How should I respond to my friend's understanding of God as remote?
The short answer
Your friend holds the illusion of deism: that God made the world like a watchmaker and then left it to itself. Since your friend grants that God may exist, start there: explain that God revealed himself so we could know him, and came among us as Jesus, who taught us to pray.
Deism
The Catholic Encyclopedia describes deism as stressing God's transcendence at the expense of his indwelling and providence: God made nature and lets it run on its own. The Catechism describes it as treating God like a watchmaker who abandons the watch once made (CCC 285). For a deist, prayer is futile.
Common ground
Your friend concedes God may exist, so you have a starting point. Explain that Christians believe God revealed himself so we can know him and relate to him, and that he came to live among us as the man Jesus, who taught us how to pray.
Reading
Helpful starting points are Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, S.J., and Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.
Continue exploring
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- How can I refute a colleague's claim that truth is relative?Q&A
- How can a perfect God coexist with imperfection?Q&A
- What is the Holy Trinity?Q&A