Deism as a Worldview - Essay Example

Deism as a Worldview Deism is defined as "The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or Supreme Being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."[1] Prior to the 17th century the terms ["Deism" and "Deist"] were used interchangeably with the terms "theism" and "Theist", respectively. ... Theologians and philosophers of the seventeenth century began to give a different signification to the words.... Both [theists and Deists] asserted belief in one supreme God, the Creator.... and agreed that God is personal and distinct from the world. But the theist taught that god remained actively interested in and operative in the world which he had made, whereas the Deist maintained that God endowed the world at creation with self- sustaining and self-acting powers and then abandoned it to the operation of these powers acting as second causes.[2] There are many religions in the world with each having certain beliefs that make them unique. Overall, most have more similarities than differences. Religions can be broken down in many ways and is beyond the scope here so the simplest method will be used. The easiest way to break them down is using the terms "revealed" and "natural." A revealed religion is one that is based on Faith and Revelation. Essentially, God revealed his existence, law and will to an emissary called a prophet and then the prophet carried it to the world. On the other hand, a natural religion is one that tends to be based on Nature. This type believes that Gods existence is not revealed by direct revelation but generally by observing nature and how it functions. From these descriptions it is obvious that most religions are a combination of the two but every religion will fall more into one category more than the other. The major revealed religions are: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Baha'ism. The major natural religions are: Buddhism, Pantheism and Deism. Of the natural religions, Deism best fits the explanation of a natural religion as it is based on nature without revelation. Deism is a belief in God based on Reason, Experience and Nature (nature of the universe) rather than the divine revelations and holy books of revealed religion. Essentially, through the use of Reason, a belief in God is determined by the observation of the order and complexity found in nature and our own personal experiences of nature. The nature of God has been a point of contention for Deism because it has been defined as a religion that acknowledges a specific nature of God but in actuality it does not and leaves it up to the individual Deist to determine what they believe that nature to be. Overall, Deism is not a hard concept to understand as Deists use Reason and rational thought to develop their view on God, morals and life. [3] History : Deistic thinking has existed since ancient times (e.g., in philosophers such as Heraclitus and most especially Plato, who envisaged God as the Demiurge or 'craftsman') and in many cultures. The word Deism is generally used to refer to the movement toward natural theology or freethinking that occurred in 17th-century Europe, and specifically in Britain. Natural theology is a facet of the revolution in world view that occurred in Europe in the 17th century.[4] The 17th century saw a remarkable advance in scientific knowledge: the scientific revolution. The work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo destroyed the old notion that the earth was the center of the universe and showed that the universe was incredibly larger than ever imagined. These discoveries posed a serious challenge to biblical authority and to the religious authorities, Galileo's condemnation for heresy being an especially visible example. In consequence, the Bible came to be seen as authoritative on matters of faith and morals but no longer authoritative (or meant to be) on matters of science. Isaac Newton's discovery of universal gravitation explained the behavior both of objects here on earth and of objects in the heavens. It promoted a world view in which the natural universe is controlled by laws of nature. This, in turn, suggested a theology in which God created the universe, set it in motion controlled by natural law, and retired from the scene. The new awareness of the explanatory power of universal natural law also produced a growing skepticism about such religious staples as miracles (i.e., violations of natural law) and about books, such as the Bible, that reported them. Whereas the Age of Faith found its truths in religious tradition, the Age of Reason found its truths in observable natural phenomena and individual human reason. Most Deists saw the religions of their day as corruptions of an original, pure religion that was simple and rational. They felt that this original pure religion had become corrupted by "priests" who had manipulated it for the priests' personal gain and for the class interests of the priesthood in general. According to this world view, over time "priests" had succeeded in encrusting the original simple, rational religion with all kinds of superstitions and "mysteries" - irrational theological doctrines. Laymen were told by the priests that only the priests really knew what was necessary for salvation and that laymen must accept the "mysteries" on faith and on the priests' authority. This kept the laity baffled by the nonsensical "mysteries", confused, and dependent on the priests for information about the requirements for salvation. The priests consequently enjoyed a position of considerable power over the laity, which they strove to maintain and increase. Deists referred to this kind of manipulation of religious doctrine as "priest craft", a highly derogatory term. Deists saw their mission as the stripping away of "priestcraft" and "mysteries" from religion, thereby restoring religion to its original, true condition - simple and rational. In many cases, they considered true, original Christianity to be the same as this original natural religion. As Matthew Tindal put it: "It can't be imputed to any defect in the light of nature that the pagan world ran into idolatry, but to their being entirely governed by priests, who pretended communication with their gods, and to have thence their revelations, which they imposed on the credulous as divine oracles. Whereas the business of the Christian dispensation was to destroy all those traditional revelations, and restore, free from all idolatry, the true primitive and natural religion implanted in mankind from the creation."