By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

One's religion is a very personal matter.  Like politics, both men and women sometimes decline to share how each voted, or what they believe. 

My mother was an Episcopalian, whose belief in God saved her life.  As a young boy, my father sang in the Lutheran choir in Minneapolis—where my parents met.  Later, he told me that he was an Agnostic.  They are my only heroes in life.[2]

I had essentially a "near-death experience," in which I saw God; and my recently-deceased mother was there.[3]  Jesus wasn't.  But I believe in Jesus and his teachings as described in the New Testament.[4]  Christianity spread beyond Judea to become a world religion—the largest—because of Alexander the Great.[5]

I often attend Catholic churches because I believe in the right to life, and oppose Infanticide.[6]  But the rituals in the church elude me, and might elude Jesus too.

I have friends who are Jewish; and they too are free to choose whatever religion suits them—among an estimated 4,200 “religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, or ultimate concerns” in the world—or none at all.[7]  The same thing is true of every other American, regardless of his or her ethnic or religious background.

If you've read this far and I haven't offended you, I need to count my blessings.  As 2024 passes into history and the new year begins, we need to thank God for our lives here on Earth.[8]  A very blessed new year to all!

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© 2024, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  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., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/05/12/legacy/ ("Legacy")

[3]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ ("What And Where Is God?")

[4]  See, e.g., https://youtu.be/yumoqNlaPCE?si=s4nLSD5RyO18O0ki ("Watch "Jesus of Nazareth Full Movie HD English" on YouTube")

Skip past the commercials.  Otherwise, it's free to watch at your leisure, on your cellphone or otherwise.

[5]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/alexander-the-great/ ("Alexander the Great")

[6]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2021/12/01/imagine-being-the-greatest-killers-in-history/ ("Imagine Being The Greatest Killers In History")

[7]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/americas-jews-are-americans/ ("America’s Jews Are Americans")

[8]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/15/tis-the-season-to-be-jolly/ ("‘Tis The Season To Be Jolly")