Divine Hiddenness: New Essays

For many people the existence of God is by no means a sufficiently clear feature of reality. This problem, the fact of divine hiddenness, has been a source of existential concern and has sometimes been taken as a rationale for support of atheism or agnosticism. In this new collection of essays, a distinguished group of philosophers of religion explore the question of divine hiddenness in considerable detail. The issue is approached from several perspectives including Jewish, Christian, atheist and agnostic. There is coverage of the historical treatment of divine hiddenness as found in the work of Maimonides, St. John of the Cross, Jonathan Edwards, Kierkegaard, and various Biblical writers. A substantial introduction clarifies the main problems of and leading solutions to divine hiddenness. Primarily directed at philosophers of religion, theologians, and scholars of religious studies, this collection could also serve as a textbook for upper-level courses in philosophy of religion.

• First systematic study of divine hiddenness • Contributors include some distinguished philosophers of religion • Strong interdisciplinary readership

Introduction; Part I. The Problem of Divine Hiddenness Posed: 1. What the hiddenness of God reveals: a collaborative discussion J. L. Schellenberg; 2. What is the problem of the hiddenness of God? Peter van Inwagen; Part II. Thematic Historical Responses: 3. The hiddenness of God: a puzzle or a real problem? Jacob Joshua Ross; 4. St. John of the Cross and the necessity of divine hiddenness Laura L. Garcia; 5. Jonathan Edwards and the hiddenness of God William J. Wainwright; 6. A Kierkegaardian view of Divine Hiddenness; Part III. Contemporary Responses: 7. Divine hiding and cognitive idolatry Paul K. Moser; 8. Deus Absconditus Michael J. Murray; 9. Divine hiddenness: what is the problem? Jonathan L. Kvanvig; 10. Seeking but not believing: confessions of a practicing agnostic Paul Draper; 11. The silence of the God who speaks Nicholas Wolterstorff.