[5] Lord Herbert of Cherbury is generally considered the "father of English Deism", and his book De Veritate (On Truth, as It Is Distinguished from Revelation, the Probable, the Possible, and the False) (1624) the first major statement of Deism. [6][7]Like his contemporary Descartes, Herbert searched for the foundations of knowledge. Herbert distinguished truths obtained through experience, and through reasoning about experience, from innate truths and from revealed truths. Innate truths are imprinted on our minds, and the evidence that they are so imprinted is that they are universally accepted. Herbert's term for universally accepted truths was notitiae communes - common notions. In the realm of religion, Herbert believed that there were five common notions. * There is one Supreme God. * He ought to be worshipped. * Virtue and piety are the chief parts of divine worship. * We ought to be sorry for our sins and repent of them * Divine goodness doth dispense rewards and punishments both in this life and after it. [8] Major Beliefs of Deism: The concept of Deism covers a wide variety of positions on a wide variety of religious issues. Most commentators agree that two features constituted the core of Deism: * The rejection of revealed religion - this was the critical aspect of Deism. * The belief that reason, not faith, leads us to certain basic religious truths - this was the positive or constructive aspect of Deism. [9] Based on different thinkers, Deism is said to have two basic elements, being critical and constructive. The critical elements of Deism include rejection of all religions based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God, rejection of reports of miracles, prophecies and religious "mysteries", rejection of the Genesis account of creation and the doctrine of original sin, along with all similar beliefs, rejection of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religious beliefs. The constructive elements of Deism include the following beliefs: God exists and created the universe, God wants human beings to behave morally, Human beings have souls that survive death; that is, there is an afterlife, in the afterlife, God will reward moral behavior and punish immoral behavior. But these aspects of Deism are only based on thoughts and are not subdivisions or types. This statement can be better defined in Peter Gay's words- "All Deists were in fact both critical and constructive Deists. All sought to destroy in order to build, and reasoned either from the absurdity of Christianity to the need for a new philosophy or from their desire for a new philosophy to the absurdity of Christianity. Each Deist, to be sure, had his special competence. While one specialized in abusing priests, another specialized in rhapsodies to nature, and a third specialized in the skeptical reading of sacred documents. Yet whatever strength the movement had- and it was at times formidable- it derived that strength from a peculiar combination of critical and constructive elements."[10] "A strange feature of the [Deist] controversy is the apparent acceptance of all parties of the conviction of the existence of God." [11] "M. Paul Hazard has recently described the Deists of this time 'as rationalists with nostalgia for religion': men, that is, who had allowed the spirit of the age to separate them from orthodoxy, but who liked to believe that the slope they had started upon was not slippery enough to lead them to atheism."[12] The most appealing factor that Deism was based on is "reason". Reason is defined as "the ability to use intuitive and logical thought processes to develop rational inferences and arguments based on degrees of evidence (empirical and circumstantial)." Thus, Reason is an ability to use our innate thought processes. However, we must realize that the process of Reason is about finding balance within the context of the rational. The balance is between two so-called opposing forces that are logic and intuition. Many try and push the notion that the two are mutually exclusive but this is not the case. Studies have shown that both are invaluable for our ability to navigate existence and the world around us. Both have their place and both should be used but a balance between the two is required. Balance simply means that we use both our intuitive processes and our logical processes to develop an inference. An inference is defined as "the act of passing from data to generalizations usually with calculated degrees of certainty." An inference or argument is developed from our ability to use our thought processes that in turn help to explain the world around us. We look at the evidence available and then develop these inferences. Evidence can be either empirical or circumstantial. Empirical evidence is capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment while Circumstantial evidence is in need of more information but gives a general direction for which observation and experiment can go. Both are valid and useful at looking at the world but one must realize the difference. Circumstantial evidence guides us but is not proof so that it is open to interpretation. Reason allows us to better understand our world, interact with our world and live in our world. It is a tool that has stood the test of time in this regard. However, it is one of many tools that we can employ and we must admit that it is not perfect but the best we have in this endeavor.