Divine love and nonbelief › Hiddenness and suffering are different questions

Schellenberg argues that hiddenness deserves consideration independently of the problem of evil. A nonbeliever could be contented and still lack an available conscious relationship with God. The argument would retain its structure. Pain caused by uncertainty may make an example emotionally urgent, but the proposed conflict concerns love's openness rather than suffering alone. “What Divine Hiddenness Reveals,” section III and note 5.

Keeping these questions separate also prevents a mistake about religious experience. A believer can feel abandoned while continuing to believe that God exists. Schellenberg discusses that possibility as withdrawal within relationship. His argument targets nonbelief, which removes a condition of the conscious reciprocal relationship. A response to one experience cannot simply be assumed to explain the other.