about deism and atheism

[syo]

deism and atheism have a meeting point. deism teaches that god created a perfect world that can be maintained on its own, that's where atheism kicks in. atheism with deism make a perfect religion in my opinion. there is no superstition and everything is logical.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

I consider deism a type of theism. I would likely have been a deist had I lived between the first wave of scientists that revealed a clockwork universe that runs without gods - planets orbit, apples fall, gases equilibrate, and electrons flow through wires without gods pushing them around - and the second wave of scientists that showed how the universe and life could self-organize without a builder once certain seeds were present - the singularity and the first cell.

That first wave of discoveries demonstrated that a ruler god was not necessary, but unable to account for the universe or the tree of life we find all around us, a designer and builder god was still needed. Once we were past that, atheism became tenable. Deism is the transition between Abrahamic monotheism and atheism.

 

[Rival]

Deism is the belief in a god and atheism is the lack of belief in a god. So they are mutually exclusive.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Deism is the belief in a god and atheism is the lack of belief in a god. So they are mutually exclusive.

In some circles theism still maintains its older meaning of specifically a deity which is a personal, involved one. The opposite of deism rather than the opposite of atheism. Deism was atheistic.
There's also some deists who believe there was a God but now there isn't (left, or used itself to create the universe) and identify as both deist and atheist.

 

[Rival]

In some circles theism still maintains its older meaning of specifically a deity which is a personal, involved one. The opposite of deism rather than the opposite of atheism. Deism was atheistic.
There's also some deists who believe there was a God but now there isn't (left, or used itself to create the universe) and identify as both deist and atheist.

Surely there is a more succinct name for that though.

My understanding is that theism is a personal god, deism is an impersonal god and atheism is no god.

 

[columbus]

deism and atheism have a meeting point. deism teaches that god created a perfect world that can be maintained on its own, that's where atheism kicks in. atheism with deism make a perfect religion in my opinion. there is no superstition and everything is logical.

I agree that's why I identify mainly as a deist. But like so many other "ism" words, there's a broader range of meanings than any simplistic dictionary definition can really capture.
So, I am only speaking for myself here. I am pretty darn atheistic. Things I have read by other Deists have often sounded pretty darn theistic. Oh well. I don't care. It isn't that I heard of and investigated Deism and decided it was true. It's more like I developed beliefs, then later discovered that there's a word for that.

The main difference between my worldview and a theistic worldview isn't the existence of God. I use the term God to describe the reason for the existence of the universe and reality. But I don't ascribe any of the anthropomorphous characteristics religions do to God. I see no reason to think God cares about anything, knows anything, plans anything, deserves anything, etc. Those are all human characteristics. If there is anything I am sure of about God, it's that our piddly little thoughts and feelings and needs don't apply.
God is as far beyond us as we are beyond an amoeba, probably more. Anyone who believes that they are smart enough to know anything about God is kidding themselves. Religion is an exercise in hubris.

Science, the methodical and objective search for the understanding of reality, is the best way to grow our understanding of God. Religion is more of a distraction. It makes us feel better about being so ignorant and weak, like a drug or a placebo.

Other deists obviously see things very differently. YMMV.
Tom

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I consider deism a type of theism. I would likely have been a deist had I lived between the first wave of scientists that revealed a clockwork universe that runs without gods - planets orbit, apples fall, gases equilibrate, and electrons flow through wires without gods pushing them around - and the second wave of scientists that showed how the universe and life could self-organize without a builder once certain seeds were present - the singularity and the first cell.

But there's not the first tittle of evidence or rational theory from "before" the Big Bang. And your "once certain seeds are present" is an understatement in the extreme.

That first wave of discoveries demonstrated that a ruler god was not necessary, but unable to account for the universe or the tree of life we find all around us, a designer and builder god was still needed. Once we were past that, atheism became tenable. Deism is the transition between Abrahamic monotheism and atheism.

Why? Science only shows that an interactive God has no evidence for it, and all of it against It. That merely shows that the one is eliminated leaving the other two standing. From our viewpoint, the two are indistinguishable with no evidence for or against either--Stephen Hawking's whining pleas notwithstanding.

Deism is the belief in a god and atheism is the lack of belief in a god. So they are mutually exclusive.

Yes, but they are also the only two reasonable positions on the existence of God. Funny how it worked out that way.

 

[siti]

Science only shows that an interactive God has no evidence for it

Wrong, science has uncovered no evidence at all for any kind of God.

Yes, but they are also the only two reasonable positions on the existence of God. Funny how it worked out that way.

So its a 50/50 thing? Either God exists or he doesn't? But we could say that about anything. Is there life on Mars - either there is or there isn't. Will I win the lottery this weekend? Either I will or I will not. Come to think of it, I should definitely have a flutter at those odds. Funny how it doesn't work out that way at all! There are of course a million and one different ways of being wrong about the existence of God just as there millions of ways of not winning the lottery.