Neo Deist
Th.D. & D.Div. h.c.
As a deist, I am an "outside of the box" type of thinker. As a CSI officer that deals with crime scene evidence, I tend to be very "fact finding" in nature, as well as skeptical. I need to be able to see, hear, touch, taste or smell something before I am convinced of the truth behind the matter.
So how does someone like me become a deist instead of an atheist, given that none of the senses can detect God in any shape or form? That is a question I have pondered over for years. I have no doubt that spending 30 years as a Baptist has something to do with my seeking God, instead of becoming a nonbeliever.
When I look at the cosmos, I am in awe and wonder. The universe is a gorgeous place, with multiple levels of every science at work within it. Running mathematical equations that compute the distance light travels in a given amount of time (hour/year/century/etc.) blows my mind and really opens up the scientific thought process. Light, traveling at 671 million mph, takes 100,000 years just to cross our galaxy, and there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.
I love astronomy, and to think that we came from randomness in the vastness of space just does not make sense to me. I sense design and purpose in creation, both here on earth and abroad. Why would God, as the creator, make something so huge just to have a tiny dot the only place with life? That defies logic. I say it is because ancient man did not have telescopes, and to them the Earth was the center of the universe (and was the popular belief until Copernicus came along).
When dealing with the sheer size of the universe, the idea that Earth is the center of God's focus, that God sent His son to us, that Satan works against God here on Earth and will eventually be thrown down from Heaven to Earth...none of that makes any sense when you start looking out into space. I have done calculations on other threads, and if only .00000000001% (my random number) of the planets in the entire universe are habitable, that leaves BILLIONS of potential civilizations. If you can wrap your mind around that concept, it should become clear why I have doubts that this singular planet we live on, is the focal point of God. That is why I embrace deism...God created us, the laws of nature, set everything in motion, and then...moved on? Creating elsewhere? Alternate universe? Different dimension? Who knows...
But for us, as mere mortals, to try and define God and bind Him within our laws, philosophies, systems of belief, and limited understanding is just utter nonsense. To make up stories as to why God does not simply snap His fingers and uncreate Satan if he were truly this diabolical arch enemy, is just pathetic on our part. Those stories are just man made garbage, because of our lack of understanding (especially back then).
Rampant thoughts and reflections...
So how does someone like me become a deist instead of an atheist, given that none of the senses can detect God in any shape or form? That is a question I have pondered over for years. I have no doubt that spending 30 years as a Baptist has something to do with my seeking God, instead of becoming a nonbeliever.
When I look at the cosmos, I am in awe and wonder. The universe is a gorgeous place, with multiple levels of every science at work within it. Running mathematical equations that compute the distance light travels in a given amount of time (hour/year/century/etc.) blows my mind and really opens up the scientific thought process. Light, traveling at 671 million mph, takes 100,000 years just to cross our galaxy, and there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.
I love astronomy, and to think that we came from randomness in the vastness of space just does not make sense to me. I sense design and purpose in creation, both here on earth and abroad. Why would God, as the creator, make something so huge just to have a tiny dot the only place with life? That defies logic. I say it is because ancient man did not have telescopes, and to them the Earth was the center of the universe (and was the popular belief until Copernicus came along).
When dealing with the sheer size of the universe, the idea that Earth is the center of God's focus, that God sent His son to us, that Satan works against God here on Earth and will eventually be thrown down from Heaven to Earth...none of that makes any sense when you start looking out into space. I have done calculations on other threads, and if only .00000000001% (my random number) of the planets in the entire universe are habitable, that leaves BILLIONS of potential civilizations. If you can wrap your mind around that concept, it should become clear why I have doubts that this singular planet we live on, is the focal point of God. That is why I embrace deism...God created us, the laws of nature, set everything in motion, and then...moved on? Creating elsewhere? Alternate universe? Different dimension? Who knows...
But for us, as mere mortals, to try and define God and bind Him within our laws, philosophies, systems of belief, and limited understanding is just utter nonsense. To make up stories as to why God does not simply snap His fingers and uncreate Satan if he were truly this diabolical arch enemy, is just pathetic on our part. Those stories are just man made garbage, because of our lack of understanding (especially back then).
Rampant thoughts and reflections...