Neo Deist
Th.D. & D.Div. h.c.
The following is a small segment of my thesis that I wrote for my Th.D. in Theology...
In the 21st century A.D., church attendance is falling to the wayside. With the advent of greater scientific and medical achievements, more and more Americans are foregoing religion in favor of personal spirituality. It is hard to accept the biblical stories that are often supernatural in nature as fact, when science and medicine have proven that the Holy Bible is essentially wrong on many accounts. This does not sit well with many people, but neither can they deny the evidence that is presented to them. However, with this new age of Christian spiritualism, a modern twist on an old philosophy is emerging that combines the moral aspects of Christianity with the acceptance of science and medicine. That rising religion is called “Christian Deism,” and it is gaining popularity, especially with the younger generation of adults.
Christian Deism is the belief that Jesus was a teacher and prophet, and that his message on morality and love are examples for the world to follow. Jesus existed as a person and was summarily executed by the order of the Roman Governor Pilate. This account is not only biblical, but verified by two non-biblical sources; the Jewish writer Josephus, and the Roman writer Tacitus. Neither writer mentions anything about miracles, divinity, or the resurrection. Many Christian Deists have come to accept the fact that the Gospels were written by anonymous authors, decades after the death of Jesus, and that they were not direct eye witnesses to the life of Jesus. That makes the Gospels hearsay. Regardless, people still want Jesus as a central figure in their religion and/or spirituality, so they accept his teachings and thus become followers of Christ.
Deism by itself, is the belief in God based on your personal observations of nature and the cosmos. Deists see design and purpose, not randomness in creation. It is a very simple philosophy to follow, and does not have all the baggage that comes with organized religion. There is no deist church, holy books, or priestly hierarchy. It is a personal philosophy about God and creation. No one can refute your personal observations. Atheists do not like debating deists for that very reason!
To support the concept of Christian Deism, here are some examples found in deistic thought:
I. Living beings have free will. It is because of free will that God does not interfere or intervene. Bad things happen to good people, because someone else chose to do something bad. If God intervened, it would no longer be free will.
A. People are murdered. This is because another human made a choice to commit murder.
B. Children suffer. This is because another human’s actions cause that suffering, such as child abuse.
C. Ancestry affects genetics. If your ancestors chose to do something (such as incest), their actions could have repercussions throughout time via bloodlines. This could account for birth defects and mental illness.
II. Ancient man did not have telescopes or microscopes. Early religious writings were earth centric, including the concept of geocentricity. They had no way of knowing that stars were light years away, could be more massive than the distance from our sun to Mars, or that the earth had a rotation to explain the rising of the sun and moon. Nor did they know what bacteria, viruses or microbes were.
A. Telescopes have shown that the earth is not the center of the universe. Galileo was right, and the Roman Catholic Church, by way of Pope John Paul II, issued a declaration and formal apology stating as much, albeit hundreds of years after the fact.
B. Jesus did not cast out a “demon” from the boy who fell into the fire or water, while his body would shake violently. The boy suffered from epilepsy, a medical condition that the ancients could not have known about.
III. The idea of Satan as the devil; the arch enemy of God, is pure nonsense. An omnipotent God, as the creator of the universe, could simply uncreate Satan if he were truly this diabolical, fallen angel.
A. Satan is actually a Hebrew term found in the Old Testament, and it translates into English as “adversary.” Furthermore, it is a title, not a name, and in Hebrew it is always preceded with the definitive article ‘the,’ thus making the true term “the satan,” or more accurately “the adversary.” The adversary’s role is like that of the district attorney in court. It brings you up on sinful charges, and then God judges you. The Adversary would be a neutral entity, subject to God’s will and authority. This is described in the Book of Job, where Satan tests Job, but God lays down the rules for the tests, and Satan has no choice but to abide by them.
B. Lucifer is not the name of the devil. That was a bad transliteration by the 4th century A.D. monk Jerome, who was writing the Latin Vulgate for the Roman Catholic Church. The term comes from the Greek heosphorus, and simply means “day star” or “the morning star.” It is in reference to the planet Venus, which can be seen at dawn. The biblical verse of Isaiah 14:12 is the only verse (KJV) that uses the term “Lucifer” as a proper noun. Modern translations have removed the term due to its erroneous usage. Jesus is also referred to as “The Morning Star” [lucifer] in Revelation 22:16. Besides, the entire chapter of Isaiah 14 is in reference to a fallen Babylonian king; most likely Nebuchadnezzar II.
