How close are Christians to their god?

Well we do have a broad range at EvC, most clearly illustrated by the gulf between Jar's moderate dharmic/Anglican take on Christianity and Faith's literalism.I'm sure they'll pop up to speak for themselves...Panthers are my favourite after Cheetahs by the way. Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.

Of course, such a transition would not be smooth, or irreversible. For those who do keep faith, responses range from a trenchant rejection of science, to a re-evaluation of God's act of creation.I'm an agnostic and like you I have no yearning for an ultimate "truth". However, many humans do clearly crave such certainty. Given this fact I think some form of religion will always be a part of human culture, no matter how far our science advances. Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.

I think about how the universe came to be and now we fit into it, but I see no reason to believe some God because I don't have all the answers. I certainly don't think such answers can be found in a book comprising of a mixture of myths with a smattering of history from around 2-2500 years ago.Furthermore, the God we "know" is represented by a host of competing man-made creations. All assumptions. If a God does exist somewhere, who is to say what form he takes, what his intentions are and if he is even remotely intrested in sin or salvation?The only path our species has to any sort of "truth" is to attempt to observe the universe that surrounds us and to see what we can learn. Humanity might never know THE TRUTH. On the other hand, humanity might one day puzzle out the entire workings of the cosmos to such an extent that we can recreate it in it's entirity.At that point WE, in a sense, could become God and yet still be none the wiser as to the "truth" of our own universe's origins.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.

But I don't believe Jesus spoke for God! Even if Jesus existed, he was just a run of the mill religious activist with no more knowledge of God than you or I. I've read the Gospels. I don't see any answers. Certainly nothing beyond basic ideas of social conscience/morality. Sorry, but I truly hate this sort of patronising statement. If you "know" whatever it is I'm supposed to then why not just tell me and let me put it to the test? If you can't then you know nothing more about God or "the truth" than I do, Please do not insult my intelligence by pretending to be the holder of some secret "knowledge".

Sorry,Quotations above should be from Riverrat, but EvC won't currently let me edit..

Assuming his existence, I think HE might have believed what he said. I, however, don't believe he knew the "truth" any more than Mohammed or any other prophet/messiah. Sorry, but the gospels contain nothing that resonates with me. I find them very dull and parochial. The Iliad is much more interesting. An astronomy book really fascinates me.... Fair enough, and apologies if I came across in an unduly harsh manner. Though I do have questions about my surroundings, I have no interest in looking for or worshipping a God that I cannot see.