The Hiddenness Argument

The Hiddenness Argument, for the nonexistence of God, as quoted from John L. Schellenberg's 1993 book, Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason.

 

The Hiddenness Argument

1. If there is a perfectly loving God, all creatures capable of explicit and positively meaningful relationships with God who have not freely shut themselves off from God are in a position to participate in such a relationship, that is, able to do so just by trying to.
2. No one can be in a position to participate in such relationship without believing that God exists.
3. If there is a perfectly loving God, all creatures capable of explicit and positively meaningful relationships with God who have not freely shut themselves off from God believe that God exists (from 1 and 2).
4. It is not the case that all creatures capable of explicit and positively meaningful relationships with God who have not freely shut themselves off from God believe that God exists: there is non-resistant nonbelief; "God is Hidden."
5. It is not the case that there is a perfectly loving God (from 3 and 4).
6. If God exists, God is perfectly loving.
7. It is not the case that God exists (from 5 and 6).

Beachbum's Mountain View