John,

I understand your position, and I'm afraid I can't engage it because it's speculative. It does free up space for free will, which I can agree with. But you get so far behind the actual goings-on of the world, that I'm left to conclude that it might be possible to envision God as a man turning on the projector in a movie theatre, and then leaving to have a bite to eat while the drama takes its course - after all, he's already seen the show.

But isn't Pilgrim saying he also directed the movie?

I tend to think it's less like a movie, and more like the stage - God may visit in character at any time - already did so, in fact. And will do so again. This makes God an artist - he built the stage and made the actors - a participant, and makes Him therefore separate from creation but also able to act within it in a real sense.

Mike