for my life.  Half of my face became paralyzed and numb as a result of the surgical removal of a very large tumor, and my equilibrium and emotional state became really bad to the extent that my first wife, Maria, in a fit of rage at something stupid I had said/done, pushed me out of our apartment 5 weeks after my brain tumor surgery, and subsequently divorced me.  Since then I’ve had another few dozen more surgeries.  I would say that I experienced “suffering beyond realization.”  With only 1/2 of my face working normally, deaf in my left ear, and unable to walk straight, I no longer fool around with Quija boards. The point of my story on Quija is that,  if  in fact evil really does exist, then it follows that a good spirit (God) also exists.  You be the judge… (but I would not use a Ouija Board since many cases of alleged possession begin with using Ouija boards).

I know in God, based on my experiences as well as the vastness of the universe and the amazing capability and complexity of the human body.    I do have many more religious beliefs based on the world’s religions’ Holy Books.  However, many of my beliefs I consider details; the main thing is that, for me, there is no question that God does indeed exist.