I FINALLY FOUND MY RELIGION!

[NJmaverick]

While researching a debate over the US being founded as a Christian nation I came across a belief system that pretty much matches what I believe in. Until now I could never describe my religious beliefs with one word before! I think this is awesome.

Deism has many different variations, but this one website which referred to positive Deism actually pretty much describes my beliefs to the letter. It seems to be a perfect match of liberalism and religion.

While there are no "official" tenets of Deism, many of the following "unofficial" tenets might be the best way to introduce generally accepted beliefs within Deism. The unofficial tenets of Deism are:

1. Belief in God based on Reason, Experience and Nature (nature of the universe) rather than on the basis of pure faith, holy texts and divine revelation. Essentially, through the use of Reason, God's existence is revealed by the observation of the order and complexity found within nature and our personal experiences.

2. Belief that the nature of God is generally incomprehensible and is beyond definition for humanity at this time. Furthermore, human language is limited and inadequate to define God; however, man can use Reason to theorize and speculate on what this possible nature is.

3. Belief that mans relationship with God is impersonal and abstract. However, this does not create a feeling of a distant and cold deity but of one in which God has a profound and unfathomable relationship with all of creation (nature) rather than just one aspect of it.

4. Belief that humanity has the ability to use Reason to develop ethical/moral principles and through the application of Reason these principles can be used to implement moral behavior, which in turn creates a Utilitarian-Humanist morality. Essentially, humans can be guided by their conscience in matters of morality.

5. Belief that humans have the individual capability of experiencing God, which is defined as spirituality. These spiritual experiences are multi-faceted and all of humanity has the innate capability to have these experiences. Essentially, each human is capable of having a profound experience of God and nature.

6. Belief that God should be honored in a way that the individual believes is best and most appropriate for them. Individuals must determine for themselves how best to honor God and only they can develop how to accomplish this. For many, it is a multi-faceted and an individualized process.

7. Belief in the principle of Natural Law that states that all men and women are created equal to each other with inherent freedom and liberty so that no human has more worth than another. Essentially, each human is equal in terms of the freedoms that they have and in the eyes of the law.

8. Belief that mankind's purpose is to use our God-given reason to understand what it means to be alive in every sense of the word (to live life to the fullest) and to act in such a way as to secure human happiness and contentment for all involved.

9. Belief that Reason and Respect are God-given traits to mankind and that we are to utilize them in all aspects of our daily lives thus creating a pragmatic approach to life. This includes respecting other alternative views and opinions of God (other religions) as long as they do not produce harm and/or infringe upon others.

Most Deists will agree with these basic tenets and regard Deism as a personal philosophy (theology) and as a religion. Many may expand on these beliefs and may also add personal touches. This is appropriate and encouraged as Reason tells us that humans are freethinkers that have different beliefs and experiences.

http://www.positivedeism.com/deistprimer.html

[BuyingThyme]

1. Right on.

Just don't try to organize.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Good for you!

I am glad you have found a way to explain your belief system. This can be very comforting. These are good tenets to live by as well.

[sarcasmo]

3. Pretty sure this belongs in the Religion section, just a hunch.

Since it has Religion in the title

[stellanoir]

4. humor is my religion

It transcends all cultural and dogmatic boundaries.

If Deism works for you then go and be well. If not there is always the church of the flying spaghetti monster and the UU's and the Buddhists who are equally tolerant.

I deeply feel it'll be through a shared universal spiritual humanism that ultimately will bring us all together.

It'll take time and it will be with great humor.

Some astrophysicists speculate that at the center of the galaxy the primary chemical componant is NO2 (aka laughing gas.) That's enough for me to go on.

Deism sounds cool.

best to you

[eridani]

26. The originators of Zen and Sufi teaching stories would agree

And how about the Discordians? Truly a non-prophet disorganization?
http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/eristocracy.html

[jokerman93]

29. Actually

Your religion(s) are the weird manipulative new age cult of eckankar, Elizabeth Clair Prophet's Summit Light House, and whatever other dogmas you and your partisans (shall we name names?) use in your under-the-radar proselytizing here on DU. By all appearances, your sacrament is a certain cloying hypocrisy whenever you patronize readers from your "exalted spiritual station" behind the mask - as you're doing here with this O.P.

