MEDITATION: Closer than close

Belief in a personal God trips up most of those on a threshold. Atheism is as dogmatic as the narrowest of religions. Agnosticism, the philosophy of uncertainty, is more open, and for some reason, “I don’t know” opens doors to untold mysteries. Einstein believed in a Creator. But he had trouble with verses like this one: “Thou hast searched me and known me” (Psalm 139:1).

The most hardened critics of religion call it plain arrogance to assume that in the whole cosmos, Someone would have enough time or interest to pay attention to me. “God is watching from a distance” sums up the most obvious theology, given warlike and pestilential circumstances across the globe. Where on earth do you find the divine heart?