Some resistant non-theists, upon coming to belief, would immediately reject loving relationship.
This page analyzes two arguments:
This is relevant because God's specified motivation to ensure a given person would believe is to allow for relationship, and that motivation is lost insofar as God knows that the given person would immediately reject relationship even while becoming a theist.
But so what?
• Paul Moser (Philosophy professor at Loyola Chicago): “This means that God wants us to love God and thus to treasure God, not just to believe that God exists (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30; James 2:19). The Hebraic God wants all people to enter lovingly into God’s life, in action as well as thought. So production of mere reasonable belief that God exists does not meet God’s higher aim for humans. For our own good, God is after something more profound and more transforming than simple reasonable belief. As all-loving, God will not settle for anything less.” [“Divine Hiddenness Does Not Justify Atheism” (eds) M. L. Peterson, R. J. VanArragon Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion (Blackwell, 2004), 44.]
• Robert T. Lehe (Philosophy professor at North Central College): “Given the complicated psychology of the process of moving toward religious commitment, it is by no means obvious that the most effective way for God to move a person to desire conversion involves the shortest possible path to belief that God exists.” [“A Response to the Argument from the Reasonableness of Nonbelief,” Faith and Philosophy 21(2) (2004): 163.]
• Travis Dumsday (Philosophy professor at Concordia): “…it is worth recalling something that all parties to the debate grant, namely that God’s aim is supposed to be that of enabling us to have a positive relationship with Him. His aim is not merely to convince us of His reality, but to allow for such a relationship.” [“Divine hiddenness and creaturely resentment” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 72 (2012): 43.]
Some non-theists would just form a perpetually improper relationship with God if, in their current state, they suddenly believed and even entered into a kind of relationship with God.
This page analyzes five examples:
This is relevant because such an improper relationship could be such that it is better for it to have never existed, or at least it woud entirely l lack value such that God would lack motivation to bring it about.1
Some non-theists, if they became theists, would enter proper relationship with God but then abandon it later in life.
This page analyzes four example ways:
This is relevant because if it will be abandoned later in life, then plausibly it holds no value (or even negative value) to God.
But so what? Plausibly that short time would be worth it to a loving God.
Plausibly, greater relationship goods ultimately obtain with God's existence being unclear to some non-believers
This page analyzes three ways:
This is evidence that God would plausibly allow people to be non-theists because palusibly God might want to bring about these greater relationship goods that might require it.
Greater goods around the world ultimately obtain with God's existence being unclear to some non-believers
This page analyzes six arguments:
This casts doubt on the claim that a loving God would ensure we know he exists, because plausibly God would want to bring about these goods which require some measure of hiddenness.
God can have relationship with someone just fine even while the person is a non-theist.
See this page to examine five examples:
Being able to relate to God admist unbelief undercuts the Divine Hiddenness argument because the whole reason God allegedly would prove his existence is in order to allow for relationship. That reason would be gone insofar as these are sufficient.
But so what? Belief is required for a relationship that is deep and reciprocal.1
The greatest kind of love is Earthly/motherly love.1(Forthcoming) This is relevant because,
J.L. Schellenberg: “The possibility of some form of personal interaction with the parent will (insofar as she is able to ensure it) always be there. What loving parent would ever willingly allow this possibility to be taken completely away? Parental love will not permit this to occur when it can be prevented.” [“What the Hiddenness of God Reveals,” Divine Hiddenness: New Essays (Cambridge, 2002), 24.]
- J.L. Schellenberg: “In examining [the] concept [of God's perfect love], [we must] develop our understanding of it … by reference to what is best in human love. [“Does Divine Hiddenness Justify Atheism” in M. L. Peterson & R. J. VanArragon (Eds.), Contemporary debates in the philosophy of religion (Blackwell, 2004), 39.]
- J.L. Schellenberg: “…reflection on the concept of divine love shows that a perfectly loving God would necessarily seek personal relationship with all individuals [who are not resistant] … [because] the seeking of personal relationship is an essential part of the best human love …[Therefore] Something similar must apply to God’s love for us. [“Divine Hiddenness Justifies Atheism” in (Ed.) M. Read, Evil and the Hiddenness of God (Cengage, 2015) 69.]