““Well, where is God," said Mrs Coulter, "if he's alive? And why doesn't he speak anymore? At the beginning of the world, God walked in the garden and spoke with Adam and Eve. Then he began to withdraw, and Moses only heard his voice. Later, in the time of Daniel, he was aged - he was the Ancient of Days. Where is he now? Is he still alive, at some inconceivable age, decrepit and demented, unable to think or act or speak and unable to die, a rotten hulk? And if that IS his condition, wouldn't it be the most merciful thing, the truest proof of our love for God, to seek him out and give him the gift of death?””
