J. L. Schellenberg is a Canadian philosopher whose early development of an argument from divine hiddenness for atheism has been influential. In his subsequent work, he has developed a form of religion called ‘skeptical religion,’ which he regards as compatible with atheism. His writings delve into profound questions of belief, doubt, and the nature of divinity.
In this book, J. L. Schellenberg argues that humanity has developed spiritually and morally in a way that would have been reflected in Christian doctrine if that doctrine had been inspired by a good and all-knowing God, and that Christian doctrine cannot therefore be related to such a God in the way that it purports to be.
Schellenberg's argument is unique in bringing developmental ideas into contact with human religion, which is often treated as exempt from their influence; also radical is the suggestion that much of religion's development has yet to occur and that religion can and should become a human project as monumental as science.