Divine hiddenness: Part 2 (recent enlargements of the discussion)

J. L. Schellenberg

doi:10.1111/phc3.12413

On the Axiology of a Hidden God

European Journal for Philosophy of Religion ◽

10.24204/ejpr.v10i4.2521 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 79-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kirk Lougheed

Keyword(s):

Correct Answer ◽

Philosophy Of Religion ◽

Divine Hiddenness ◽

Hidden God

The axiological question in the philosophy of religion is the question of what impact, if any, God’s existence does (or would) make to the axiological value of our world. It has recently been argued that we should prefer a theistic world where God is hidden to an atheistic world or a theistic world where God isn’t hidden. This is because in a hidden theistic world all of the theistic goods obtain in addition to the experience of atheistic goods. I complete this line of argument by showing that theistic goods do (or could) indeed obtain in a world where God hides. In doing so I indirectly argue against proponents of divine hiddenness arguments such as J.L. Schellenberg. The correct answer to the axiological question turns out to be a solution to the problem of divine hiddenness.

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The Problem of Divine Hiddenness

10.1093/oso/9780198826019.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Michael C. Rea

Keyword(s):

Problem Of Evil ◽

Philosophical Discussion ◽

Detailed Characterization ◽

The Past ◽

Divine Hiddenness ◽

The Problem Of Evil ◽

The Relationship

This chapter provides a detailed characterization of the various meanings of the term “divine hiddenness,” carefully and rigorously articulates the version of the problem of divine hiddenness that has dominated contemporary philosophical discussion for the past twenty-five years, and then explains the relationship between that problem and the problem of evil.

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Divine Hiddenness

10.1002/9781119009924.eopr0110 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Paul K. Moser

Keyword(s):

Divine Hiddenness

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Hope and the Problem of Divine Silence

European Journal for Philosophy of Religion ◽

10.24204/ejpr.v8i4.1761 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 157-178

Author(s):

Aaron D. Cobb

Keyword(s):

Human Agency ◽

Personal Concern ◽

Divine Hiddenness ◽

Ability To Act

The silence of God either by itself or in circumstances of profound suffering can induce hopelessness and despair, eroding a person’s ability to act in ways conducive to her own good. Given the role of hope in human agency, the loss of hope is an event of a significant moral and personal concern. And the standard responses to the problem of divine hiddenness may not address the existential crises occasioned by God’s silence. This paper seeks to develop and address this challenge by evaluating two potential responses to the problem of despair-inducing experience of divine silence.

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Desiring the Hidden God: Knowledge Without Belief

European Journal for Philosophy of Religion ◽

10.24204/ejpr.v8i4.1717 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 51-64

Author(s):

Julian Perlmutter

Keyword(s):

Recent Work ◽

Sacred Music ◽

Christian Tradition ◽

Personal Significance ◽

Divine Hiddenness ◽

Hidden God

For many people, the phenomenon of divine hiddenness is so total that it is far from clear to them that God (roughly speaking, the God of Jewish and Christian tradition) exists at all. Reasonably enough, they therefore do not believe that God exists. Yet it is possible, whilst lacking belief in God’s reality, nonetheless to see it as a possibility that is both realistic and attractive; and in this situation, one will likely want to be open to the considerable benefits that would be available if God were real. In this paper I argue that certain kinds of desire for God can aid this non-believing openness. It is possible to desire God even in a state of non-belief, since desire does not require belief that its object exists. I argue that if we desire God in some particular capacity, and with some sense of what would constitute satisfaction, then through the desire we have knowledge – incomplete yet vivid in its personal significance – about the attributes God would need in order to satisfy us; thus, if God is real and does have those attributes, one knows something about God through desiring him. Because desire does not require belief, neither does the knowledge in question. Expanding on recent work by Vadas and Wynn, I sketch the epistemology of desire needed to support this argument. I then apply this epistemology to desire for God. An important question is how one might cultivate the requisite kinds desire for God; and one way, I argue, is through engaging with certain kinds of sacred music. I illustrate desire’s religiously epistemic power in this context, before replying to two objections.

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God’s Awful Majesty Before Our Eyes: Kant’s Moral Justification for Divine Hiddenness

Kantian Review ◽

10.1017/s1369415416000406 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 133-157

Author(s):

Tyler Paytas

Keyword(s):

Moral Justification ◽

Moral Law ◽

Divine Hiddenness ◽

Self Interest

AbstractThe problem of ‘divine hiddenness’ arises from the lack of an explanation for why an all-loving God would choose not to make his existence evident. I argue that Kant provides a compelling solution to this problem in an often overlooked passage located near the end of the second Critique. Kant’s suggestion is that God’s revealing himself would preclude the development of virtue because we would lose the experience of conflict between self-interest and the moral law. I provide a reconstruction and defence of Kant’s argument, and I explain why it is consistent with his overall position in the second Critique.

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