Deism 101

[Deidre]

After much soul searching as of late, and experiencing my grandmother's recent death, I realize that if I had to post a label as to my beliefs now, it would be agnostic Deism. My views of a god are my own, and while those views are sprinkled with some theistic views as I was a Christian my whole life up until a few years ago, I don't subscribe to the legalistic stuff that they all have as part of them.

I hope it's alright that I hang out in here

 

[Domenic]

Many people have not heard of the term "deism." Those that have are probably not familiar enough with it to explain what it is. I would like to take a moment and go over deism in depth, and shed some light as to why it is growing at a rate of 700% per year (US statistics).

Deism is a natural religion. That means that all you have to do to believe in God is to look at the world around you. God is viewed as the creator. Life as we know it did not happen by random chance. Someone, or something, designed it all. There are no deistic prophets that had revelations from God, there is no deistic bible, and no official church. It is not a religion, but rather a philosophy that individuals adhere to, much like Buddhism. Many deists consider themselves spiritual, but not religious.

Deism gained prominence during the Age of Enlightenment, a time period in Europe and the USA, between the 1600s and 1700s. Intellectuals started asking questions, looking for answers, and promoting individualism. Science, they realized, could explain many things that religion could not, or that religion contradicted scientific observations. Religious traditions went by the wayside, and scholars started looking to human understanding and reason. "Moses did not have a telescope" is a classic talking point of deism.

Deism is a very broad umbrella term by itself. There are two main subcategories of deism: classical and modern. There are other subcategories, but let's focus on these two for now.

Classical Deism
This is typically the view that God is the creator of life, the universe and nature. He made natural law, set everything in motion and then walked away, having nothing to do with humans, the earth, or the universe. He does not answer prayers, He does not interfere, and He does not perform miracles. Classical deists reject revealed religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), holy books, and divine revelation (prophets are always alone when receiving divine revelations...no witnesses). Many of the Founding Fathers of the USA were classical deists, most notably Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Modern Deism
This philosophy shares many beliefs with classical deism, but expands on some of them. God did not abandon us and walk away. He gave us free will and He does not interfere with it. That is why He does not answer prayers, perform miracles or give divine revelation. To do so means it is no longer free will. He cares about us, He watches the world and universe to see how we evolve, yet He has a "look but don't touch" approach.

Deists typically do not believe in the supernatural. There is no devil, demons, magic, boogie men, etc. There is no evil force working against us. Bad things happen because either someone chose to do something bad (murder), or nature is just following its course (tornado).

Deistic views on the afterlife will vary from person to person. Some believe that there is life after death and/or a paradise, others believe that death is the end; game over. Deists understand that the afterlife can't be proven one way or another, so they try to focus on living morally in the here and now, and "hope for happiness beyond this life" (Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason).

Prayers can be recited as a deist, however, since God does not interfere with free will, those prayers are usually "giving thanks" instead of "asking for something." Free will is not something that is limited to just you in the present. If your ancestors did something that affects you today (think genetics), God won't interfere.

From here, deism breaks down into further subcategories. Some people claim to be a Christian deist, and while that may seem like an oxymoron, when understood in context it actually works. They believe in God and that Jesus was a prophet. His messages are an example to live by, and it is to that end that they follow Him. He was a man who did die on the cross during the time of the Roman Empire. Whether or not He was the divine Son of God is a belief that is up to the individual. They still reject organized religion (denominations), and tend to view the Bible as a collection of stories that are allegorical, metaphorical, poetry or simply early literature. Others believe in pandeism (God became the universe) or panendeism (the universe is a part of God, but God is still a separate entity).

Regardless of personal beliefs, deists have no problems with science and technology. They view knowledge and wisdom to be attributes of progression. God gave us the ability to reason, and so we should.

Thank you for posting this. I agree with most of it. I am not a member of any religious group. I believe in God the creator. I believe in his son Jesus, the scrolls, the parts of the bible that match the scrolls. I may not have all the facts (truth) correct, but in our present condition I don’t think God expects us to. People seem to judge God by what religions teach. I find all religions to be false.
I look forward to the 1,000 year rule under Jesus. Here we will learn the truth, and how to apply it. I was glade to learn from the scriptures that all people except those who died at a judgment from God will be in that 1,000 year rule.
Many have turned away from God for all sorts of reasons. That is not to say they are bad people…God understands. He will give all a chance. 1,000 years is a long time. If we can’t get our hearts in the right condition in that time, God would have no need to keep us around. Men say God has a lot of rules we must follow to have life. God says only one: Believe Jesus is the son of God. The reason for that is Jesus was given the keys over death. He is the one that will bring people back to life.
So now I have a term for what I am...DEISM. Thank you for the post.

 

[Neo Deist]

I believe in God the creator. I believe in his son Jesus, the scrolls, the parts of the bible that match the scrolls. I may not have all the facts (truth) correct, but in our present condition I don’t think God expects us to. People seem to judge God by what religions teach. I find all religions to be false.

So now I have a term for what I am...DEISM. Thank you for the post.

No problem...but you're not quite a true deist as deism would not recognize Jesus as divine or the savior. A man, yes. A teacher, yes. Crucified under the rule of the Roman Empire, yes. Deists stop there.

The beauty of deism is that it is very personal. There are subcategories that people have started using, and among them is Christian Deism. It sounds like you fit in more with that "label."

Of course you could just be a theist, with the difference being that theists believe that God can and does interact with humans; all else being equal with deism.

Or you are simply a non-denominational Christian (NDC).

