An Introduction to Deism
Jayson
X
Does
anyone here have any children? I
have one. His name is Zack, and
he is currently nine years old.
When Zack was about three years
old, I did a little experiment
with him.
According
to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus
said, "Truly I tell you,
unless you change and become
like children, you will never
enter the kingdom of
heaven." This is one of
those nice sounding platitudes
of the Bible, but what does it
actually mean? Because this
teaching is found throughout the
New Testament in one way or
another, I think it ultimately
means believe everything that
the Bible writers claim Jesus
said. If we do that, we will
probably go to Heaven. If we do
not, we will probably go to
Hell.
With
such thoughts in mind, I
conducted my experiment. I
pointed to a wall in my
apartment and said to my son,
"Zack, what color is that
wall?"
He
promptly replied,
"White," and he was
correct. It was a white wall.
However,
I said, "No, Zack. That
wall is not white. It is
black." Then I immediately
asked him again, "What
color is that wall?" And
guess what my son said. He said,
"Black"!
Now,
my son is not stupid, and he
certainly knew the difference
between white and black by age
three. So why did he choose to
disbelieve what his eyes and
experience told him was true?
Why did he choose to believe a
lie? He chose to believe a lie
because he trusted me. This is
the type of trust the Bible
writers say Jesus is encouraging
us to have, but should we
actually have it? Should we
unquestioningly believe
something just because someone
told us it is true? Absolutely
not! Even if that person is
Jesus.
Why
should we believe something just
because Jesus supposedly said
it? Why not blindly trust Buddha
or Mohammed or David Koresh? We
should not blindly trust anyone!
We should be a little skeptical
of our own judgment because we
are imperfect, and we should be
even more skeptical of the
judgment of others, because they
also are imperfect and they
might not be trying to help us
as much as we hope.
Incidentally,
I am usually trustworthy. I hate
lying in general, and soon after
my son said black, I told him,
"I am just kidding. The
wall is white." Nor have I
run a similar experiment on my
son before or since. It was a
once in a lifetime deception,
but it was for a good cause. It
proved just how foolish Jesus's
teaching is!
Why
do we have to become like
children to go to Heaven? Who
benefits from adults becoming as
gullible as children? Only
people who want to mislead those
adults! We should base our
beliefs on reason not faith.
Yes, we are imperfect, so
sometimes our reason is flawed,
but our reason is still the best
way for us to know the truth. We
should not accept anything as
true if it contradicts our
reason.
Now,
of course we all like to think
that we base our beliefs on
reason, but do we really? What
is reason, and what are the
implications of basing our
beliefs on reason?
Reason
is one's ability to perceive
reality as honestly and
completely as one can, and then
make logical conclusions based
on what one perceives. Unless
one is relying on reason, one is
relying on superstitious
thinking. Reason tends to
embrace facts, and superstitious
thinking tends to embrace
superstitions. A superstition is
a belief that is not based on
reason. It is important to
accept facts and reject lies
because we have to understand
reality to deal with it wisely.
If a train is headed for us, we
should use reason and get out of
the way. We should not grab our
lucky rabbit's foot and hope
that the train misses us.
Not
only does reason help us cope
with reality, it also helps us
be more moral. Mediaeval
witch-hunts, the trial of
Galileo, the Spanish
Inquisition, and the current
Arab-Israeli conflict are all
examples of evil caused largely
by superstitious thinking—or,
if you prefer, a lack of reason.
What
did reason tell my son about the
wall? It told him that it was
white. But what did
superstitious thinking tell my
son about the wall? It told him
that it was black. No harm
done, you say. No one suffered
and died from my little
experiment. True, in this case.
But what happens when people get
used to embracing superstitions
as facts? They embrace more
superstitions. And what happens
when people start believing
major superstitions instead of
just minor superstitions? They
create major problems.
What
did reason tell Mediaeval
Christians about witches? It
told them that there is really
no such thing as a witch. Most
people accused of witchcraft are
innocent, and the rest are
lunatics or charlatans.
But
what did superstitious thinking
tell Mediaeval Christians about
witches? It told them that
everyone accused of witchcraft
was a witch and deserved to die,
as it is written in the Bible:
"A man or a woman who is a
medium or a wizard shall be put
to death" (Leviticus
20:27). Many thousands of
innocent people were tortured
and murdered as a result.
What
did reason tell people about the
theory that the Earth revolves
around the sun? It told them
that they should investigate the
theory and prove it correct or
incorrect. In either case, no
one had to be threatened or
harmed.
But what did superstitious thinking tell Galileo's captors and their supporters? The sun goes around the Earth because the Bible says so. Psalm 93:1 boldly proclaims, "[God] has established the world; it shall never be moved," and Joshua 10:12-13 adds,
"On the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD; and he said in the sight of Israel, 'Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.' And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. . . . The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about the whole day."
Thus,
the Earth supposedly stands
still while the sun and moon
circle it. If Galileo had not
recanted his heretical (but
true) theory that the Earth
orbited the sun, he would have
been murdered by these followers
of the Prince of Peace.
What
did reason tell people about the
Spanish Inquisition? It told
them that the Inquisition was
wrong. No one deserves to be
tortured or murdered just
because they are Jews, Muslims,
or a supposedly heretical type
of Christian.
But
what did superstitious thinking
tell most Spaniards about the
Spanish Inquisition? It told
them that everyone in the whole
world should be a Roman Catholic
Christian and they should start
that process right there in
Spain.
What
does reason tell us about the ongoing
Arab-Israel conflict? It tells
us that the conflict has much to
do with religious stupidity. The
Jews believe they are the Chosen
People, so they took back some
land from the Arabs. The Arabs,
most of whom are Muslim, believe
that this supposed Holy Land
should belong to them because
their religion is much better
than Judaism. Well, whom does
the supposed Holy Land belong
to? I'm not sure. Let's ask God.
“Um,
excuse me God. We've got a
little problem here. The Jews
believe you gave Palestine to
them, but the Arabs believe you
gave Palestine to them. Who
should own Palestine?” OK, I'm
bored. It has been 10 minutes,
and God has not spoken to me. I
guess that God does not favor
the Jews or the Arabs. I guess
God wants the Jews and the Arabs
to use their reason to figure
out how to live together without
murdering or exploiting each
other.
But
what does superstition say? That
depends on what superstition you
believe in. If you are a Jew or
an American Christian, your
superstition probably tells you
that many Arabs should be
killed. If you are a Muslim,
your superstition probably tells
you that many Israelis should be
killed. Unfortunately, most
people have not yet come far
enough from the superstitions of
the Dark Ages.
Let's
change the subject a little. I
think that I have adequately
demonstrated that it is
far better to base beliefs on
reason rather than superstitious
thinking. Reason generally
causes us to embrace what it
true and good, and superstitious
thinking generally causes us to
embrace what is false and evil.
But what religion would we have
if we based our beliefs only on
reason?
The
only choices I know of are
Atheism, Agnosticism, and Deism.
True Atheists base their beliefs
only on reason and conclude that
there is no God, that is no
Supreme Being who purposefully
created the universe. And true
Agnostics base their beliefs
only on reason and conclude that
they cannot be certain whether
God exists or not.
Many
Atheists and Agnostics maintain
that their belief concerning God
is not a religion. Atheists, for
example, say that a religion
must teach a belief, but Atheism
is a disbelief, a
disbelief in God to be precise.
On the other hand, many people
would argue that Atheism does
teach the belief that there is
no God. It is a negative belief,
but it is still a belief. I
respect both arguments. Yet for
the sake of simplicity, I will
refer to Atheism and Agnosticism
as religions. Please accept my
apology if this offends you.
Atheism
and Agnosticism are much more
familiar to many of us than
Deism. We have probably heard
many people on TV or in person
claim to be Atheists or
Agnostics, but probably few of
us have heard many people claim
to be Deists. What is Deism?
Deism comes from the Latin word deus,
which means God. Thus, Deism is
the belief that the evidence for
God's existence is much greater
than the evidence against God's
existence. So true Deists are
people who base their beliefs
only on reason and conclude that
God exists.
Do
you base your beliefs only on
reason, and do you believe that
God exists? If you answered yes
to these two questions,
congratulations! You're a Deist
like me! And we are not alone.
Many great people throughout
history were Deists: Plato,
Aristotle, Cicero, Voltaire,
Benjamin Franklin, George
Washington, Thomas Paine, Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln,
Charles Darwin, Mark Twain,
Albert Einstein, and Stephen
Hawking.
We
know why we should base our
beliefs—yes, even our
religious beliefs—on reason,
but why should we choose Deism
over Atheism or Agnosticism? The
main reason is that Deism
is more likely to be true than
Atheism. The universe is
complex, magnificent, and
balanced. If it were an accident
rather than a work of God, it
would almost certainly be
homogeneous, bland, and chaotic.
A haze of gray gas, is likely to
exist without being created but
not all the complex,
magnificent, and balanced
galaxies, stars, planets, and
creatures of the universe.
Therefore, God almost certainly
exists. This is called the
Argument from Design. In short,
the universe seems designed, so
it must have a designer. And a
common name for this designer is
God.
The
Argument for Design is not the
only argument that favors Deism.
There is also the First Cause
Argument, which, simply
speaking, disproves both Atheism
and the existence of multiple
Gods. The universe is full of
things that exist. How did those
things get here? Obviously, one
thing caused another, and that
other thing caused something
else, and so on and so forth. If
this is true—and it is obvious
that it is—there had to be a
first cause, one single
first cause. Most modern Deists
and Atheists agree that whatever
caused the Big Bang was the
first cause. The difference is
that Deists believe that the
first cause purposefully created
the universe, and Atheists
believe that the first cause was
a haphazard act of Nature,
perhaps a quantum fluctuation.
Consider
a human—me—for example. What
caused me to exist? Here is the
probable chain of events as I
understand them: I am a human
who came from other humans, and
the first humans came from apes,
and the first apes came from
some other kind of mammal, and
the first mammal came from a
reptile, and the first reptile
came from an amphibian, and the
first amphibian came from a
fish, and the first fish came
from some other kind of
multi-celled aquatic creature,
and the first multi-celled
aquatic creature came from a
single-celled aquatic creature,
and the first single-celled
aquatic creature came from the
Earth, and the Earth came from a
nebula, and the nebula came from
the galaxy, and the galaxy came
from the Big Bang, and the Big
Bang came from . . . something.
Was
that something God or a quantum
fluctuation? Remembering the
Argument from Design, we should
conclude that that something is
probably God. Thus, Deism is
more likely to be true than
Atheism.
While
Atheists and Deists are having
these intelligent debates,
Agnostics are looking on, either
unable or unwilling to choose a
side. This is not to say that
either Agnostics or Agnosticism
are stupid. Probably no mortal
human knows for certain whether
God exists or not. Many
Agnostics are well-informed and
intelligent people. So why
should anyone choose Deism over
Agnosticism?
Deists
believe in God because our
reason tells us it is the most
true and logical belief, not
because we will receive any
rewards for believing in God.
However, if God does exist, God
could provide benefits well
beyond the power of humanity.
Before I proceed, I should point
out that Deism is a very simple
religion that only teaches two
things: One, we should base our
beliefs only on reason; and two,
reason leads us to believe that
God exists—not the God of the
Bible or Qur'an, but a Supreme
Being who created the universe.
Therefore, many Deists do not
believe in the following
benefits, but many Deists, like
me, do. The existence of God
allows for many wonderful
possibilities.
Because
God exists, this life has
profound meaning. There was a
reason God created the universe
and programmed it to beget life.
God knew that creatures like us
would someday evolve, creatures
who can learn, think,
understand, and change life on
Earth and beyond for the better.
God seems to have a very
hands-off approach to managing
the universe. If God works
miracles at all, they seem like
helpful coincidences, and they
are probably few and far
between.
Perhaps
God is like a scientist who
built an unmanned spaceship like
Voyager I or Voyager II. God
could have fired the spaceship
and just monitored its progress,
or God could have occasionally
intervened to steer the
spaceship. The spaceship in this
analogy can easily represent the
whole universe, this planet, or
even the life of a single
creature like you or me. In any
case, it is comforting to
believe that God has a purpose
for us, and that God might help
us to accomplish that purpose
from time to time. Because God
exists, God might even love us
and help us to be more good and
happy right now. Think of all
the good things God gives us
every day. Not all of us equally
enjoy these things, but we all
know they exist and that many
people do enjoy them. God gave
life, that which sustains life,
health, pleasure, beauty, and
hope. Thanks to God's
generosity, practically
everything we truly want exists
right now on Earth. The trick is
to get it and share it.
Because
God exists, there might be life
after death and true justice.
This universe might be a school
where God teaches and tests us.
If we learn and do what God
wants, we will be rewarded; and
if we don't, we will be
disciplined until we do. We
should be good for goodness
sake, but we should also be good
because God might give us what
we deserve once we die.
All
of this sounds very similar to
some tenets of religions like
Christianity and Islam. The
difference is that a Deist can
believe these things without
sacrificing reason. The same
cannot be said for those whose
religions are based on
superstitions.
There
is no compelling evidence that
Jesus was the Only-begotten Son
of God or that his death on the
cross atoned for human sin.
There is also no compelling
evidence that Muhammad received
the Qur'an from the angel
Gabriel or that every assertion
of the Qur'an is true.
The
Qur'an, like the Bible, is
scientifically inaccurate. Like
the Bible, it indicates that the
Earth is flat and that the sun
orbits it (Sura 16:15; Sura
78:6-7; Sura 21:32; Matthew 4:8;
Rev 7:1). Furthermore, the
Qur'an, like the Bible,
advocates horrific actions. It
tells Muslims to kill
disbelievers wherever they find
them, and it permits Muslim men
to have unlimited sex with
female slaves and captives of
war (Kasem, Abul (2003). Islamic
Terrorism and the Genocide in
Bangladesh. Ibn Warraq (Ed.),
Leaving Islam (pp. 199-200).
Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books).
Unfortunately, the Bible has very similar doctrines. The Biblical god orders the extermination of the Canaanites, and Deuteronomy 21:10-14 declares,
When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take them captive, suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman whom you desire and want to marry, and so you bring her home to your house: she shall shave her head, pare her nails, discard her captive's garb, and shall remain in your house a full month, mourning for her father and mother; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. But if you are not satisfied with her, you shall let her go free and not sell her for money. You must not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
So
an Israelite man can help
massacre a girl's people, force
her to marry him (which is a
type of rape), take away her
virginity, and divorce her. The
god of the Bible is usually no
better than the god of the
Qur'an.
All
of us have to believe something.
Thus, we all have to embrace a
religion. To paraphrase an
excellent song by the rock band
Rush, "If we choose not to
decide, we still have made a
choice." The question is,
What religion will we choose to
believe? If we choose Deism, we
can have the best of every
religion. We can have reason and
God. We can also believe in the
true and good teachings of
superstitious religions, while
easily rejecting those teachings
which are false and evil.
Wise
people throughout human history
have chosen Deism, and think
about how much better the world
is because of their
contributions. Now imagine how
much better the world would be
if the majority of humanity
voluntarily chose to become
Deists. It can and it should
happen! If you are not a Deist
already, please consider
becoming one. All you have to do
is base your beliefs on reason
alone and believe that God
exists.
If you want to know more about Deism, please visit www.deism.com. May reason prevail!
posted by Brian
Worley April 9, 2010
Ex-Minister.org
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