What is divine hiddenness / the hiddenness of God?

Response

Divine hiddenness, known as the argument from divine hiddenness, is a philosophical concept that seeks to clarify why certain individuals do not acknowledge the existence of God, assuming God does exist. It is also referred to as the argument from reasonable non-belief because, as per the argument, it is rational not to believe in an unseen God, even if one desires His presence. Moreover, it proposes that a completely loving God would ensure that all His creations have no reason to doubt His existence.

The most renowned contemporary argument for God’s hiddenness was formulated by Canadian philosopher J. L. Schellenberg (b. 1959). Schellenberg posits that God, being perfect and personal, would inherently be perfectly loving. As a loving God, He would naturally seek (or at least be open to) an emotional bond with all His creations. This assertion is supported biblically, as seen in John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 2:4. However, Schellenberg further argues that, considering God’s nature, anyone desiring a connection with God would be able to establish it and consequently be convinced of God’s existence (as one cannot have a relationship with a God they believe is non-existent).

Schellenberg also notes that in a scenario where a God matching this description existed, there would be no “nonresistant nonbelievers.” In simpler terms, there would be no individual who both a) desires a relationship with God and b) does not believe in His existence. Yet, Schellenberg highlights the existence of these “nonresistant nonbelievers.” There are individuals who seek to encounter God but find Him concealed from them. Therefore, based on the argument, since God is loving (and by extension, does not conceal Himself from those seeking Him), God must not exist.

It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of the relationship between God and humanity, God walked alongside Adam and Eve in the garden. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden…”

In the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8). God was not hidden at all. After man disobeyed God and fell into sin, the man and his wife hid from God. Therefore, it is man who initiated the separation between God and man. We did the hiding, not God.

Furthermore, God has made His existence known through creation (Psalm 19). But man suppresses the knowledge of God in various ways (Romans 1). Now, the “nonresistant nonbeliever” may simply be a person who has grown up in a culture where the philosophies and arguments of resistant unbelievers (those who actively suppress the knowledge of God) are prevalent and taught in school, in media, etc. The man who, in his heart, is not resistant to a relationship with God, yet cannot fathom His existence, has likely been blinded by the lies of those who hate God and want to suppress the knowledge of Him “in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). The nonresistant nonbeliever is most likely influenced by philosophies that wickedly hide God’s face from those who might seek to know Him. This is tragic, but it certainly does not prove that God lacks love for His creatures.

In fact, it is God who has reached out to humanity to reconcile the rift between Himself and us caused by sin (2 Corinthians 5:20; Romans 5:10). He promised that, when we seek Him, we will find Him “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

9-13″>(Jeremiah 29:13). “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Ironically, when formulating an argument about divine hiddenness, one must rely on biblical revelation of Him. To develop an argument that a perfect Creator does not reveal Himself, we must use God’s own words. The perfect and loving God whom Schellenberg is arguing against is based on a biblical concept of God, that is, the God who is defined in the Bible—Scripture, of course, being itself prime evidence of God’s loving intention to reveal Himself to men.