Preface

I transcribed the first draft of this book in 1991. It’s been my intention ever since then to complete it and get it published. Ninety percent of the book was written in 1991 within a matter of weeks. The rest of it was a little writing, but mostly editing and rearranging. I frequently had no idea where it was going.

When I was a kid there was a combination of events and beliefs with which I struggled. While some people journal or write in their diaries, I turned to writing poetry. It dealt with things I didn’t feel that I could talk to other people about. As I wrote, my feelings would flow to my mind and from my mind they would flow to the paper. The more I wrote over the years, the more my feelings would bypass my mind and go straight to the paper. It was only then, when I went back to read, that I knew what I had written.

The reason I mention this is because most of this book was written in that way. I was surprised, for example, when I read the chapter about love. I had never consciously thought about it in that way. I had also never thought about the entire process of spiritual denial and the irrationality of many arguments questioning God’s existence.

I believe most people would look at me with disbelief if I claimed God was writing through me. That’s because they don’t think God can or will communicate with us that directly. People will allow the clergy to claim that kind of divine calling, but only because it’s part of the religious tradition. This tradition frequently leaves parishioners praying without expectation to a God who may or may not exist—but certainly not to a God who communicates with us individually in any way that we can really understand.

At times I will refer to Jesus and the Christian religion. Those references are intended neither to promote Christianity nor to denigrate it. I hold it at a par with all of the religions of the world. It’s simply that I was brought up in the Christian tradition and am more familiar with it than with other religions. This book is about the importance of knowing God—not the importance of knowing religion. While we do a poor job of accepting people who are different than us, God loves everyone regardless of their religion or lack thereof.

Because of the nature of religion and spirituality there are certain terms which need definition. Words like love, spirituality, sin, repentance, and denial. Each of these words could mean different things to different people. I will explain what each of them means within the context of this book. It’s more important that you understand the concept or condition I’m addressing than it is that your definition of a particular word differs from mine.

Because of the way in which this book developed, I feel more like a messenger than I do like an author. I hope you enjoy the message.