[mrnoodle]

Yes, yes, but I'm talking about a real relationship with a real being whom I have experienced not physically or emotionally, but spiritually. This is the disconnect for us. You deny the existence of something that I utterly know to be real. I vouch for something that you have absolutely no grounds for belief in.

Therefore you see that the notion that "religion fills the gap because it's a distraction...the voices you hear are your own" has no reality for me, because I know it to be patently false. I don't wish it were false, I don't think it's false, I know it. Of course, you can say that's just a sign of how deeply deluded I am, but consider this: the only argument you have to offer is *lack* of experience. Atheists have an easy time of it in these arguments - they don't have to defend anything, they just have to poke and prod. "Show me" doesn't work unless you're willing to see.