Are all Christians expected to have a "positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship" with God?
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For context, I'd recommend reading first the answers to [*What exactly would count as a "positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship" between a person and a God?*](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/q/105869/66156) on Philosophy Stack Exchange.
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The phrase *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* appears in the context of the atheistic [*Argument from Divine Hiddenness*](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/divine-hiddenness/) :
> (1) Necessarily, if God exists, then God perfectly loves such finite
> persons as there may be.
(2) Necessarily, if God perfectly loves > such finite persons as there may be, then, for any capable finite > person S and time t, God is at t open to being in a **positively** > **meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship** with S at t.
> (3) Necessarily, if for any capable finite person S and time t, God is > at t open to being in a **positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious** > **relationship** with S at t, then, for any capable finite person S and > time t, it is not the case that S is at t nonresistantly in a state of > nonbelief in relation to the proposition that God exists.
> (4) There is at least one capable finite person S and time t such that > S is or was at t nonresistantly in a state of nonbelief in relation to > the proposition that God exists.
> > ---- > > (5) So, it is not the case that God exists. (from 1 through 4) > > *(Source: Howard-Snyder, Daniel and Adam Green, "Hiddenness of God", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 Edition), Edward N. > Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = > .)* From a Christian standpoint: - Does the idea of a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* with God align with Christian beliefs? - Is it a fundamental expectation, by principle or definition, for all Christians to cultivate a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* with God? - Can the notion of a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* between an individual and God be articulated in a manner that better aligns with Christian theological principles and terminology? - Are there specific ways in which God is expected to *talk back* to Christians, assuming the existence of *two-way communication*? - Similarly, are there specific ways in which God is expected to *intervene in reality*, assuming the existence of a *two-way interactive relationship*?
(2) Necessarily, if God perfectly loves > such finite persons as there may be, then, for any capable finite > person S and time t, God is at t open to being in a **positively** > **meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship** with S at t.
> (3) Necessarily, if for any capable finite person S and time t, God is > at t open to being in a **positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious** > **relationship** with S at t, then, for any capable finite person S and > time t, it is not the case that S is at t nonresistantly in a state of > nonbelief in relation to the proposition that God exists.
> (4) There is at least one capable finite person S and time t such that > S is or was at t nonresistantly in a state of nonbelief in relation to > the proposition that God exists.
> > ---- > > (5) So, it is not the case that God exists. (from 1 through 4) > > *(Source: Howard-Snyder, Daniel and Adam Green, "Hiddenness of God", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 Edition), Edward N. > Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = > .)* From a Christian standpoint: - Does the idea of a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* with God align with Christian beliefs? - Is it a fundamental expectation, by principle or definition, for all Christians to cultivate a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* with God? - Can the notion of a *"positively meaningful and reciprocal conscious relationship"* between an individual and God be articulated in a manner that better aligns with Christian theological principles and terminology? - Are there specific ways in which God is expected to *talk back* to Christians, assuming the existence of *two-way communication*? - Similarly, are there specific ways in which God is expected to *intervene in reality*, assuming the existence of a *two-way interactive relationship*?
Asked by user61679
Dec 5, 2023, 01:31 AM
Last activity: Dec 7, 2023, 05:06 PM
Last activity: Dec 7, 2023, 05:06 PM