I'd like to first respond to a short "xombyte" I just read, which talked about a seemingly hapless guy, Johnny, who had a dream about God - a dream in which God held him with his Hand and spoke gently, yet firmly to him. What followed was Johnny's awakening from the dream and his subsequent exhortations to his wife that "God had spoken to him", and that everything would be "just fine" if he just had faith and love in his life.

If this story is meant to be a serious espousal of some spiritual views, rather than a story for young kids, here is my response:

God cannot be this simplistic or human, if God in fact exists. I immediately recall that Ancient Greek philosopher's dictum, "If horses believed in God, their God would be a horse." I'm not saying that God necessarily does not exist. I'm just saying that to portray him as a human-like figure is a mockery; that is, if one will admit to God's omnipotence and His nature as being "beyond human understanding".

Now perhaps this story of the "Hand of God" is meant to be a "helping" story - say, for children - a story that helps them have some kind of faith in this world. I recall Plato's Republic and the author's belief that it's okay to "lie" to children if it benefits them. If indeed this story is taken with all its circumstances, and if those circumstances involve the edification of infants and children, then I'm all for it. It is when we grow up and begin to believe this sort of thing - almost as if we can't help but believe it - that we must recognize a potential inconsistency or problem with our views. I leave it open for rejoinders/discussion...