Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Extraordinary Journeys into the Human Brain

by Allan H. Ropper

“Do people ask you about deep existential, theological issues or problems? Do they ask you: Is there a God?” “Many times. You always have that question: ‘Is there a God? And if there is a God, why am I going through this?’ Back when I was the chaplain on duty, just starting part-time, a young lady was med-flighted here. She was pregnant. They had to rush her into surgery, open her up, take out the baby, all wrapped up in a blanket, and they gave it to me to bless because they knew the baby was not going to live. And one of the nurses said, ‘You need to go in there and pray for the mother.’ She was coding, blood was going everywhere, and this was the first time I’d ever seen someone with a human heart in their hand, pumping it to try to keep her alive. I blessed the baby, I prayed for the mother. She lived, but the baby died. That stuck with me. I met another young lady just the other day. She had lost her daughter a few months earlier. Her husband was in the hospital, and his prognosis was not too good. She said, ‘I’m mad as hell with God. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to hear nothing about God.’ And this is a person who professed to go to church. So there are times when you have to be able to let them pour out exactly how they feel without condemning them. You don’t have to prove to them that there is a God. Sometimes it’s just what it is. They have these questions—‘I’m serving God. Why am I sick? I’ve been a good person, why is this happening? Why has my child died?’...