The Hiddenness Argument: Philosophy's New Challenge to Belief in God

In many places and times, and for many people, God's existence has been rather less than a clear fact. According to the hiddenness argument, this is actually a reason to suppose that it is not a fact at all. The hiddenness argument is a new argument for atheism that has come to prominence in philosophy over the past two decades. J. L. Schellenberg first developed the argument in 1993, and this book offers a short and vigorous statement of its central claims and ideas. Logically sharp but so clear that anyone can understand, the book addresses little-discussed issues such as why it took so long for hiddenness reasoning to emerge in philosophy, and how the hiddenness problem is distinct from the problem of evil. It concludes with the fascinating thought that retiring the last of the personal gods might leave us nearer the beginning of religion than the end. Though an atheist, Schellenberg writes sensitively and with a nuanced insider's grasp of the religious life. Pertinent aspects of his experience as a believer and as a nonbeliever, and of his own engagement with hiddenness issues, are included. Set in this personal context, and against an authoritative background on relevant logical, conceptual, and historical matters, The Hiddenness Argument's careful but provocative reasoning makes crystal clear just what this new argument is and why it matters.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Preface 1: Some Basic Tools 2: A Conceptual Map 3: Why So Late to the Show? 4: The Main Premise 5: Add Insight and Stir 6: Nonresistant Nonbelief 7: Must a God Be Loving? 8: The Challenge Coda: After Personal Gods Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
J. L. Schellenberg (DPhil, Oxford) is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Vincent University and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University. He is the author of Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason and of a recent trilogy on the philosophy of religion: Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion, The Wisdom to Doubt: A Justification of Religious Skepticism, and The Will to Imagine: A Justification of Skeptical Religion. The ideas of the trilogy are placed into an evolutionary context and made generally accessible in his recent short work from Oxford called Evolutionary Religion.

Review :
Schellenberg anticipates and intercepts his readers' responses to his arguments, and throughout, the book succeeds in generating the sense that author and reader are engaged in dialogue ... Many readers will find The Hiddenness Argument productively thought provoking, a spur to reflection on the nature and desires of God. Schellenberg's goal in this monograph is to write a non-academic, yet rigorous, statement of the hiddenness argument. The prose is written so as to be accessible to a broad audience and, in my judgment, succeeds in this effort ... the book is representative of the sustained work Schellenberg has accomplished over the years to advance this important topic and draw attention to one form the argument can take -- a form that was largely neglected prior to his presentation of the issue. Divine hiddenness is a problem many grapple with and I hope the book will accomplish its goal of introducing the problem to a broader audience. In contrast to the polemics that normally fire back and forth across the imaginary lines of the culture wars, this essential, accessible book has an argument truly worth contending with. But it is also more than an argument; Schellenberg's way of thinking opens possibilities that are spiritual as well as rational, fully human as well as satisfyingly precise. Schellenberg's arguments about the alleged hiddenness of God have been much discussed in recent years. In a welcome, and accessible, book he introduces this challenging issue to a wider readership with clarity and incisiveness. For all those who really want to know whether God exists, reading The Hiddenness Argument is a must. The book is written for the widest possible readership and great fun to read. A powerful and yet simple statement of one of the most powerful and yet simple arguments for atheism that has been developed in recent years. Had I read John Schellenberg's brilliant new work, which gives title and cogency to the argument from the hiddenness of God, I would have become an unbeliever years before. In fact, of all the arguments for and against God's existence (and I've heard them all) this is the most powerful I have encountered in support of the atheist position. A tour de force. I wonder what the implications would be if we took Schellenberg's optimism about human reasoning and applied it more broadly . . . one of the things that has struck me the most about the development of Schellenberg's thought is precisely his optimism about human reason and its prospects. The spirit of Schellenberg's work is never one of pessimistic judgment about the errors and superstitions of religious folk. He is not a mocker. Rather, his writing seems to flow from a conviction that there's so much out there to explore.