Why Isn’t God More Obvious?

Why isn’t God more evident? Why can’t I behold the omnipresent? Why do my cries go unanswered – does He who made ears fail to hear? Where is God when it hurts? God seems hidden – is He even there at all? Atheist Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if after death he met God, to which Russell replied: “God, you gave us insufficient evidence.”[1] This issue is known as the problem of divine hiddenness,[2] a topic with which I can empathize. Here are a few points to ponder.

“When does the absence of evidence become evidence of absence?”[3] In the case of God, we can ask, if God existed, what sort of evidence should we expect? God is the transcendent Creator of the world. He is not like two characters in a story trying to find each other; instead, it is like seeking the author.[4]

In Christian understanding, God did not merely create humans to believe that He exists; rather, to have a loving relationship with him. Further, the Bible teaches that humanity is in a state of rebellion against God. Meaning that there is a sense in which we hid from God, not the other way around (cf. Gen 3:8–10; Isaiah 59:2). Perhaps we have to ask ourselves, how would we react if we were to perceive God’s presence in our lives? God loves us enough that he was willing to pay our debts, even at the cost of Jesus’ death on the cross. Maybe if all we were going to do was to react in anger, it could, in fact, be God’s kindness that He stays undetected for the time being. But if we are ready to draw near to Him, we might find that He is not that far from each of us (cf. James 4:8; Acts 17:27).[5]

Jesus did not force his message on others (cf. Matt 13:10–15); rather, it was for those who had “ears to hear” (cf. Mark 4:9, 23; Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Luke 8:8; 14:35). Jesus was a gentle king who rode a donkey (cf. Mark 11:7; Matt 21:7; Luke 19:35; John 12:14–15; Zech 9:9). Even some of those closest to Jesus were unsure that He was really the one (cf. Matt 11:3–6; Luke 7:19–23).

Remember that “the lack of more obvious evidence does not mean that there is no evidence.”[6] In fact, the more I investigated the evidence, I found that there were many good reasons for thinking God was there.[7] As Christian philosopher William Lane Craig summarizes, “God is the best explanation why anything at all exists; …of the origin of the universe; …of the applicability of mathematics to the physical world; …of the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life; …of intentional states of consciousness; …of objective moral values and duties; The very possibility of God’s existence implies that God exists; [and] God can be personally known and experienced.”[8] However, what if you explore the case for God’s existence and find yourself unsure. Pascal’s wager suggests that given what is at stake is the possibility of eternal gain, life everlasting, it is worth looking further into the matter.[9]

Conclusion

God graciously holds his hands open to all who will come (cf. Isa 65:2). God has already lovingly done all that needs to be done so that if we so choose, we can return to God (cf. James 4:8; Mal 3:7). We must consider whether our attitude is receptive? Perhaps “we can truly come to know God only if we acknowledge our unworthiness of knowing God.”[10]

By David Graieg 13 May 2022

[1] Russell, “The Talk of the Town,” 29; cited in Seckel, Bertrand Russell on God and Religion, 11.

[2] Interestingly, the Bible itself speaks of God’s hiddenness. For instance, “I travel East looking for him—I find no one; then West, but not a trace; I go North, but he’s hidden his tracks; then South, but not even a glimpse” (Job 23:8–9, The Message). “So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed” (2 Peter 3:4, The Message). “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”” (Psa 42:3 NIV2011). “Arouse, yourself, why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, and do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression?” (Psa 44:23–24 NKJV; see also Psa 10:1; Job 13:24).

[3] Craig, “Is God Imaginary?”

[4] For example, how would the fantastic four find their creator? Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would have to write/draw themselves into the story, as happens in Fantastic Four #511. According to Christianity, God came in the flesh and in that sense, He entered into the story.

[5] Along these lines, Loke argues that God has “left behind sufficient evidence for his existence […] that those people whom he foreknew would be willing to enter into a love relationship with him would eventually get to know about these evidences” (Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism, 176).

[6] Loke, Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism, 176. Sagan argued that if God wanted to send us a message, He could have put a monster crucifix orbiting the earth or covered the surface of the moon with the Ten Commandments (Contact, 164). The Bible indicates that demons know God is (cf. James 2:19) and yet remain in opposition to God. Further, throughout the Bible, many who see miracles do not necessarily draw closer to God (cf. John 6:30; 7:4–5, 17; 10:24–26; 14:22–23; Matt 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:12). For instance, the Israelites, who witnessed the miracles in Egypt and were miraculously sustained in the wilderness by the manna and the pillar of fire, still repeatedly rebelled against God. In Luke 16:19–31, the rich man asks for Lazarus to be sent back from the dead to warn the others, yet Jesus states that if one will not believe the scriptures, they will not believe even if someone were to come back from the grave.

[7] Cf. Dougherty and Walls, eds., Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God.

[8] Craig, “Does God Exist?” For short, animated videos discussing these arguments, see: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gdeV4Rk9EfL-NyraEGXXwSjDNeMaRoX

[9] Cf. Jordan, Pascal’s Wager; Bartha and Pasternack, eds., Pascal’s Wager; Hájek, “Pascal’s Wager.”

[10][10] Moser, Why Isn’t God More Obvious?, 29.

Bibliography

Bartha, Paul, and Lawrence Pasternack, eds. Pascal’s Wager. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Craig, William Lane. “Does God Exist?” Reasonable Faith. Accessed November 25, 2021. https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-nature-of-god/does-god-exist1/

Craig, William Lane. “Is God Imaginary?” Reasonable Faith. Question of the Week #115. June 29, 2009. https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/is-god-imaginary/

Dougherty, Trent, and Jerry Walls, eds. Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God: The Plantinga Project. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Hájek, Alan. “Pascal’s Wager.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford, CA: The Metaphysics Research Lab, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/pascal-wager/

Jordan, Jeff. Pascal’s Wager: Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God. United Kingdom: Clarendon Press, 2006.

Loke, Andrew Ter Ern. Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism. Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology, and Biblical Studies 112. New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.

Moser, Paul. K. Why Isn’t God More Obvious? Finding the God Who Hides and Seeks. Atlanta, GA: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, 2000.

Russell, Bertrand. “The Talk of the Town.” The New Yorker. February 21, 1970.

Sagan, Carl. Contact. United Kingdom: Pocket Books, 1997.

Seckel, Al, ed. Bertrand Russell on God and Religion. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1986.