A Turning Point

During WWII, when flying at night over darkest Africa, I often turned on the auto-pilot, sat back, sipped on a cup of hot coffee and pondered deep questions buried in my mind and dug for the answers. Following is an example of one question that had bothered me for several years and the answer that became a ‘turning point’ in my life.:

Question: What was it that caused me to walk away from the faith of my youth? Was it a sudden single occurrence or a gradual erosion?

Answer: It was a gradual erosion that ended with a bang. I was baptized at age 12.. But as I look back on it, age 12 was too early for me to make a firm religious decision. The erosion began when I was a senior in high school. A very good friend was killed in an auto accident. At his grave-side rites, the Baptist minister came flat out and said my friend could not enter heaven because he had not accepted Christ as his Saviour. I was shocked to tears and felt deep sorrow the effect of the statement had on his parents. . I began questioning Christianity... The questions continued, more so, after enlistment in the Army Air Corp where I began to mix with boys from all walks of life and religions. And even to a greater degree after serving in Africa, the Mid-East, India, China and Burma — mixing with people of all faiths — even native Africans, deep in the jungle, believed in and worshiped God. Suddenly, one very dark night, while flying between Aden and Khartoum, it hit me with a bang!

There is just One True God. A God for all humanity. How we approach Him and how we believe in the here-after, is up to each individual’s Gift for Reasoning.