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Last reviewed April 26, 2026

Divine Hiddenness

If God exists and wants a relationship with us, why is he not more obvious?

PhilosophicalExperiential

Why it matters

J.L. Schellenberg's hiddenness argument is one of the most powerful contemporary atheistic arguments. It asks why, if a loving God exists, there are sincere non-resistant non-believers. Christian responses range from skeptical theism to arguments that the "hiddenness" is itself strategic for the kind of relationship God wants.

The main case

Schellenberg (1993): (1) If a perfectly loving God exists, he would ensure that every sincere seeker is in a position to relate to him. (2) There are sincere non-resistant non-believers. (3) Therefore, a perfectly loving God does not exist. Responses: (a) Plausibly, many apparent non-resistant non-believers have subtle resistance they themselves do not see (Pascal). (b) God's hiddenness may serve the moral development and freedom of a free response — an overwhelming display would coerce. (c) Historically, God has not been silent: the prophets, the incarnation, the resurrection are public, not hidden, revelation. (d) Christian tradition (Ps 42, Job, dark-night mystics) acknowledges God's apparent hiddenness without denying his reality.

Claim · Evidence · Objection · Response

1.The empirical claim of non-resistant non-belief is harder to verify than it sounds.

Debated

Evidence

  • Sincere seeking often includes subtle preferences for autonomy that block belief.
  • Pascal: "There is enough light for those who want to see, and enough obscurity for those who do not."
  • Classical theology distinguishes intellectual assent from existential trust.

Strongest objection

"This is dismissive of genuine seekers who remain unconvinced."

Response

Not dismissive — but honest about the layered nature of belief. Many who think they are fully non-resistant discover, on reflection, deeper commitments they were not fully aware of.

PhilosophicalExperiential
Sources
  • Warranted Christian Belief — Alvin Plantinga (2000)scholarlyFind on Amazon
  • Reasonable Faith — William Lane Craig (2008 (3rd ed.))scholarlyFind on Amazon

2.A certain amount of hiddenness may be necessary for genuine response.

Debated

Evidence

  • Overwhelming evidence produces compelled belief, not free trust.
  • Relationships require room for the other to approach freely.
  • Scripture repeatedly frames God as sought, not simply observed (Jer 29:13; Matt 7:7).

Strongest objection

"God could reveal himself strongly without coercing."

Response

Perhaps — but the threshold between strong and coercive is elusive. And Christian belief points to a God who has done something very public (the resurrection) to balance hiddenness.

PhilosophicalTextual
Sources

What scholars debate

Schellenberg's argument continues to develop. Responders include Howard-Snyder, Moser, and Henry. The discussion often turns on whether "love" in the premise is personal-relational or a more abstract utilitarian concept.

Reflection

  • 1.Have you experienced God as hidden at times?
  • 2.What role does human freedom play in the kind of revelation God offers?
  • 3.How does the resurrection affect the hiddenness question?

Key sources

Sources
  • Warranted Christian Belief — Alvin Plantinga (2000)scholarlyFind on Amazon
  • The Problem of Pain — C.S. Lewis (1940)popularFind on Amazon
  • Reasonable Faith — William Lane Craig (2008 (3rd ed.))scholarlyFind on Amazon

Featured thinkers

Alvin Plantinga
John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Notre Dame

A founding figure of the revival of Christian philosophy in the 20th century, known for Reformed Epistemology, the Free Will Defense, and the Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism.

Notable: God and Other Minds; Warranted Christian Belief
C.S. Lewis
Oxford scholar, literary critic, lay theologian

Twentieth-century Oxford and Cambridge scholar whose works on moral reasoning, joy, and the reasonableness of Christianity shaped modern apologetics.

Notable: Mere Christianity; The Problem of Pain
William Lane Craig
Philosopher and theologian (PhD Birmingham, ThD Munich)

A leading contemporary defender of the Kalam cosmological argument and the historicity of the resurrection.

Notable: Reasonable Faith; The Kalam Cosmological Argument
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