پژوهشنامه فلسفه دین (Feb 2022)
The Meaning of Life, A Possible World with Complete Divine Love, and the Divine Hiddenness
Abstract
For the first time in 1993, Schellenberg introduced "divine hiddenness" as an argument against theism. Since then, his argument has been at the center of criticism and defense. In addition to explaining Schellenberg's argument and the most important critiques, this article introduces two new critiques by having an analytical-critical approach. The first is through contemplating the meaning of life. Regarding the benefits of a loving relationship with God, Schellenberg believes that such a relationship contributes to human well-being. He considers the personal relationship with God valuable in itself, which is essential to the meaning of human life. However, the main question is whether a personal relationship with God (that is, a conscious, interactive, and meaningful positive relationship with Him) is essential to the meaning of human life. Another criticism is the nonexistence of a possible world with complete divine love. In this critique, we state that for every world we consider, we can imagine a world with more divine love than it, and that world can also be actual. Therefore, if perfect divine love does not require the actualization of a possible world with complete divine love, it is also compatible with inculpable nonbelief.
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