Post by Dapper DandyHi there,
I was wondering if any adherents to Deism would be kind enough to
answer the following question for me...
I am not a deist personally so can only offer some wikipoop;
...Developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, Deism envisions a kind of
clock-maker God who set the universe in motion but then let it run on
its own, calling into question the Jewish and Christian notion of
God's intervention in history. ...[Deism was] ...The Enlightenment
endeavor to purify Christianity, to rid religion of all that was not
rational, natural, and moral, and develop a natural religion. An
international movement, Deism reflected local religious,
philosophical, and social expressions of the Enlightenment..."
http://www.sullivan-county.com/deism.htm
The implications of Isaac Newton's physical theories of mechanics,
which treated the universe as if it were a machine (hence the term
"mechanics") built by a creating god yet running on its own principles
independent of the interference of the creating god (though Newton
never denied that God couldn't interefere, just that he didn't),
encompassed much more than physical change and movement. Soon other
areas of experience came to be regarded as mechanistic and independent
of divine interference: social structures, economics, politics, and so
forth. Each of these areas could be understood and manipulated solely
through rational methods, since they operated through consistent and
orderly laws and principles
The philosophes of mid-eighteenth century France developed this
mechanistic view of the universe into a radically revised version of
Christianity they called deism . Drawing on Newton's description of
the universe as a great clock built by the Creator and then set in
motion, the deists among the philosophes argued that everything-
physical motion, human physiology, politics, society, economics-had
its own set of rational principles established by God which could be
understood by human beings solely by means of their reason. This meant
that the workings of the human and physical worlds could be understood
without having to bring religion, mysticism, or divinity into the
explanation. The Deists were not atheists; they simply asserted that
everything that concerned the physical and human universes could be
comprehended independently of religious concerns or explanations.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/DEISM.HTM
The Origins of Deism
Although the search for the orgins of rational religion may lead one
to an "infinite regress," one can argue that Deism had its origins in
a renewed interest in the world during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. This interest in the world was reflected in the art and
science of the Renaissance, and evidenced itself in the work of
Galileo (the telescope), Sir Isaac Newton and his book Principia
(which assumed that the world is an ordered place where everything
occurs by natural law)...
...Parallel to this interest in the natural order, was a growing
confidence in the powers of reason. In medieval Christianity, reason
had been the handmaid of theology. Its only task was to help order and
to foster our understanding of God's revelation. This began to change
with the Scholastics. While reason never challenged or contradicted
revelation, it came to be more and more of an independent discipline
with its own powers for discovering truths (even though it was still
thought that all higher truths came from revelation)...
...Newton helped formulate a science of mechanics. He painted the
universe is a vast and harmonious machine. This principle was in turn
applied to religious and social life. Many came to believe that it was
possible to find God through a natural religion, and to discover the
moral laws of existence through reason, allowing the creation of a
well ordered society was possible where people can live in harmony and
prosperity...
...The effort to find this natural religion came to be known as Deism.
The focus naturally was on ethics. Deism first appeared in England in
the seventeenth century in response to the theological controversies
that divided Christians during the sixteenth century. Deism must be
distinguished from theism and atheism. Atheists were scornful of
deists saying that they were not weak enough to be Christians, and not
strong enough to be atheists. The Deists believed themselves to be
Christians. Their God was not the personal God of the theists: a God
who operated through history and concerned himself continually with
the affairs of human beings. Rather their God was the Great Artificer
of the Universe who with a thrust of his Almighty hand, had set
rolling the myriad spheres, and left creation to its own devices.
Rather than being intimately involved with the creation, this God had
left humanity on its own to be guided in its affairs by reason, the
"candle of the Lord."
Deism was denoted by five major doctrines.
1) The existence of God
2) The obligation to worship God
3) the ethical requirements of such worship
4) the need for repentance
5) The need for reward and punishment both in
this life and in the one to follow
http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/south/four.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04679b.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/deism.htm
http://www.deism.com/deism_defined.htm
http://www.deism.com/deism_vs.htm
Post by Dapper Dandy1} Could you please tell me how an individual converts to Deism or for
lack of a better phrase, how does one become a Deist?. In other words,
does becoming a Deist involve an official initiation ceremony which is
akin to a Christian baptism or something along those lines?.
I suppose its like the difference between "holy rollers" and "stiff
collared Baptists" where one rolls and slobers and mumbles
incomprehensibly while the other treats religion like anything else,
with just a little bit of emotion but mostly treat religion like a
contractual agreement.
Post by Dapper Dandy2} Could you please tell me if adherents to Deism typically opt for
burial or cremation when they pass away?.
3} Do Deists have an official symbol of faith such as the Crucifix
(Christianity), the Star of David (Judaism), Aum (Hinduism), Khanda
(Sikhism), or the Pentagram (Wicca)?.
4} Could you please tell me what the Deist view is of Homosexuality?.
5} Could you please tell me what the Deist view is of Abortion and
Contraception?.
6} Could you please tell me what the Deist view is of Masturbation?.
7} Could you please tell me if adherents to Deism typically pray to a
Deity or series of Deities in the same way that adherents to Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam pray to their God?.
8} Could you please tell me if Deism has its holy days much like
Christianity has
Christmas and Easter?.
If you could please assist me with my questions in the above text, I
would be most grateful indeed.
Thank you.
Dapper Dandy