By all means, keep it real sweety.
:beer:
J

[IndyOp]

5. You found Thomas Jefferson's religion! Rock on!

Everytime I hear someone say that the U.S. is a Christian nation I think of Deism and wonder if they have ANY CLUE what kind of Christianity Deists practice. Jefferson did admire Christ tremendously - he just despised many Christians.

:hi:

[Sydnie]

7. And also that of Thomas Paine

I remember having a discussion in college with someone about what I thought about "the existence of God and his effect on everyday life". I had never heard of Deism at that point, but the person I was having the conversation with told ME I was a Deist. I looked it up after the conversation ended, read about it, and agreed with them that it was exactly what I had described as my beliefs. So, I was a Deist before I knew that it even existed as a "philosophy" ... until then, I thought I was the only one that thought like that.

[last1standing]

10. And George Washington.

As well as most of the other founding fathers. They answered to "Nature's God" above all else.

[NJmaverick]

20. That's exactly the situation I was in

Same thing, didn't know there was a philosphy that fit my beliefs.

[papau]

17. The famous atheist who became deist -Antony Flew-refers to Jefferson's Deism as similar to his own

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6688917/

There is a God, leading atheist concludes - World News - MSNBC.com

There is a God, leading atheist concludes
Philosopher says scientific evidence changed his mind

Updated: 6:04 p.m. ET Dec 9, 2004
NEW YORK - A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God — more or less — based on scientific evidence, and he says so on a video released Thursday.

At age 81, after decades of insisting that belief is a mistake, the professor, Antony Flew, has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.

Flew said he was best labeled a deist, like Thomas Jefferson, whose God was not actively involved in people’s lives.

[TahitiNut]

6. I suscribe to that and find there's very little in it that's inconsistent with Buddhism.

Funny that. :shrug:

[Selatius]

8. I became a Deist several years back. Welcome to the fold.

The idea that any other person is better able to judge the path you take than you yourself are capable of taking through your own free will and your gift of Reason struck me not only as stupid but also supremely arrogant and vulgar.

[last1standing]

9. Welcome.

I've been a Deist for years now and could not be happier. :hi:

[samfishX]

11. You might like this:

http://www.fullmoon.nu/articles/art.php?id=tal "> A Conversation With God
It's one of the coolest things I've ever read...online, no less!

[Freedom_from_Chains]

12. Yes many of the founders, the one who were intellectuals, not

the minor players from the various states, we all deist in that it was a rational based system. It really drives the wingnuts crazy when one mentions that. They all want to think that the founders we a bunch of holy rollers ranting and raving like they do. It really shows how out of touch with reality, and lacking any understanding of history, these dumb-asses are. And to think we have one of them in the big chair is out and out frighting. Now that is terrorism.

But enjoy your study, Deism was pretty interesting but unfortunately it died out.

[TRYPHO]

13. Just replace the word Deist with Freemason

and you'd be spot on.

(Freemason are required to have faith in a higher order, and deism is a great way to pick a system which wouldn't offend but would still allow membership of the masonic order).

TRYPHO

[TheDebbieDee]

14. I guess I've been a Deist for several years......

and I didn't even know it.

I came to many of these same conclusions on my own after trying to sort out the conflicts between religion, humankind and God.....I just never knew what this perspective was called til now.

Thanks for the education!

[Ian David]

15. My religion believes that everything doesn't have to be...

printed in bold type.

[Ian David]

16. You know what you also might find interesting?

Scientific pantheism: basic principles
by Paul Harrison.

When our era was young, we believed as children believe. Now we are adults, it is time to put away childish things. It is time to adopt a religion that embraces the space age, and that supports our love of nature and our efforts to preserve the earth.
That religion is pantheism.

