Hiddenness of God

John Schellenberg - basic thought - God is Hidden

Hidden - opposite of revealed 

• God isn’t revealed/doesn’t make it plain that He’s there 

Hiddeness facts 

• Things crystalizing that God is hidden 

1. Some people want relationship with God & it doesnt happen - Limited religious experience

• Ex: Mother Theresa’s journals
  

• A lot of very good prayers (things you think God would want to grant) don’t get granted 

• If God answers prayer → clear that He reveals his presence, if he doesn’t do that - presence is not revealed

2 parts in Schellenberg’s argument

1. Evidence for God’s existence is inconclusive

Non resistant nonbelief - some people don’t resist believing on God, yet they don’t believe in God for these reasons Human beings- existed long before we had idea of what we believe as God today  Contentions - some people think there is evidence, some people don’t  If they didn’t have idea of God they didn’t believe in God, but also couldn’t resist believing in God

2. Some people in process of losing their fath, and though they desperately want to regain it they can’t

• If you are losing faith and want to regain it/not resisting - surely God will help/give you hint He is real

Schellenberg

 if there is a God he would make himself much more obvious to because he wants a relationship with us 

• Would put evidence of existence out there for use to find / would be in our face

Make it so that if you wanted to prove/belive that God didn’t exist you’d have to resist - work to discredit conclusion

Some Claim: God - would somehow take away our free will to an extent if he revealed himself to us

• Could be true/would be harder to reject 

• But - Human relationship - you can see someone all the time/know they exist and still turn away from them 

Schellenberg argument

1. If a perfectly loving God exists, there exists a God who is always open to a relationship with any finite person 

2. If such a God exists no finite person ever non-resistantly does not believe that God exists (basically everyone resists belief , or just believes) 

3. But some finite person has nonresistantly nor believed in God 

4. So - such a good does not exist

Schellenberg argument 

-1 God open to a relationship

Schellenberg - Open to a relationship  Only if you do everything that is in their power to clear away everything that could interfere with relationship  God - open to relationship  Does everything in power to clear obstacles - leaves door open Similar to parent - always there if you need them, you should always be able to contact them  Same way you should always be able to contact God  Open to relationship typical ex- if someone walks into Prof’s office hours ok  Open to relationship Schellenberg ex - gives each student a slip of paper with phone number and token for prepaid/pay phone

Prem 1 implication - God wants a relationship with us  Nothing else as important

In what sense can you have relationship to God

Humans - finite - acc to time 

God - infinite - acc to time 

• We are holding up buttons we push to bring relationship w God forward 

  • Up to us to move relationship forward, depending on which buttons we push 

1 thing could do to clear obstacle -

Making it a lot more obvious that he’s here 

Could set up relationship landmines - a lot like - if she prays I will say in a voice - “Hello, its me. God.” 

Schellenberg argument 

-2 There is no nonresistant non belief  (basically everyone resists belief, or just believes)

1. Obstacle - not believing that God exists 

• Not over power/force someone into belief (some people have nonresistantly not believed)

• reveal Himself enough that you would have to work @ it to not believe 

2. Categories in world 

• Wither you believe in God 

• Or you are resisting belief in God
  

Prem 2 implication - All people across time - 2 types 1 - people who believed in God (believers), people who resisted God (atheists)  Schellenberg - Non belief - all cases of non belief in God - due to resistance of God

Schellenberg - counter argument - you can still have faith with nonbelief

4 types of faith you can have while not believing God exists 

1.  Within argument act like its true - accept that God exists within proposition 

2. Allegiance 

• Not sure whether there is a God but choose to be on God’s team 

  • Faith - can be type of allegiance
    

3. Faithfulness 

• Remain faithful to God even though they remain unsure 

• Ex: bad things happen to them or family but still remain faithful even if unsure 

• Some way most valuable kind of faith 
  

4. Faith as acting from the hope that something is true 

2 kinds of obstacles

1 - Makes thing being blocked impossible 

2 - Makes thing being blocked harder, but still possible 

Pascal’s wager

- act like God exists - accept that God exists even tho you dont believe it 

• Nothing to lose 

Does non belief make it harder to have relationship with God?

• Yes, a little 

• Ex: VR headset

  • Prof can still interact w wife, but doesn’t believe she is there 

If you believe God exists - east to be faithful to him 

• Belief based faith - still difficult → your belief may be weak 

Dont believe - you walk in the dark 

Faith attributes

• Need trust + belief usually 

• Here we will just take nonresistant nonbelief 

• Faith - sufficient for relationship 

• People who have faith - strength of belief differs

Schellenberg - nonbelief - whether resistant or nonresistant 

Obstacle for our faith

Schellenberg - Resistance - includes desire component 

• Desire to not be in a relationship with God but do your own thing, drift

• Can also resist passively - without desire 

1 way of resisting - non desire 

Ex: being resistant to someone’ s charm 

• Moreso true when its a thing you should hope exists - (but you have no desire on subject at all - passive resistance)