 

[Domenic]

No problem...but you're not quite a true deist as deism would not recognize Jesus as divine or the savior. A man, yes. A teacher, yes. Crucified under the rule of the Roman Empire, yes. Deists stop there.

The beauty of deism is that it is very personal. There are subcategories that people have started using, and among them is Christian Deism. It sounds like you fit in more with that "label."

Of course you could just be a theist, with the difference being that theists believe that God can and does interact with humans; all else being equal with deism.

Or you are simply a non-denominational Christian (NDC).

I guess I'll just have to be Domenic.

 

[Neo Deist]

Or, simply live your life and don't worry about labels!

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Or, simply live your life and don't worry about labels!

All nouns and adjectives are labels. We need them to communicate and to be able to think in the first place.

 

[Neo Deist]

I see more and more people moving toward Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), especially in younger adults. It seems the Church is losing its grasp on the flock. Apparently, people are starting to wake up and think for themselves.

I try to be respectful toward all religions and life views, but there are some things that religions mandate/dictate that just tick me off.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I see more and more people moving toward Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), especially in younger adults. It seems the Church is losing its grasp on the flock. Apparently, people are starting to wake up and think for themselves.

I try to be respectful toward all religions and life views, but there are some things that religions mandate/dictate that just tick me off.

These are the 5 beliefs held often by young people as compiled in 2005. Note, this wasn't intended to say that all beliefs were held by all the teenagers they interviewed. How do they hold up?:

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
--So far so good except there is no qualifier as to how certain this belief it held to be.

2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
--What qualifies as good, nice and fair? What's bad or evil? If there is no God, is there no impetus to be good?

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
--This is so generic it's worthless. What promotes self-worth the most and what do we do about evil which pretty anti-happiness for it's victims.

4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
--This disqualifies it as deism by definition.

5. Good people go to heaven when they die.
--Nice, and likely if there's a God, but that's a major "If".

 

[Neo Deist]

These are the 5 beliefs held often by young people as compiled in 2005. Note, this wasn't intended to say that all beliefs were held by all the teenagers they interviewed. How do they hold up?:

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
--So far so good except there is no qualifier as to how certain this belief it held to be.

2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
--What qualifies as good, nice and fair? What's bad or evil? If there is no God, is there no impetus to be good?

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
--This is so generic it's worthless. What promotes self-worth the most and what do we do about evil which pretty anti-happiness for it's victims.

4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
--This disqualifies it as deism by definition.

5. Good people go to heaven when they die.
--Nice, and likely if there's a God, but that's a major "If".

To touch on the MTD point from earlier, it sounds more like Open Theism or Non-denominational Christianity than it does any form of deism. For whatever reason, MTD was coined by someone who did not have a clue what deism really is.

 

[Neo Deist]

For those interested, I am working on an e-book for Amazon. It talks about deism in-depth. From classical to modern deism, the history behind it, shared beliefs, etc. Should be a very informative and interesting read. I will post when it is done and published.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

To touch on the MTD point from earlier, it sounds more like Open Theism or Non-denominational Christianity than it does any form of deism. For whatever reason, MTD was coined by someone who did not have a clue what deism really is.

As is most hyphenated deism. Pandeism and Panendeism are fair speculations, but since we don't even know if God exists, and they wouldn't have any bearing on furthering our understanding the nature or possible motivations of God, they're irrelevant.

 

[Neo Deist]

After much soul searching as of late, and experiencing my grandmother's recent death, I realize that if I had to post a label as to my beliefs now, it would be agnostic Deism. My views of a god are my own, and while those views are sprinkled with some theistic views as I was a Christian my whole life up until a few years ago, I don't subscribe to the legalistic stuff that they all have as part of them.

I hope it's alright that I hang out in here

A little late, but by all means...though not many frequent this particular area.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

After much soul searching as of late, and experiencing my grandmother's recent death, I realize that if I had to post a label as to my beliefs now, it would be agnostic Deism. My views of a god are my own, and while those views are sprinkled with some theistic views as I was a Christian my whole life up until a few years ago, I don't subscribe to the legalistic stuff that they all have as part of them.

I hope it's alright that I hang out in here

I'm sorry, I don't know how I missed your post. Anyway I hope you get the regrettably late answer. And of course hang out. We agnostic deists need to stick together.

I had been a very devout Christian when I "converted", and like you, I didn't/couldn't release all of it at once. Prayer was the first immediate thing to go, but a belief in prophesy was the last going some 20 years later. Even early American deists like Paine and Washington believed in divine providence. Eventually, though, as I came to grips with the absolute importance of free will and how any divine interference could undermine it, I finally came to accept the need for our isolation from the divine if we, and God, are to know who and what we really are.

But not to worry. The bulk of your emotional thinking has made a major shift in order to align with your reasoning, and other pieces will fall in place with time, and the Big Picture will become clearer, and it will become yours. One thing I've learned, we never stop learning and never stop acquiring more pieces. I use the analogy of a ship:. Without reason at the helm, we go off course or run aground; and without the motivation of emotional faith in reason (the engine), we're dead in the water.

Anyway, if you're still there, congratulations on a major step in your life to make you feel good about yourself by not feeling so confused....and used.

 

[Neo Deist]

Okay, but surely contrary arguments for disproving Deism are related to Deism. Are they not welcome here?

Sorry about the delayed response. Just reread the thread and noticed this...

No, they are not welcome here as this is a DIR and debating is not allowed in this section. Besides, there is no way to disprove deism outside of man made ideas.

 

[Neo Deist]

But the "no debating" rule goes for any DIR as it is site wide.