Practicing Christian Deism- long.

by Lillith26 16 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • Big Tex
    Big Tex

    I did read the whole article, and if you'll forgive me for oversimplification, what I got out of the article is (1) do no harm; (2) be thankful for what you have.

    I don't know if this is really 'deism' though. It seems to be a deistic tangent on Christianity. (Edited to add: Duh. I re-read the title of this thread. Helps if one pays attention before shooting off!).

    I always thought of deism as something along these lines:

    Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without a need for either faith or organized religion. Deists tend to reject the notion of divine interventions in human affairs – such as by miracles and revelations, but not necessarily. These views contrast with a dependence on revelations, miracles, and faith found in many Judeo-Christian, Islamic and other theistic teachings.

    Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or "The Supreme Architect") has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.

  • AllTimeJeff
    AllTimeJeff
    If Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life, why not just come to him and have done with it rather than dancing around philosophies that sort of acknowledge him, but reduce him to a decent dude who spoke some cool things.

    Speaking for myself, I don't think that it reduces Jesus to call it as I see it, a wise man, a compassionate man, whose life and teachings have affected billions, yet whose identity has become mythical (as god) thanks to his followers.

    As a man, I hold the Jesus of the gospels in the highest esteem.

    Let's imagine he does return and he does judge. What will we say to him? "Woah, JC, dude...I dig your little stories, but c'mon...worship you? Get real, fella!"

    I personally take great comfort in the account of "doubting Thomas" in John. Jesus understood that Thomas needed to see before he believed. If he is god, he knows I need to see before I believe. If he comes back as advertised, that will be excellent evidence, but until then, I have no reason to worship him

  • quietlyleaving
    quietlyleaving

    well I dunno but the op sounds very much like Deism to me but I think it favours Rousseau's deism rather than Voltaire's. Rousseau believed in natural religion and rejected revealed religion but had a lot of respect for the Gospels and for Jesus Christ's teachings.

  • passwordprotected
    passwordprotected

    I personally take great comfort in the account of "doubting Thomas" in John. Jesus understood that Thomas needed to see before he believed. If he is god, he knows I need to see before I believe. If he comes back as advertised, that will be excellent evidence, but until then, I have no reason to worship him

    John 20: 28 In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen me have you believed? Happy are those who do not see and yet believe.”

  • Lillith26
    Lillith26

    Big Tex- That is the defenition of Deism as listed on the Wikipedia. It makes us sound cold and to most theists. I know plenty of other deists (as well as myself) who half agree with this defenition- not two deists will give you the same answer, we are not borg, we have only the way in which we came to believe in common, 'reason', but what we believe and how we live our lives is completly up to the individual.... some choose ChristianDeism if that is what is 'true' for them. I see value in it and agree to a certain extent...

    Deism is simmilar to Christianity in that it has many different denomonations, but the communication and respect between the different 'flavors' of Deism is better than between the different 'flavors' of Christianity. Christians argue over which way to interpret a particular passage of the bible (eg; JW vs Catholic), I have noticed that there is no arguing over who has the better 'flavor' of Deism so far (plenty of healthy debating- but no arguments or poo flinging just yet lol).

  • Tara
    Tara

    There is a nice group of people on yahoo you might find interesting. It's not Christian Deism, though.

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spiritual_Deism/

  • Tara
    Tara

    There is a nice group of people on yahoo you might find interesting. It's not Christian Deism, though.

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spiritual_Deism/

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