Skip to main content

Hard Problem of Theism

The Problem of Divine Hiddenness: If a perfectly loving, omnipotent God exists who desires a relationship with all people, why is God's existence not universally obvious and undeniable? The ambiguity of the world, the prevalence of non-belief among sincere seekers, and the reliance on faith (which implies a lack of direct knowledge) seem inconsistent with a loving deity's goals. A hidden God might be plausible for a deistic watchmaker, but for a personal, intervening God of love, the hiddenness is paradoxical. It suggests either God is not all-powerful (can't reveal clearly), not all-loving (doesn't want to), or we are misunderstanding the divine nature entirely.
Example: A child dies praying for a miracle that never comes. A theologian says, "God's ways are mysterious." The grieving parent asks, "Why make the way of basic recognition so mysterious first?" If a human parent hid from their lost, crying child to "test their love," we'd call it cruelty. The hard problem: Theistic explanations for hiddenness (e.g., to preserve free will, to build character) seem grossly disproportionate to the resulting oceans of suffering, doubt, and misdirected worship. A God who could end all sincere existential confusion with a wink chooses instead a world where most of humanity worships conflicting, man-made images of Him. Hard Problem of Theism.
by Enkigal January 24, 2026
mugGet the Hard Problem of Theism mug.

2+2 is 4 minus 1 thats 3 quick math

Genius math equation. Invented by the

mathematician big shaq.
Math teacher: 2+2 is 4 minus 1 thats 3 quick math.
Me: mom, are you ok?
by Papa günter January 7, 2018
mugGet the 2+2 is 4 minus 1 thats 3 quick math mug.
Related Words
You both 1v1 in any game of choice, but loser is subject to sending a cumming video
"Do you want to participate in National 1v1 your partner, but loser sends the other participant a video of themselves cumming day?"
by insertceo August 3, 2022
mugGet the National 1v1 your partner, but loser sends the other participant a video of themselves cumming mug.
Nice projection lmao. When I run out of vbucks I always load back up with the $90 option because thats about as much as it costs to refill my Corvette. It's no big deal to me because I have steady income.
Nice projection lmao. When I run out of vbucks I always load back up with the $90 option because thats about as much as it costs to refill my Corvette. It's no big deal to me because I have steady income.
by Sudor5183 November 16, 2023
mugGet the Nice projection lmao. When I run out of vbucks I always load back up with the $90 option because thats about as much as it costs to refill my Corvette. It's no big deal to me because I have steady income. mug.

Share this definition

Sign in to vote

We'll email you a link to sign in instantly.

Or

Check your email

We sent a link to

Open your email