True enough but this particular sign of God is amongst the most awe-inspiring “signs in the heavens” that one can ever hope to see. Surely the fact that the total solar eclipse so distinctinctly resembles a gigantic cosmic eye staring down from the sky should give human beings pause to reflect. . .

:The course I’m taking right now in my program is focused on divine hiddenness, which is why I thought the strip so appropriate.

Isn’t it somewhat paradoxical then that when the Earth’s only moon totally hides the sun that it makes God quite a bit less hidden?

:The central problem is why, if god exists, s/he doesn’t hit us over the head with that fact.

Only God can properly answer that question and, in that God clearly does not “hit us over the head ” with Her existence (well at least not all of us. . .), it seems unlikely to be answered any time soon.

:And how we can be held responsible for the knowledge if it isn’t obvious.

Who is holding us responsible?

:What would count as sufficient evidence for responsibility, and does god have any responsibility (to whom?) to make its being available, if such knowledge would be saving, helpful, etc.

Clearly God bears responsibility for God’s own actions or lack thereof. Equally clearly God does not often reveal Herself at times when such knowledge would be saving, helpful, etc. OTOH What level of responsibility do human beings who attempt to suppress such potentially saving and helpful knowledge hold on those rare occasions when God does deign to reveal some saving and helpful knowledge? Needless to say this question is very pertinent to how U*Us have responded to the very significant revelation of God that I am claiming that could be saving and helpful if people responded to it appropriately. . .

:If an eye in the heavens is indeed evidence of god, what does that demonstrate, apart from perhaps omniscience?

Well, as I have said from the beginning, the total solar eclipse “Eye of God” is intended by God to symbolically represent God’s attribute of divine omniscience. God’s omniscience is a fundamental tenet of all of the world’s bona fide monotheistic religions. There is other cosmic religious symbolism displayed during total solar eclipses however, including at least a suggestion of resurrection after death like the mythical Phoenix bird.

:What can we infer necessarily about the nature of god? Etc. In my view, not much.

In my well informed view we can infer a great deal about the nature of God by properly interpreting the profound cosmic religious symbolism that is manifested during total solar eclipses. We can also infer a great deal about the nature of God by using reason to rationally interpet what some might call Nature’s God and to reasonably interpret God’s role in human history. . .

The central problem is why, if god exists, s/he doesn’t hit us over the head with that fact. And how we can be held responsible for the knowledge if it isn’t obvious. What would count as sufficient evidence for responsibility, and does god have any responsibility (to whom?) to make its being available, if such knowledge would be saving, helpful, etc.

If an eye in the heavens is indeed evidence of god, what does that demonstrate, apart from perhaps omniscience? What can we infer necessarily about the nature of god? Etc. In my view, not much.

CC