At 25 years per generation, there have been about 80 generations since the time that Jesus of Nazareth walked the land and taught the new covenant; not to destroy The Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. In the centuries since then we may wonder what time or place has best allowed individuals and groups of believers to engage with (wrestle with) God's Word and the come to understand the creator-redeemer in order to draw closest. On the contrary we may wonder the opposite, under what conditions and events has the relationship-building with God most suffered from distractedness, dissipation, distance or muddying the view. Finally, what does the middle position look like: times when communities and individuals are neither helped nor hindered in getting to know God's will and ways, but instead are somewhere in-between, partly hindered but also party encouraged or led to forming a working relationship with God Almighty.
Do places with rigid structure and intellectual articulateness (religious communities) necessarily make the path more direct and visible than life experiences that are more blown by winds of fancy or chance? Or do all circumstances include factors that help and also ones that hinder one's growth and curiosity? In all of human history what model seems best for helping God's children to find and know him? Are wild and solitary places most conducive, or will organized routines work better at adjusting one's attitude and expectations in order to hear and obey God's Word?
All of these questions seem to be open ones, with no clear or obvious answer. But if best ways to find and know God were well established would many people actually do so?
