Divine Hiddenness

Chad Engelland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas and author of many books, including Ostension (MIT, 2014), Heidegger's Shadow(Routledge, 2017), Phenomenology (MIT, 2020), and Heidegger on Transcendence (CUP, 2025). He is the editor of Language and Phenomenology(Routledge, 2021). His articles have appeared in such venues as Journal of the American Philosophical Association, the Journal of the History of Philosophy, and Faith and Philosophy.

• Introduction: the hidden God; 1. Divine hiddenness and phenomenology; 2. God the creator and the natural theological attitude; 3. Augustine: overheard confession; 4. Anselm: linguistic ostension; 5. Aquinas: interpersonal manifestation; 6. Deferred ostension; 7. Hidden minds; 8. Desire, wonder, and gratitude; Conclusion: 'God the creator' as deferred ostension; Epilogue: inconspicuous incarnation in the Gospel of Mark; Works cited.

'This work provides an original and provocative response to the problem of divine hiddenness. The author argues that divine hiddenness, rather than being an insuperable problem, is a necessary consequence of God's status as the creator of everything finite. Drawing from a wide range of authors, including Kierkegaard, the author attempts to show that this hidden God can nonetheless be known and identified from his works. This is a book that makes an important contribution to natural theology.' C. Stephen Evans, Emeritus University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University