Derek King

Hometown

Beaver Dam, Kentucky

Education

PGDip (MLitt coursework) in Analytic and Exegetical Theology,University of St Andrews

MDiv, Asbury Theological Seminary

BA in Political Science, University of Kentucky

Thesis Topic

I am working on J.L. Schellenberg’s argument against God’s existence from divine hiddenness. Divine hiddenness, in its most basic form, is this question: why isn’t God more obvious to people who struggle to believe in him? This question has vexed theologians and philosophers alike, and my response seeks to provide a theological reason for God’s hiddenness in a way that is relevant to the philosophical problem. My response, borrowing from theological themes in Gregory of Nyssa, is basically this: God, as revealed in Scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ, tends to work through human persons to accomplish his purposes rather than by divine fiat. This points to God’s revealing himself co-operatively. That is, through the representatives of Jesus Christ on earth: the church.

Academic Presentations

(Forthcoming) “Image of the Invisible God: Classical Theism and Divine Hiddenness.” Helsinki Analytic Theology Conference. University of Helsinki. February 2019.

“To Whom Does God Speak? Gregory of Nyssa and William Hasker on Divine Persons.” Analytic Theology and the Tri-Personal God: The Trinitarian Renewal in Analytic Theology. UC Lovain at Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. September 2018.