The Presence of a Hidden God

Is God hidden? To hear skeptics speak, you would think so. One of the most famous nonbelievers of the twentieth century was the British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell. Well known for his skeptical stance, he even wrote a book titledWhy I Am Not a Christian.Reportedly, when he was at death's door, he was asked about his readiness to die; what if it turned out therewasa God after all? In that case, Russell replied, he would ask the Almighty this question: "Why didn't You give us more evidence?" His reaction prompted this comment from author and science teacher Ken Poppe: [Russell] seems to be positioning himself in case he needs to shift the blame of his disbelief to God for not being more convincing. (Hmmm. Did he never see a bright full moon setting in the cool, blue western sky, while the sun rose circular and red through the eastern clouds? Did he never hold a newborn baby?)1 Who's correct: Russell or Poppe? Indeed, is God hidden? Some people think so, but the problem lies with them, not with Him. "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled" (Titus 1:15). To the righteous, God is clearly there. To the unrighteous, God is absentor worse, if He's there at all, He is cruel. God is not really hidden; He just appears so to those who don't know Him. Yet even believers sometimes feel that He hides His face and seems absent when we need Him most. Blaise Pascal put it this way: "What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence of God nor his manifest presence, but rather the presence of a hidden God."2 Likewise the classic hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" reminds us that the darkness may seem to hide God: Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee; Perfect in power, in love, and purity.3 The "eye of sinful man" is unable to perceive the Lord or His glory. In other words, to a blind man God may seem hidden, but to those whose eyes He has opened, He isn't hidden at all. He has clearly revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. In every language, every tribe, and every culture, we find a word for God. He has not left Himself without a witness, nor is there anywhere on earth where His fingerprints are absent. Pascal reflected on God's manner of revealing Himself to us through Christ: Since so many have become unworthy of his mercy, he wished to deprive them of the good that they did not desire. It was therefore not right that [Christ] should appear before them in a manner that was obviously divine and absolutely bound to convince all mankind. Neither was it right that his coming should be in such hiddenness that he could not be recognized even by those who sincerely looked for him. But he wished to make himself perfectly recognizable to such.4 This is reminiscent of a promise from Jesus: "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God" ( John 7:17, NIV). Militant Atheism God has more than His share of critics. If He could be sued, there are plenty of people who would bring Him before the bar. Today there has arisen a virulent form of atheism. Militant atheists are on the march. One of them, Sam Harris, wrote a book entitledLetter to a Christian Nation,essentially appealing to us to become like the failed Soviet Union. (He doesn't actually word it that way, but that's the effect of his message.) His book and a handful of other virulent anti- Christian creeds have made it onto theNew York Timesbestseller list. OKennedy, D. James is the author of 'The Presence of a Hidden God' with ISBN 9781601420770 and ISBN 1601420773.