The Hiddenness of God
Published on 25. August 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-19-284516-0 (ISBN)
Description
The Hiddenness of God addresses the problem of divine hiddenness which concerns the ambiguity of evidence for God's existence, the elusiveness of God's comforting presence, the palpable and devastating experience of divine absence and abandonment, and more; phenomena which are hard to reconcile with the idea, central to the Jewish and Christian scriptures, that there exists a God who is deeply and lovingly concerned with the lives of humans. Michael C. Rea argues that divine hiddenness is not a problem to be explained away but rather a consequence of the nature of God himself. He shows that it rests on unwarranted assumptions and expectations about God's love for human beings. Rea explains how scripture and tradition bear testimony not only to God's love, but to God's transcendence. He shows that God's transcendence should be understood as implying that all of God's intrinsic attributes-divine love included-elude our grasp in significant ways.
Reviews / Votes
Recommended. * J. Sienkiewicz, CHOICE * Rea's proposal about the wide accessibility of experiential encounters with God is both a breath of fresh air in the context of the philosophical debate about hiddenness and is enormously valuable from a pastoral perspective. In sum, this is an excellent book that substantially furthers the discussion of ADH by challenging some of its deepest assumptions, assumptions that even most of Schellenberg's theistic interlocutors have simply taken for granted. * Max Baker-Hytch, The Journal of Religion * I suspect this book will be a staple in the literature of the hiddenness problem. Rea's transcendence defense, like the skeptical theist defense, is formidable. His argument about how God relates to people more than they think is going to be more controversial and probably selectively successful with people who already hold certain dispositions. As I mentioned before, I think anyone personally or academically interested in the problem of divine hiddenness should read this book. It is well written, multidisciplinary, and compelling. * Ben Whittington, Reading Religion * [P]astorally insightful and academically rigorous. * Michael J. Dodds O.P., The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
274 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-284516-0 (9780192845160)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michael C. Rea is a Professorial Fellow at the Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology at the University of St Andrews, as well as Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame, where he has taught since 2001. He has written or edited more than ten books and thirty articles in metaphysics and the philosophy of religion, and has given numerous lectures in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, China, and Iran. He was the 2017 Gifford Lecturer at the University of St Andrews. His publications include Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology (co-edited with Oliver D. Crisp; 2009), Philosophical and Theological Essays on the Trinity (co-edited with Thomas McCall; 2009), and The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology (co-edited with Thomas P. Flint; 2009). He is also the series editor of Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology with Oliver D. Crisp.
Content
1: Introduction
2: Hidden God
3: God and the Attributes
4: Hiddenness and Transcendence
5: Divine Love and Personality
6: Visions and Voices
7: Divine Presence in a Material World
8: A God to Contend With
9: The Scandal of Particularity
References
2: Hidden God
3: God and the Attributes
4: Hiddenness and Transcendence
5: Divine Love and Personality
6: Visions and Voices
7: Divine Presence in a Material World
8: A God to Contend With
9: The Scandal of Particularity
References