Divine cosmos, sacred earth.

Pantheism has two central tenets:
The cosmos is divine.
The earth is sacred.

When we say the cosmos is divine, we mean it with just as much conviction, emotion and commitment as believers when they say that their god is God.
But we are not making a vague statement about an invisible being who is beyond proof or disproof. We are talking about our own emotional responses to the real universe and the natural earth.

When we say "That tree is beautiful," we are not saying anything about the tree in itself, but about the way we feel we must respond to the tree. We are talking about the relationship between us and the tree.

In the same way, if we say THE UNIVERSE IS DIVINE we are making a statement about the way our senses and our emotions force us to respond to the overwhelming mystery and power that surrounds us. We are saying this:

We are part of the universe. Our earth was created from the universe and will one day be reabsorbed into the universe.

We are made of the same matter as the universe. We are not in exile here: we are at home. It is here and nowhere else that we can see the divine face to face. If we erect barriers in our imagination - if we believe our real home is not here but in a land that lies beyond death - if we believe that the divine is found only in old books, or old buildings, or inside our head - then we will see this real, vibrant, luminous world as if through a glass darkly.

The universe creates us, preserves us, destroys us. It is deep and old beyond our ability to reach with our senses. It is beautiful beyond our ability to describe in words. It is complex beyond our ability to fully grasp in science. We must relate to the universe with humility, awe, reverence, celebration and the search for deeper understanding - in other words, in many of the ways that believers relate to their God.

More:
http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/basicpri.htm


See also:

Minbari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minbari

[More Than A Feeling]

19. Are you a scientific pantheist? or just a non-boldface typist? n/t

[Ian David]

21. I'm a mult-typeface Jewish Humanist. n/t

[kiahzero]

18. Welcome! (n/t)

[Finder]

22. Congrats...I can honestly say I have never met one I didn't like.lol

Add one to the freethinking team.lol

[ms liberty]

23. K&R - the religion of the Founding Fathers...or at least the most important ones...

It fits my belief system as well as anything else, too. Best of all, you don't have to join a church or swear allegiance to a bunch of dogma you don't believe in to belong!

[mzmolly]

24. I consider myself a Deist as well.

:hi:

I "discovered" my beliefs some time ago, but didn't have a name for it until about 5 years ago.

[mzmolly]

25. Check this out

I'm off to read it.

http://www.deism.com/deism_vs.htm

[mcg]

27. I'm close to being a Deist. nt

[ozone_man]

28. God given reason?

Deism is probably the most rational of the theisms. Going down through the list, one main difference I have is that I don't call that feeling of "spirituality" God. I think it's our appreciation for and awe of nature. Some see nature as a creation or work of God, while theory of evolution teaches otherwise. Also, I don't see how reason can be considered God-given when it is God who we are trying to define.

5. Belief that humans have the individual capability of experiencing God, which is defined as spirituality. These spiritual experiences are multi-faceted and all of humanity has the innate capability to have these experiences. Essentially, each human is capable of having a profound experience of God and nature.

Why attribute those feelings to God? I think it is easier and far more rational to define nature as the source of this spirituality. It sounds so pagan though. ;)

8. Belief that mankind's purpose is to use our God-given reason to understand what it means to be alive in every sense of the word (to live life to the fullest) and to act in such a way as to secure human happiness and contentment for all involved.

God given reason? That's putting the cart before the horse. How do we know it was God and not nature that gave us reason and an appreciation or spirituality derived from nature? I agree that humankind should try to live life to the fullest, but beyond that, there is not much purpose aside from trying to protect nature from the destruction by humankind.

9. Belief that Reason and Respect are God-given traits to mankind and that we are to utilize them in all aspects of our daily lives thus creating a pragmatic approach to life. This includes respecting other alternative views and opinions of God (other religions) as long as they do not produce harm and/or infringe upon others.

Belief that Reason is a God-given trait is an example of blind faith, not the free thinking.