Excited!!!! (Earth, Deist, God, verse, theology)

[HopefulNikki]

Originally Posted by Godlike

Nikki, no disrespect, but are you actually aware that Deism involves a God who made the Universe then took off to a realm totally unconnected to ours and has no interest in our affairs @ all? I mean, this being the case, what theology is there to discuss?!

Deism is a result of 19th century intellectual discursion resulting in turn from the European Enlightenment a few centuries earlier. How on earth did you get into it?

Well, well, well, it seems that you've caused quite a stir since I've been gone! In response to your comments, I don't believe that God "took off" to anywhere; I believe that God created this Earth and allowed us free will in our existence here on earth to make our own decisions. If God had no interest in our affairs at all, then God probably wouldn't have even bothered to create the universe in the first place. However, here we are, and I believe we are here on this Earth to make the most of it; to make mistakes and learn and grow and evolve, as individuals and as a society and species. We don't need supernatural miracles or holy books or prophets to do that; we have an innate God-given sense of reason which we simply need to put to good use, although we do so quite rarely, it seems to me.
In terms of what theology there is to discuss, I do hope you're kidding. Deism is only a very large blanket of religious thought, and has plenty of room within its boundaries for discussion, debate, and disagreement. If you need ideas, I've recently discovered www.dynamicdeism.org , which seems to me so far to be an excellent site for Deistic discussion and resources.

[Random]

Do you beleive God can be known through reason and nature, Nikki? What in your opinion can be learnt about Him by studying his Creation? Is this a science or a more intuitve discernment, do you think?

[HopefulNikki]

Originally Posted by Godlike

Do you beleive God can be known through reason and nature, Nikki?

Definitely...that's the basic assertion of Deism, after all.

What in your opinion can be learnt about Him by studying his Creation?

Well most obviously, in studying God's creation we see that God is the Creator. God is the "prime mover,", "uncaused cause," however you choose to phrase it or think of it. There are a number of other basic attributes that we can derive from study of nature and reason (immateriality, timelessness, etc) but I won't go into all of them right now.

Is this a science or a more intuitve discernment, do you think?

I would say both. It certainly involves science, as Deism fully embraces scientific thought and is constantly amazed by the discoveries made in the scientific world, as they only reinforce our belief in the existence of God. However, it also involves a degree of intuitive discernment, just like any number of things; the evidence for something could be right in front of you, but unless you're perceptive enough to pick it up and see where it leads, you'll never reach the right conclusion. Make sense?

[Random]

Originally Posted by HopefulNikki

I would say both. It certainly involves science, as Deism fully embraces scientific thought and is constantly amazed by the discoveries made in the scientific world, as they only reinforce our belief in the existence of God. However, it also involves a degree of intuitive discernment, just like any number of things; the evidence for something could be right in front of you, but unless you're perceptive enough to pick it up and see where it leads, you'll never reach the right conclusion. Make sense?

It sure does, Nikki. The clues are everywhere, you just have to be sharp enough to detect them. Tell me, what steps would a Deist take to epand the parameters of consciousness to facilitate this level of perception? Would you rely on rational analysis alone to arrive @ the right conclusion?

[HopefulNikki]

Originally Posted by Godlike

It sure does, Nikki. The clues are everywhere, you just have to be sharp enough to detect them. Tell me, what steps would a Deist take to epand the parameters of consciousness to facilitate this level of perception? Would you rely on rational analysis alone to arrive @ the right conclusion?

I don't really think there is a 12-step program for "expanding the parameters of consciousness." Each person's journey is distinct and unique; they arrive at their conclusions in different times and in different ways. However, Deists do believe that purely through Reason and Nature we can come to realize the existence of a higher power and some things about that higher power.

[Random]

Originally Posted by HopefulNikki

Each person's journey is distinct and unique; they arrive at their conclusions in different times and in different ways.

Frubals, . Nikki, you are stong in wisdom already, I see. I hope to have occassion to talk Deism with you again. Thanks for all of the above.

[recluse]

Well I was a Deist. But am agnostic now and some people say "Deism is one step away from atheism". if you want to know about Deism, read Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason". Great book! He is quite sure there's a Creator, though, and I am not. But the rest of his stuff still rings true about the bible and Qur'an.

[uumckk16]

Originally Posted by HopefulNikki

In terms of what theology there is to discuss, I do hope you're kidding. Deism is only a very large blanket of religious thought, and has plenty of room within its boundaries for discussion, debate, and disagreement. If you need ideas, I've recently discovered www.dynamicdeism.org , which seems to me so far to be an excellent site for Deistic discussion and resources.

You beat me to it When I read what Godlike said I was going to say virtually the same thing - even send a link for DD. I was a member there for several months earlier this year; I haven't checked it in a while but David is great and the deists over there sure can get into some interesting discussions

[HopefulNikki]

Originally Posted by recluse

Well I was a Deist. But am agnostic now and some people say "Deism is one step away from atheism". if you want to know about Deism, read Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason". Great book! He is quite sure there's a Creator, though, and I am not. But the rest of his stuff still rings true about the bible and Qur'an.

Hi Recluse! Even though you're no longer a Deist, I'm glad you stopped by the thread to offer your thoughts. Thomas Paine is awesome, hope to chat more with you in the future!

[harleydavidson]

to all ,the ,deist position is really a religous concept for the thinking man. They do accept that there is a God and creator but are rather agnostic in there idea that not much can be known about him . This is reasonable ,since our experience with the an infinite being is limited to say the least..lol.The closest I've come to a good backround in this is a course I took in college,,,"natural theology",,all that you can know about god thru the light of natural reasoning.We can not say God snuck off after creating man and has little to do with him,,since we do not exist by our very nature ,we must rely upon him for our very existence from milisecond to milisecond...harley dav.