Deism
November 11th, 2014 at 1:38:56 PM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 | There is much more to Deism than what I wish to discuss. I know that. So, one salient Deist belief is that there is a god who created the universe. But this god made a universe in such a way that it can run without his help, therefore this deity doesn't interfere with the universe or the people living in it. Now, clearly this would not be the Biblical God, as that deity meddles in human affairs all the time. See Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Daniel, etc. Nor would such a god, one presumes, get even more intimately involved by incarnating himself as his son (??) and then having his self/son killed in a gruesome fashion for reasons of his own. Nor would this Deist god be any of the other known deities in the Western tradition. The Greek gods were famous meddlers, too (see the Iliad, Arachne, Sisyphus and others). The Roman gods (modeled on the Greek pantheon) didn't get as much press, but every Roman, and I dare say most non-Romans, were convinced their gods greatly favored the Roman people (see the Roman Empire). This last belief was shared by many, regarding their own gods and less favorable favors, throughout the ancient world (even, I dare say, by the staunchly monotheistic Israelites of the time). As far as I know there is no organized religion or cult based on this Deistic idea. This is not surprising. Who'd pray to a god that is unwilling to do anything in return? However, of all the ideas of religion, including how a deity is portrayed, this one makes the most sense when seen against our current knowledge of the universe. It's not a coincidence it arose shortly after Newton, Galileo and others shattered many preconceptions and dogmas held by Christianity for ages. The more we learned about the universe, the more we failed to find god's fingerprints anywhere. But even though it makes the most sense, it is still plagued by one very obvious flaw: What evidence for any kind of god at all? As the good Father and I have been discussing in another thread, there is no quantifiable, physical evidence at all, but a deity or creator of some sort can be reasonably deduced(*). In fact one claim of Deism is that the existence of god can be so deduced by using one's reason. I think that claim comes from old time Deists realizing how scant the evidence of a creator is, and feeling uncomfortable not believing in one anyway. (*) I do see how one could reasonably deduce a creator from the available evidence, using reason and logic. But even philosophical deductions need to be tested against the universe, or against reality if you prefer. I can see, too, why altruism, a most eminently philosophical position with a long history, seems reasonable and could be arrived at by observation and reason. But it doesn't measure up when set against the real world. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
November 11th, 2014 at 1:58:23 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 |
I was watching Survivorman and he was in New Guinea with one of the few tribes in the world that has almost no contact with the outside world. They believe that every living thing is equal to all living things, and before they kill any animal or plant or insect, they first ask it's permission. They don't have the ridiculous notion that all this was created by some god just for the egocentric man. That all other living things are irrelevant and we alone matter. When left to their own devices, something like this is what people come up with. It's only when the intellectual theists get on board that it all gets screwed up. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |