Was God in Adolf Hitler?

Yesterday I had the fortune to be visited by two Jehovahs Witnesses while working from home. I say fortune because I am genuinely grateful on a number of levels.

A part of my gratitude is that I was able to spot some growth on my part. The most fundamental shift, to my mind, was that in the past such meetings had evoked a defiant stance, almost a challenging attitude, where I would silently dare such visitors to try and convince me. As I look back on such events I have to confess that I was neither accepting of their choice nor did I have much in the way of a personal philosophy (or faith at the time) to really do any justice to the conversation. And most importantly, my daring and defiance have shifted to faith and knowing; all improvements I have to say.

A few moments did stand out for me though. As we walked through various elements of the conversation one in particular stood out. It was around the point that I mentioned that I believe that God is in everything. The rebuttal given came in the form of a question, "Was God in Adolf Hitler?"

My answer at the time was, upon reflection, somewhat representative of what I am about to paraphrase. With the benefit of hindsight I came to realize that it takes time and experience of discussion with one's faith and belief to truly understand such questions and the many levels they represent.

My answer now would be:
One way to appreciate how God works is to consider how a light works. We either perceive light or its absence. If we are turned toward the light our shadow will be behind us and if we are turned away from the light we will be looking at our own shadow. I believe that Adolf Hitler, like all of us, had the opportunity to turn toward the light within him and for reasons unknown to me he chose to turn away from God and live in the shadows of his own subjective mind. God may be within us but we have been given freedom of will to choose or not choose to work with this light. Our choice cannot invalidate the existence of something that is omnipresent. And if we have turned from God, God is still within us waiting for us to choose light over shadow.

Perhaps the outstanding challenge for this philosophical position is the compassion in me. I cannot help but feel love for all those that suffered at his hands. To be sure his choices reflected one of the most brutal periods of our history. There may be some who will read this and feel shock at my position. If you are such a person I offer you love and acceptance for the God I know to be within you, and I know that you have what you need for your healing and growth. And to those that with to pursue this conversation further but cannot fathom why I would take such a position I would be happy to discuss this further, where I would likely expand upon the ideas of the 'Law of Averages' and the creative process itself.

But most significantly, I would contend, the darkest choices of others offer us the brightest contrast of all. The choices of others need not hold us in bondage. The story of suffering will require healing, but to do justice to that pain surely there must be more than just the pain itself?

Clearly the Universe is providing for me. I have made a commitment to service through Ministry and such conversations are just the beginning. And in time I am sure that my answer will be further refined but never finalized. Wording aside I feel most proud of one part of the conversation.

My blessed visitors: "But there is no hope for mankind."

Me: "I firmly believe there is. I only have to look to examples of evolution of consciousness in both my own experience and that of history. Just look at the two of you walking through the world spreading your message of good intent and light. There was a time when the three of us would not have had the freedom to think and speak so openly on my doorstep as we do today."

Blessings, joy and peace my friends!