IV. Hell does not exist. The concept of hell as a place of eternal torment is a fabrication by the early Church, and was used to strike fear into its followers. Religion thrives off of fear and guilt trips. A truly loving God would not condemn creation to such a place, just because they did not accept a certain way of life, even though they lived as moral beings. What if they never heard of Jesus? Are they doomed for eternity because of their birth place that they had no control over?
If the Church controls the keys to heaven, then it maintains its power, influence and wealth. This is the reason the Roman Catholic Church did not want the Bible translated outside of Latin. It wanted to maintain its authority.
Summary:
Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America were actually deists, not Christians, though some used the term “Christian Deist.” That list includes Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Adams, James Madison and to a lesser degree George Washington. It is for this reason that neither the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution, contain the word “Jesus.” The references to God are “Creator.”
Religions owe it to the followers and believers to be truthful and transparent. For Christianity, that means stopping the lie that we go to heaven immediately upon death. There is not a verse in the Bible that states that. What is in the Bible is that we go to the grave and await the resurrection and judgment that is described in Revelation 20. The dead know nothing; not the passage of time. For them, death, resurrection and judgment would seem instantaneous, even though millennia may pass during their time in the grave.
Furthermore, the Bible does not say that the righteous even go to heaven. In Revelation 21, the Bible states that we will go to paradise on new earth, not heaven. It also describes new earth as having no seas or oceans, so speculation would suggest an entirely different planet!
We should not blindly accept what people wrote thousands of years ago, with their limited scientific and medical knowledge. We have the power of thought, and we should be asking questions. The Church cringes when its followers start stepping out of the lane of complacency, and start thinking outside of the box.
Christian Deism is the blending of the moral aspects of Christianity based off of Jesus’ teachings, the philosophy of deism, with the acceptance of science and medicine. It is on the rise and will most likely become a dominant religion in the USA. People are becoming free thinkers and questioning the validity of millennial old, traditional teachings. God gifted us with intelligence, and so we should use it.
[End]
Note: please respect that this is my personal view and belief, and is an excerpt from a very long and detailed thesis. I put it in this format so that it would be easier to read on the forum.
Christian Deism
In the 21st century A.D., church attendance is falling to the wayside. With the advent of greater scientific and medical achievements, more and more Americans are foregoing religion in favor of personal spirituality. It is hard to accept the biblical stories that are often supernatural in nature as fact, when science and medicine have proven that the Holy Bible is essentially wrong on many accounts. This does not sit well with many people, but neither can they deny the evidence that is presented to them. However, with this new age of Christian spiritualism, a modern twist on an old philosophy is emerging that combines the moral aspects of Christianity with the acceptance of science and medicine. That rising religion is called “Christian Deism,” and it is gaining popularity, especially with the younger generation of adults.
Christian Deism is the belief that Jesus was a teacher and prophet, and that his message on morality and love are examples for the world to follow. Jesus existed as a person and was summarily executed by the order of the Roman Governor Pilate. This account is not only biblical, but verified by two non-biblical sources; the Jewish writer Josephus, and the Roman writer Tacitus. Neither writer mentions anything about miracles, divinity, or the resurrection. Many Christian Deists have come to accept the fact that the Gospels were written by anonymous authors, decades after the death of Jesus, and that they were not direct eye witnesses to the life of Jesus. That makes the Gospels hearsay. Regardless, people still want Jesus as a central figure in their religion and/or spirituality, so they accept his teachings and thus become followers of Christ.
Deism by itself, is the belief in God based on your personal observations of nature and the cosmos. Deists see design and purpose, not randomness in creation. It is a very simple philosophy to follow, and does not have all the baggage that comes with organized religion. There is no deist church, holy books, or priestly hierarchy. It is a personal philosophy about God and creation. No one can refute your personal observations. Atheists do not like debating deists for that very reason!
To support the concept of Christian Deism, here are some examples found in deistic thought:
I. Living beings have free will. It is because of free will that God does not interfere or intervene. Bad things happen to good people, because someone else chose to do something bad. If God intervened, it would no longer be free will.
A. People are murdered. This is because another human made a choice to commit murder.
B. Children suffer. This is because another human’s actions cause that suffering, such as child abuse.
C. Ancestry affects genetics. If your ancestors chose to do something (such as incest), their actions could have repercussions throughout time via bloodlines. This could account for birth defects and mental illness.
