Here is Schellenberg’s argument from his book Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason (1993).
- If no perfectly loving God exists, then God does not exist.
- If a perfectly loving God exists, then there is a God who is always open to personal relationship with each human person.
- If there is a God who is always open to personal relationship with each human person, then no human person is ever non-resistantly unaware that God exists.
- If a perfectly loving God exists, then no human person is ever non-resistantly unaware that God exists (from 2 and 3).
- Some human persons are non-resistantly unaware that God exists.
- No perfectly loving God exists (from 4 and 5).
- God does not exist (from 1 and 6).
The hiddenness argument begins with the view of God as “personal.” From here, it targets the “lovingness” of God. The argument begins with the idea that if God exists then God is perfectly loving. If God is perfectly loving, anyone that is capable of making a relationship with him and are not resisting such relationship will be in a position to participate in a relationship with God. To be in this position relies on a belief in the existence of God.
However, this isn’t the case. There are plenty of people who are non-resistantly not believing in a God. Therefore, there is no perfectly loving God. Therefore, there is no God. It is a deductive argument.
The key tool of this argument is the very existence of non-resistant non-belief, i. e. the existence of people who do not resist the existence of God and yet still disbelieve.
John began with the concept of perfect love, its requirements (openness to relationship, )
Premise 1: If God exists, God is perfectly loving. Premise 2: If God exists and has created persons who are recipients of his love,
God (the lover) should always make sure that the person who is loved is in the position to participate in a relationship with him without force. The argument is asking for the minimal requirement that humans are “able” to love God back.
How can you participate in love if the other person is unable to do so? The love shouldn’t be this distant thing. It has to be this shared, intimate thing.
The biggest argument of this argument is that there are lots of people who aren’t able to get started in a relationship with God.
Nevertheless, Schellenberg doesn’t deny the existence of what he calls “divine reality.” But this divine reality isn’t the personal God of theism.
References
Brown, Andrew James. “A Walk to Meg’s Mount from Wandlebury along the Roman Road and a Note about ‘Divine Hiddenness’ and the ‘Argument from Non-Belief’ for Atheism.” Caute, 4 Nov. 2014, https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-walk-to-megs-mount-from-wandlebury.html.
Atheism’s Best Arguments - J.L. Schellenberg. Directed by Closer to Truth, https://closertotruth.com/video/schjo-005/. Accessed 17 May 2024.