[13] In the words of Matthew Tindal : "By the rational faculties, then, we mean the natural ability a man has to apprehend, judge, and infer: The immediate objects of which faculties are not the things themselves, but the ideas the mind conceives of them.... Knowledge [is]... nothing but the perception of the agreement or disagreement of our ideas. And any two of these, when joined together so as to be affirmed or denied of each other, make what we call a proposition... Knowledge accrues either immediately on the bare intuition of these two ideas or terms so joined, and is therefore styled intuitive knowledge or self-evident truth, or by the intervention of some other idea or ideas .... this is called demonstrative knowledge..." "If there were not some propositions which need not to be proved, it would be in vain for men to argue with one another [because there would be no basis for demonstrative reasoning] ... Those propositions which need no proof, we call self-evident; because by comparing the ideas signified by the terms of such propositions, we immediately discern their agreement, or disagreement: This is, as I said before, what we call intuitive knowledge.... [Intuitive knowledge] may, I think, be called divine inspiration as being immediately from God, and not acquired by any human deduction or drawing of consequences: This, certainly, is that divine, that uniform light, which shines in the minds of all men..."[14] These definitions of reason, self-evident truth, and the light of nature are expressive and give us a clear picture. Strengths of Deism from a Christian perspective: The Deist view of God is same as that of Christianity. Both share the same view God exists and created the universe, God wants human beings to behave morally, Human beings have souls that survive death; that is, there is an afterlife, in the afterlife and God will reward moral behavior and punish immoral behavior. As written by Matthew Tindal - "By natural religion, I understand the belief of the existence of a God, and the sense and practice of those duties which result from the knowledge we, by our reason, have of him and his perfections; and of ourselves, and our own imperfections, and of the relationship we stand in to him, and to our fellow-creatures; so that the religion of nature takes in everything that is founded on the reason and nature of things. I suppose you will allow that it is evident by the light of nature that there is a God, or in other words, a being absolutely perfect, and infinitely happy in himself, who is the source of all other beings...."[22] Weaknesses of Deism from a Christian perspective: Deism, arises in response to the basic human hunger for true spirituality, and specifically in response to the claims of Christianity. The modern-day pantheist applies an overly humanist filter to the Gospel story-he sees Jesus as a good and spiritual person, the Bible as a potentially useful source of spiritual inspiration, and the Earth and humanity as extensions of the divine. The modern deist sees God as a distant and scarcely-knowable entity, Jesus as an untouchable and barely-human holy visitor from afar, and Creation as a doomed environment that must be endured until we escape from it to a faraway heaven. The pantheist perspective is a danger to which liberal Christians are susceptible, whereas the deist approach is a pitfall for orthodox Christians. Conclusion: The simplicity of the Deistic belief in a supreme reasoning power that is the Designer of Nature seems to be its brightest promise to those who don't feel comfortable in any of the various "revealed" religions. Currently, Deism is reaching many new people who either feel trapped in a revealed religion that requires they suspend their God-given reason in order to accept a particular claim or revelation key to that religion, as well as people who could not accept what they perceive to be the fantastic claims made by revealed religions and felt that because of their rejection of the revealed religions they were atheists. References: 1 . Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, 2. Orr, John (1934). English Deism: Its Roots and Its Fruits. Eerdmans, p. 13. 3. 2004 J Hardwick 4. The discussion of the background of Deism is based on the excellent summary in "The Challenge of the Seventeenth Century" in The Historical Jesus Question by Gregory W. Dawes (Westminster: John Knox Press, 2001). Good discussions of individual Deist writers can be found in The Seventeenth Century Background and The Eighteenth Century Background by Basil Willey. 5. Matthew Tindal, Christianity as Old as the Creation (XIV) 6. Willey, Basil (1934). The Seventeenth Century Background. 7. Orr, John (1934). English Deism: Its Roots and Its Fruits, p.59 ff.. 8. Lord Herbert of Cherbury, The Antient Religion of the Gentiles, and Causes of Their Errors, pp. 3-4, quoted in John Orr, English Deism, p. 62 9. English Thought in the Eighteenth Century, Sir Leslie Stephen 10. Peter Gay, Deism: An Anthology, p. 13 11. Waring, E. Graham (1967). Deism and Natural Religion: A Source Book, Introduction, p. xv. 12. Willey, Basil (1940). The Eighteenth Century Background, p. 11. 13.2005 J Hardwick 14.Matthew Tindal, Christianity as Old as the Creation (II) 15.Armstrong, D. (1984). Consciousness and Causality: A Debate on the Nature of Mind. Oxford University. Oxford, USA. 16.Bunge, M. Emergence and Convergence: Qualitative Novelty and the Unity of Knowledge. Toronto Studies in Philosophy. University of Toronto Press. 2004. 17. Dawkins, R. (2006). The God Delusion. Oxford University. Oxford, USA. 18. McCallum, D. & DeLashmutt, G. Spiritual Relationships That Last. ISBN-10: 159067006X. ISBN-13: 978-1590670064. Xenos Publishing. December 3, 2001. 19. Ramm, B. Theological Reactions to the Theory of Evolution. Science in Christian Perspective. Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation (JASA). September 1963: 71-77. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1963/JASA9-63Ramm.html. 20. Sire, J. W. The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview. ISBN-10: 0830827803. ISBN-13: 978-0830827800. InterVarsity Press; 4th Ed. June 2004. 21. Ward, K. God, Chance and Necessity. Oneworld Publications. as the Creation (II) 22. Matthew Tindal, Christianity as Old as the Creation (II) Read More