Mud Dauber, I have empirical evidence that poker can support a family because I do it myself. Is that good enough for you? I'm not suggesting that anyone can do it, it requires a certain patience, and some skill and the ability to count. Not everyone has these skills.

Maybe I used the wrong words to explain my position re God. What I am saying is that there is no empirical evidence to support his existence. It is a matter of faith, not science. You agree with this, surely?

I can't see God all around me, I see phenomena as yet unexplained. I am sure that, in time, science will offer explanations. I am not a scientist, but I trust in science. Science invented the internal combustion engine and the jet engine, and I can now fly at the speed of sound if I so wish. God hasn't shown me a way to do that without science.

There are many explanations for your friend's experience. Perhaps it is because so many stories do the rounds about out of body experiences that they sink into our subconscious and come out at times like this. You know, if you are knocked out you can have all kinds of out of body experiences. I've been knocked out (I mean sparko) on two occasions and I experienced a similar thing (though not quite so vivid) myself. Certain opiates can provide the same thing. I don't know how familiar you are with opiates but I can assure you it is a common occurence. The same with LSD. That will make anyone see God, but I prefer an alternative explanation. I don't have all the answers, or even any of them really, but that does not mean I put it down to God by default.

You have faith, I do not. If God is a force for good, let him show it. To use a poker term, I want to see his hand... I call his Bible and raise hiim the weight of scientific opinion in the wake of the enlightenment.

All in...

(waits to see God's hand)