Why Would God Hide?

[Vicki Q]

What I never get is WHY Christianity claims that God being obvious would necessarily lead to us being a "Stepford species."

To adapt a common sentence-

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Isn't that what the Bible claims the Devil and his angels are able to do?

I couldn't comment on this as I lack the necessary knowledge. Even more so than usual.

After all, couldn't he make it so that we knew of his existence but had the ability to disobey?

Having knowledge of God, but choosing to disobey is pretty much the Bible in a sentence. From the story of Adam through the stories of Israel to the targets of the letter from James, people seem to struggle to connect knowledge of God with the need for obedience.

This remains the case today, where people with genuine beliefs make choices incompatible with those beliefs. It seems important to God that we have genuine choices, and I'm not at all sure that would be the case if God were in our faces all the time.

Having knowledge of God, but choosing to disobey is pretty much the Bible in a sentence.

Well, the first half of a summary sentence. The second half is the game changer.