I figured by now I should write about what I believe spiritually and religiously, since I've been outspoken politically. So, today I sit down to write about Deism.
Deism
Deism has a lot to offer anyone and everyone. Today, lets discuss exactly what Deism is.
To start, Deism is NOT Theism. Deism is based on nature and reason, not "revelation." Our religion is not based on anyone claiming to "hear from God", it is based on observation and logic. "All one needs in Deism is their own common sense and the creation to contemplate." [1]
There are several core foundations to the Deist belief.
- Belief in a single creator
- The order and complexity of nature make God self-evident.
- God's nature is incomprehensible due to the limits of the human mind and language.
- God gave humanity reason and conscience to discern ethical principles.
- Human beings should be free to find, know, and worship the Creator in their own way.
- All human beings are created equal under God, with the same natural rights.
There are many questions one might ask about Deism, and I found some great answers here
What is the basis of Deism? Reason and nature. We see the design found throughout the known universe and this realization brings us to a sound belief in a Designer or God.
Is Deism a form of atheism? No. Atheism teaches that there is no God. Deism teaches there is a God. Deism rejects the "revelations" of the "revealed" religions but does not reject God.
Do Deists believe that God created the creation and the world and then just stepped back from it? Some Deists do and some believe God may intervene in human affairs. For example, when George Washington was faced with either a very risky evacuation of the American troops from Long Island or surrendering them, he chose the more risky evacuation. When questioned about the possibility of having them annihilated he said it was the best he could do and the rest was up to Providence.
Do Deists pray? Only prayers of thanks and appreciation. We don't dictate to God.
How do Deists view God? We view God as an eternal entity whose power is equal to his/her will. The following quote from Albert Einstein also offers a good Deistic description of God: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."
Is Deism a cult? It's impossible for Deism to be a cult because Deism teaches self-reliance and encourages people to constantly use their reason. Deism teaches to "question authority" no matter what the cost.
Unlike the revealed religions, Deism makes no unreasonable claims. The revealed religions encourage people to give up, or at least to suspend, their God-given reason. They like to call it faith. For example, how logical is it to believe that Moses parted the Red Sea, or that Jesus walked on water, or that Mohammed received the Koran from an angel? Suspending your reason enough to believe these tales only sets a precedent that leads to believing a Jim Jones or David Koresh.
Deism doesn't claim to have all the answers to everything, we just claim to be on the right path to those answers.
There were many great men in times past who were Deists. Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Voltaire were all Deists.
Thomas Paine:
"The true deist has but one Deity; and his religion consists in contemplating the power, wisdom, and benignity of the Deity in his works, and in endeavoring to imitate him in every thing moral, scientifical, and mechanical.”
"Deism then teaches us, without the possibility of being deceived, all that is necessary or proper to be known. The creation is the Bible of the deist. He there reads, in the hand-writing of the Creator himself, the certainty of his existence, and the immutability of his power; and all other Bibles and Testaments are to him forgeries."
"My own mind is my own church."
"One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests."
"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
"It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible."
"Is it because you are sunk in the cruelty of superstition, or feel no interest in the honor of your Creator, that you listen to the horrid tales of the Bible, or hear them with callous indifference?"
Thomas Jefferson:
"In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty."
"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."
"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity."
"The whole history of these books [the Gospels] is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute inquiry into it."
"Religions are all alike- founded upon fables and mythologies."
"For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."
Voltaire:
"Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world."
"Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense."
"What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason."