My dog and I love taking brisk, late night walks together through our neighborhood. Under the clear desert skies of winter, sparking displays of "falling stars" greet us along the way. Our attention is captured as they enter the atmosphere and burn brilliantly into green, orange and amber hues. Looking up, I see the constellations set against a vast canopy of stars. I reflect how they are one among a multitude of designs found in nature, from the orbiting of an electron inside of an atom to that of the planets in our solar system.
By observing these designs and discovering the laws that govern them, I can infer the existence of a Designer who has been known to most people throughout history as "God." This belief about the existence of God is based on reason, observation and experience alone. It does not require any validation from divine revelation or a holy text. God was never under any obligation to create the universe; therefore, it is reasonable to believe that he did so out of his great love for us and for our good pleasure.
The name "Deism" comes from the Latin word "Deus" which means "God." If you believe in God and your belief arises from your God-given ability to reason, then consider yourself a Deist!
I call myself a "Christian Deist" because I believe in the authentic gospel ("good news") message of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that love for God and love for others are the two natural laws inherent in human nature. Just as we can observe the natural laws governing the universe, we can also observe and personally experience how it is better and more natural for us to love others than hate them. Like Thomas Jefferson and his Deist contemporaries, I believe that myths, ignorance and superstition have obscured Jesus's life-affirming message for people seeking to know him, and that we must study the scriptures in light of our God-given reason. But I also firmly believe that the intellect has definite limits to what it can accomplish on its own. We should willingly surrender it to what Jesus called "the Kingdom of God within," whenever we feel powerless and have exhausted all of our own personal resources.
This Blog is my way of developing a personal religion and helping others do the same. For a brief overview of Christian Deism, take a look at this article by John Lindell. "Brother John" introduced me to Christian Deism about two years ago. I pray that this Blog reaches all who need his life-changing message of love, hope and forgiveness.
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2 comments:
This to me, as a Deist, is very interesting. So, You accept the teachings about Jesus as accurate....maybe God-breathed? Do you, then, accept his teachings about an eternal Heaven? What about Hell? Do you accept any of his miraculous actions? Do you accept his death on the cross as forgiveness for sins?
I accept the historical teachings OF Jesus as accurate. If you are truly a Deist, then you already know the answers to the other questions. Since I no longer maintain this blog, you can read more about Christian Deism on my Squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/christian-deism.
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