What sense does Surah 50:16 make?

[bopke1]

050.016
YUSUFALI: It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.

Christians will often argue that Allah's transcendance makes him a distant deity, and Muslims will answer by quoting the above ayat. But as someone pointed it out; what sense does it make for Allah to be closer to us than our jugular vein, 'cause just as we are unaware of our jugular vein, we're also unaware of Allah's presence...

bopke1

[ihsan]

Salaams

The Quran is referring to the knowledge of the Almighty, and that man cannot run from God, and even the very suggestions that are hidden from everyone else are known to God.

The phrase is basically idiomatic, and the jugular vein represents the very life of man. When an animal is slaughtered, it is the jugular vein that is cut. The Quran is saying God is so close, closer than the vein that gives man life.

It needs to be accepted that the Quyran strikes a balance between transcendence and 'nearness'. Focusing on the former leads to idol worship, "We worship them, so as to bring us near to God", while focusing on the latter leads to pantheism. Christiniaty leans towards the latter, with God coming down in the form of man. It is very unclear how God coming down in the form of man resolves the problem that plagues the theology.