II. Ancient man did not have telescopes or microscopes. Early religious writings were earth centric, including the concept of geocentricity. They had no way of knowing that stars were light years away, could be more massive than the distance from our sun to Mars, or that the earth had a rotation to explain the rising of the sun and moon. Nor did they know what bacteria, viruses or microbes were.
A. Telescopes have shown that the earth is not the center of the universe. Galileo was right, and the Roman Catholic Church, by way of Pope John Paul II, issued a declaration and formal apology stating as much, albeit hundreds of years after the fact.
B. Jesus did not cast out a “demon” from the boy who fell into the fire or water, while his body would shake violently. The boy suffered from epilepsy, a medical condition that the ancients could not have known about.
III. The idea of Satan as the devil; the arch enemy of God, is pure nonsense. An omnipotent God, as the creator of the universe, could simply uncreate Satan if he were truly this diabolical, fallen angel.
A. Satan is actually a Hebrew term found in the Old Testament, and it translates into English as “adversary.” Furthermore, it is a title, not a name, and in Hebrew it is always preceded with the definitive article ‘the,’ thus making the true term “the satan,” or more accurately “the adversary.” The adversary’s role is like that of the district attorney in court. It brings you up on sinful charges, and then God judges you. The Adversary would be a neutral entity, subject to God’s will and authority. This is described in the Book of Job, where Satan tests Job, but God lays down the rules for the tests, and Satan has no choice but to abide by them.
B. Lucifer is not the name of the devil. That was a bad transliteration by the 4th century A.D. monk Jerome, who was writing the Latin Vulgate for the Roman Catholic Church. The term comes from the Greek heosphorus, and simply means “day star” or “the morning star.” It is in reference to the planet Venus, which can be seen at dawn. The biblical verse of Isaiah 14:12 is the only verse (KJV) that uses the term “Lucifer” as a proper noun. Modern translations have removed the term due to its erroneous usage. Jesus is also referred to as “The Morning Star” [lucifer] in Revelation 22:16. Besides, the entire chapter of Isaiah 14 is in reference to a fallen Babylonian king; most likely Nebuchadnezzar II.
IV. Hell does not exist. The concept of hell as a place of eternal torment is a fabrication by the early Church, and was used to strike fear into its followers. Religion thrives off of fear and guilt trips. A truly loving God would not condemn creation to such a place, just because they did not accept a certain way of life, even though they lived as moral beings. What if they never heard of Jesus? Are they doomed for eternity because of their birth place that they had no control over?
If the Church controls the keys to heaven, then it maintains its power, influence and wealth. This is the reason the Roman Catholic Church did not want the Bible translated outside of Latin. It wanted to maintain its authority.
Summary:
Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America were actually deists, not Christians, though some used the term “Christian Deist.” That list includes Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Adams, James Madison and to a lesser degree George Washington. It is for this reason that neither the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution, contain the word “Jesus.” The references to God are “Creator.”
Religions owe it to the followers and believers to be truthful and transparent. For Christianity, that means stopping the lie that we go to heaven immediately upon death. There is not a verse in the Bible that states that. What is in the Bible is that we go to the grave and await the resurrection and judgment that is described in Revelation 20. The dead know nothing; not the passage of time. For them, death, resurrection and judgment would seem instantaneous, even though millennia may pass during their time in the grave.
Furthermore, the Bible does not say that the righteous even go to heaven. In Revelation 21, the Bible states that we will go to paradise on new earth, not heaven. It also describes new earth as having no seas or oceans, so speculation would suggest an entirely different planet!
We should not blindly accept what people wrote thousands of years ago, with their limited scientific and medical knowledge. We have the power of thought, and we should be asking questions. The Church cringes when its followers start stepping out of the lane of complacency, and start thinking outside of the box.
Christian Deism is the blending of the moral aspects of Christianity based off of Jesus’ teachings, the philosophy of deism, with the acceptance of science and medicine. It is on the rise and will most likely become a dominant religion in the USA. People are becoming free thinkers and questioning the validity of millennial old, traditional teachings. God gifted us with intelligence, and so we should use it.
[End]
Note: please respect that this is my personal view and belief, and is an excerpt from a very long and detailed thesis. I put it in this format so that it would be easier to read on the forum.
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