Deism is the belief that there is a God, but that he is completely distant and unknowable. The god of deism does not interact with creation, or have anything to do with it. For one who began as an atheist, this belief in a god of some kind no matter how distant is a step in the right direction. However, deism does not go far enough, spiritually or logically.
For one, the god of deism is completely out of touch with the created universe. This god sits around somewhere in the invisible and merely exists, as if existence is all there is to God.
Secondly, a god who does not have anything to do with the universe or people is certainly not worthy of worship. It doesn’t make sense to worship a god who does not even care if you worship it, nor does it have any inclination toward you in any way whatsoever.
Thirdly, a god who does not have anything to do with people has no purpose for existing in the first place. The god of deism is a shadow, a caricature of the divine but without any attributes. That god merely is.
There must be more to the true God than mere existence, distance and transcendence. He must, by necessity, care about the universe and the things existent in it. He must be involved with creation. If these things are not true, then God is not worthy of our time. But if they are true, then he is worthy of worship.
The true and living God does not resemble the god of deism. The deist must go the step further, to understanding that the true God is present and active in creation. Don’t stop with the knowledge that there is a God out there somewhere. Find out who he is and why it matters. The answer will change your life.
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July 20, 2007 at 2:03 pm |
Hi Krista,
I read your post, and really appreciate it. I’d like to respond as such:
1. I think there’s a fundamental difference between the Christian God and the Deist God. As a professor of mine used to say, “you’re looking through Jesus colored glasses.”
The difference is that I believe the Creator created and ordered the universe according to natural laws. In this sense, it can look at creation and still admire. I don’t think of a creator just sits and exists. Who knows, perhaps it is still creating!
2. I agree. I don’t worship the creator, instead, I recognize the creation and try to treat it accordingly. I don’t think the creator had any designs on our worship.
3. Here I do disagree. I don’t think we can wrap the creator’s purpose or existence around this creation’s existence. In fact, to me it is pointless to even think about the purpose of the creator as it is in fact eternal. What was the point of God’s existence before he created the world, whenever that was?
4. I think the creator is involved in creation in the sense of the natural laws that were put into place. There must be some reason the earth is at exactly the distance from the sun to welcome life. I think the laws of nature are in fact a working of the creator, therefore, there is care of the universe and the things existent in it. As far as creating and leaving, I’m more insistent that the creator doesn’t intervene in the laws of nature.
Thanks again, you do cause me to think!
Regards.
January 30, 2008 at 2:19 pm |
‘For one, the god of deism is completely out of touch with the created universe.’
This is merely a restatement of the definition of a deist god, infused with a snort of disapproval. It is so far from an argument that it betrays your true objection: you don’t like the deist point of view; it does not make you feel good about the god in question. This is, however, as you yourself have pointed out elsewhere in your writings, very poor theology.
‘Secondly, a god who does not have anything to do with the universe or people is certainly not worthy of worship.’
There is no problem with that. One’s professed religion does not indicate who one worships but rather what one believes to be the fundamental truths of the world and what one believes they suggest as a right way to live one’s life.
Also, why is it given that a creator God must be worthy of worship? Would anything created by mankind have any incentive to worship us? With the exception of art perhaps, we always seem to have a use in mind for our creations.
In fact, a work of art is probably the best parallel to creation in a deist context. The deist god, like an artist, created the world so that it would exist, and for no other reason.
‘Thirdly, a god who does not have anything to do with people has no purpose for existing in the first place. ‘
Wow. Again you betray yourself. God exists for people. But surely, as the previous poster pointed out, God exists outside the space and time which mankind inhabits, and what is His purpose outside of the universe?
‘There must be more to the true God than mere existence, distance and transcendence. He must, by necessity, care about the universe and the things existent in it. He must be involved with creation. If these things are not true, then God is not worthy of our time.’
God ‘must’ nothing. He is not some civil service with a remit to adhere to. The vanity of this statement is Luciferian to the umpteenth degree. And ever if God is involved with the Universe, why is this involvement ‘by necessity’ ordered and benign? We may feel it necessary, in the very real sense that we need God to care, but it is not logically necessary.
November 19, 2008 at 11:07 am |
thank god i’m an atheist
December 1, 2008 at 7:12 pm |
what is the deist view of jesus?
December 1, 2008 at 7:39 pm |
I’m sure different deists have different views of Jesus, but these would all be opinions of him as a man. Since deists don’t believe in a personal God, the idea of Jesus being God in the flesh is totally foreign.
February 28, 2009 at 6:37 am |
If God was truly a deistic deity, then I seriously doubt the universe and everything in it would exist. Everything that begins to exist must have a cause, so if God simply didn’t care, there would be no need for the universe to have come into existence at all.
February 28, 2009 at 6:43 am |
Yes, the question of Jesus is something worthwhile to ask a Deist in your spare time because the smarter ones know it’s a stumbling block for Deism, just as Atheists seem to know that it’s a stumbling block for general Atheism.
How many times have we heard people say that we should live by Jesus’ teachings, but reject the notion that he was God in the flesh? This, as C.S. Lewis said, is irritating and truly reveals the biblical literacy of the person suggesting it considering that Jesus said about himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the father but through me” and, “Before Abraham even existed, I AM!”…What a statement!