In today's Times newspaper

there was an interesting comment in the TV section - of all places !

They got a bunch of guys together including the archbishop of Canterbury, Chief Rabbi, Head of the RC church in England and Muslim and Buddist equivalents. Sorry, I just can't remember names.

They were asked how they knew God was real.

Now I'm quite prepared to accept that the article was not going to be biased in their favour, but it would seem none of them gave an answer better than 'because they did'. The article did, quite perceptively, point out that had any of them had a 'Damascus road' experience or claim to actually hear from God then they would not be able to hold the positions they did, mostly due to public ridicule and disbelief. Anyone remember George Dubyah Bush?

The reason this is interesting is that we were talking about knowing God in the nut cluster last week. Someone asked the $64,000 question "so how do you know God" and I had to answer truthfully back, that I believed He talked to me sometimes. It was quite funny really, because I preceded my comments with "I'm going to sound like a fruitcake saying this, but...."

So how is one honest about it?

Conversely, if we think God deals with us on a purely intellectual, spiritual (oh yeah, whatever that is - it's a great way of dodging any real answer because it's so mystical, right) or faith level, how DO you know? Actually, what it boils down to is that, if God doesn't interact with us in a way that intrudes into reality how can we know Him at all? If you stand up and say "thus says the Lord..." or if you agree with those that do, how can you not recognise that God interacts directly. And if He doesn't interact directly, why haven't you challenged those that Do stand up and say such things (maybe your church doesn't allow people to do that - we wouldn't want God messing up our order, now would we?)?

I'd adapt the writings of James a little bit. Just as he says "faith without works is dead" I'd also suggest that faith without God's works is struggling to uphold it's claim to life. Now I'm also struggling at this point because I can see both sides of almost every argument and I'm disagreeing with myself a little bit here. So please, take this in the spirit it's intended, not to be dogmatic, but to provoke us to ask why we believe in God and how we know Him for ourselves: if we do? And if we don't, why would it be ridiculous for God, if He were real, to talk to people.