BY KENNETH R. SAMPLES – SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Have you ever had a sudden realization that ended up changing your life? You may have had an epiphany, which can be defined as an intuitive flash of insight or discovery as to the deep meaning of something significant that comes through experience and leads to a sense of wonder.
Over the years I have experienced some significant spiritual and intellectual turning points. At the time of these events I knew I was encountering something special or unique. But only through looking back do I recognize just how important these experiences have been.
One such experience, an intellectual epiphany, came to me as a young student and it changed the way I thought about ideas and the importance of study. This experience has stayed with me my entire life.
My Intellectual Epiphany
Growing up I wasn’t a diligent student at all. In fact, if you spoke with my teachers (elementary through high school) I know what they would say about my effort. I know because I heard them convey it to me and to my parents often: “Kenny Samples only does enough school work to get by.” This deliberate approach was even more true by junior high school when I determined that what I really wanted in life was to be a professional athlete (I loved basketball and baseball). So sports trumped study.
But at age 13 when I was in the eighth grade I experienced an intellectual epiphany of sorts. In my social science/history class we studied the topic of World War II. My father, Jesse A. Samples, had been a combat soldier serving in the European theater of the war fighting against the German army. In preparing to write a school report about the conflict, my father and I went to a bookstore and bought a couple of reference books about World War II. That evening as my dad and I perused through the books my father discovered two photographs of himself in Hans Dollinger’s book The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.1 The photos were black and white, grainy, and from a distance but my dad, mom, and I could all recognize it was my father.
This discovery surprised me and made me think differently about my dad and ideas. World War II and my father’s participation in it sparked my intellectual life. I began to realize that ideas and ideologies have consequences and that my father and his band of brothers had been involved in a great crusade to stop Nazi tyranny and oppression. I began reading about various aspects of the Second World War including the Holocaust. And the profound topic of the twentieth century’s world wars has never left me to this very day.
I distinctly remember my eighth grade teacher Mr. Morris praising my report in class and saying that the topic of World War II had “turned Kenny on academically.” That event from my childhood stirred me and influenced my interest in the big questions of life. My decision to study history and philosophy in college and later, theology, were influenced by my intellectual discovery in junior high school.
Providential Church Encounter
Many years later, I attended a Dutch Reformed church where an elderly man in the congregation learned of my interest in World War II. Through our many discussions about the war I learned that this man knew Reformed theologian George Stob2 (1907–2002) who had served as my father’s chaplain during the war (U.S. Army’s 44th Infantry Division) and had signed my dad’s Bible. I didn’t even know George Stob was a theologian let alone a theologian in my denomination. Few people would have known of Stob (who at the time was 93 years old) outside of the closely connected Dutch Reformed community. I was first amazed, but then further interaction with my fellow church member led to a connection with Stob’s wife and she told me that her husband often spoke about the courageous young men he had ministered to during the war. Again, with another surprise encounter concerning my dad and World War II I sensed that God’s providence was at work behind the scenes of my life and the life of my family.
Looking back, I came to see that this early intellectual epiphany—affirmed many years later by learning about my father’s chaplain—was truly a turning point in my life. It set me on a trajectory of exploring life’s big questions and ideas. Has something like this ever happened to you?
Reflections: Your Turn
Have there been significant times in your life where you can reflect back and see that God was transforming your mind and soul? Visit Reflections on WordPress to comment with your response.
Endnotes
- See Hans Dollinger, The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan: A Pictorial History of the Final Days of World War II (New York: Gramercy, 1965), https://www.amazon.com/Decline-Germany-Imperial-Pictorial-History/dp/B000B2C1UE/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hans+dollinger+the+decline+and+fall+of+nazi+germany+and+japan&qid=1569634440&s=books&sr=1-1.
- Concerning chaplain and theologian George Stob, see this historical note at https://archives.calvin.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=544.
Category
Tags
SHARE
0 COMMENTS – VIEW – POST A COMMENT
THE AUTHORKenneth R. Samples
BIO
I believe deeply that “all truth is God’s truth.” That historic affirmation means that when we discover and grasp truth in the world and in life we move closer to its divine Author. This approach r… Read more about Kenneth R. Samples.
STILL CURIOUS? LEARN MORE…
More Treasures in Earth’s Attic
Did Earth hide some of its treasure on the Moon?
Earth’s Attic: Houston, We Have an Opportunity
Those of us who are over 60 will never forget the chilling words spoken by the Apollo 13 command module pilot, Jack Swigert, and repeated by the mission commander, Jim Lovell, late evening on April 13 of 1970, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”
Christian Environmentalism in an Age of Bobos
In his 2000 book Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, New York Times columnist David Brooks coined the term bobos to describe the current cultural norm that embraces a duality of bohemian and bourgeois values.1 Not only is it an apt term for describing much of modern secular America, it’s also a helpful one for Christians facing the challenges of living in today’s America. Many of those challenges are obvious (e.g., the new spiritual pluralism and moral relativism), but others can be sneaky and subtle, sounding innocent while raising important spiritual issues.
Continue Reading »https://player.vimeo.com/video/104664126
More Education Opportunities »
NOW THAT YOU’VE DISCOVERED REASONS TO BELIEVE
Get the latest delivered directly to you by subscribing to the RTB Weekly Digest.
About Reasons to Believe
RTB’s mission is to spread the Christian Gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature. Learn More »
Support Reasons to Believe
Your support helps more people find Christ through sharing how the latest scientific discoveries affirm our faith in the God of the Bible.DONATE NOW
U.S. Mailing Address
818 S. Oak Park Rd.
Covina, CA 91724
- P (855) 732-7667
- P (626) 335-1480
- Fax (626) 852-0178
- © Reasons to Believe
Reasons to Believe is a nonprofit organization designated as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 by the Internal Revenue Service. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Our tax ID is #33-0168048. All Transactions on our Web site are safe and secure.
Copyright 2020. Reasons to Believe. All rights reserved. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our Privacy Policy.
Will Myers
Clicksor
Intelligent Design and Biblical Scripture 