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Does God exist? The inquiring mind wants to know. Numerous authors and philosophers have debated the existence of God including Jean-Paul Sartre, Thomas Aquinas and Albert Camus. Those of us that have been lucky enough to spend time studying these authors know the mental quandary that the question of God's existence poses. If you believe in God, exposure to the works of these authors forces an individual to come to the only conclusion that reconciles logic and God. Each individual comes to his own conclusion as to God's existence. This conclusion is that the existence of God is a matter of faith. While this observation is not mind shattering to the faithful, for a questioning soul, it is a huge revelation. For many intellectuals, a personal revelation is a turning point in life. I was lucky enough to not only study the existence of God, but experience the existence of God in a place where a religious experience is not considered reason for therapy. To this day, even viewing the experience though adult eyes, I firmly believe my experience was real and served to quite the questions academic study legitimately raised. I am confident in both my intellectual and emotional belief in God. How I got there is a real story that I am willing to share.

I have questioned my religion since I was old enough to actually think about the issues raised in religion class. I was raised in a strict Catholic family. Church on Sundays was required and after a brief stint in private schools, we all attended Catholic schools. Confirmation was a religious event for me and I actually thought about it. When I expressed my reservations to my parents, I learned Confirmation was not really a Sacrament but a social performance I was expected to attend. My parent's reaction only confirmed my observations that the rituals and language of religion did not reflect the actual behavior of church going Catholics. I was confirmed, as demanded. I kept my absence of belief to myself.

I once again did what a dutiful daughter does, and went to Saint Mary's College, an all women's Catholic college that used to be the sister school to Notre Dame. My sophomore year I took several philosophy and religion classes. The question of God's existence became a real issue for me. I was used to religion as a social requirement; I had seen too much hypocrisy to believe it was more than a Sunday obligation. I was ripe for atheism, since belief in God only required hypocritical social behavior in the strict Catholic world

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