Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin

Why Doesn't God Make Himself Obvious? with Gavin Ortlund

Jan 30, 2024

Gavin Ortlund, an expert on divine transcendence and the incarnation, explores why God doesn't make Himself obvious. They discuss misplaced expectations, the limitations of human understanding, and the veiled nature of God's revelation through Jesus. They also address the unfairness objection and emphasize the importance of missions and seeking God.

32:39

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Episode guests

Gavin Ortlund

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

A fully unmitigated revelation of God may not necessarily be beneficial for us, as it may not align with the nature of our world and the process of becoming.

Expecting God to conform to our own intuitions and preferences can hinder our understanding of His transcendence and limit our faith in Him.

Deep dives

The Issue of Divine Hiddenness

The podcast explores the question of why God doesn't make Himself more obvious in order to eliminate doubts and uncertainties about His existence. It suggests that this question is becoming more prominent in today's culture, where many individuals struggle with intellectual anxiety and seek clear evidence. It presents the idea that a fully unmitigated revelation of God may not necessarily be beneficial for us, considering the nature of our world and the process of becoming. The podcast references various Christian thinkers, like Blaise Pascal, who highlight that God may have reasons for not providing a complete and unambiguous revelation of Himself.

Introduction

2min

Exploring the Question of Why God Doesn't Make Himself Obvious

3min

Misplaced Expectations and the Problem of Divine Transcendence

2min

Divine Transcendence and the Problem of Hiddenness

17min

God's Pursuit and Unfairness Objection

9min

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Gavin Ortlund to answer the question; why doesn't God make Himself more obvious?Questions Covered in This Episode:

Why doesn't God make Himself more obvious?
What is divine transcendence?
How does the incarnation affect this conversation?
How is Jesus the image of the invisible God?
Why would God use sinful humans to reveal Himself to others instead of something more obvious?
What does the Bible say about sin and why is it so offensive?
What about the people who have never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus?
How should I pray?

Helpful Definitions:

Divine Transcendence: God is high and lofty and beyond our ability to fully understand. We shouldn’t expect that we will fully understand everything about God based on our moment-by-moment intuitions.
Incarnation: God becoming a man in Christ.

Guest Bio:Dr. Gavin Ortlund is a pastor, author, speaker, and apologist for the Christian faith. He runs the YouTube channel Truth Unites, which seeks to promote gospel assurance through theological depth. Gavin has a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in historical theology, and an M.Div from Covenant Theological Seminary. He is the author of eight books as well as numerous academic and popular articles. Gavin is a fellow of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, a fellow of The Center for Baptist Renewal, a fellow of Credo, a member of St. Basil Fellowship of The Center for Pastor Theologians, and a Visiting Scholar at Reasons to Believe.Resources Mentioned:

Colossians 1, Romans 10:15, Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:7
Truth Unites

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Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

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