Why doesn’t God make his presence undeniable to honest inquirers? It seems like a God who is all-good would not leave us stumbling in the dark, unsure of his existence—especially in times of trial and suffering when we need him most. The reality of God’s hiddenness can be a cause for struggle in our faith life, and skeptics seize on it to claim that he doesn’t even exist. In this talk at the 2023 Catholic Answers Conference, I explains why it’s no reason for despair or doubt. Using a popular philosophical approach that is thorough and intellectually satisfying yet still accessible, I show how God’s apparent hiddenness is not contrary to his goodness, but flows from it.
Why Doesn’t God Show His Face? Making Sense of Divine Hiddenness
