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title: "George Pell on Divine hiddenness"
description: "Pell argued that God's apparent hiddenness is a feature of divine respect for human freedom, not evidence of absence."
canonical: https://opendoubt.com/people/george-pell/on/divine-hiddenness
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# George Pell on Divine hiddenness

> Pell argued that God's apparent hiddenness is a feature of divine respect for human freedom, not evidence of absence.

Position

# George Pell on _Divine hiddenness_

Argues forCardinal of the Catholic Church

Pell argued that God's apparent hiddenness is a feature of divine respect for human freedom, not evidence of absence.

George Pell addressed divine hiddenness through the lens of Catholic theology, arguing that God's seeming absence is purposeful rather than problematic. In the Catholic tradition, God is not hidden but rather encountered through creation, conscience, Scripture, sacraments, and the life of the Church. If God seems distant, the fault lies with human sinfulness and inattention, not with divine absence.

Pell also invoked the theological concept of divine restraint: a God who overwhelmed human beings with undeniable evidence of his existence would effectively coerce belief, destroying the freedom that makes genuine love and faith possible. God, in Pell's view, provides sufficient evidence for those who seek honestly, while leaving room for those who choose to look away.

This position placed Pell firmly against the argument from divine hiddenness as formulated by J.L. Schellenberg. Where Schellenberg sees God's failure to make himself obvious as evidence against God's existence, Pell saw it as evidence of God's respect for the conditions under which genuine relationship is possible.

Key quotes

> “God does not force himself on anyone. He invites, he draws, he whispers — but he does not coerce. Faith must be free, or it is nothing.”

Continue exploring

[

George Pell

Full profile — positions, quotes, and key moments.

](/people/george-pell)[

Divine hiddenness

The full argument — stated fairly, then answered.

](/arguments/divine-hiddenness)

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