World view: Deism
Deism holds with theism that God
created the world but denies his supernatural intervention in it
on the grounds that the world operates by natural and self-sustaining
laws of the Creator. God is beyond the world, but not active
in the world in a supernatural way.
Central tenets of Deism:
- There is a God who created the world
- Anti-supernaturalism: Miracles do not occur.
- Unitarian concept of God: denial of the orthodox doctrines
of the Trinity and the deity of Christ.
Evaluation of Deism
Some positive points:
- Deism emphases natural revelation. God is revealed in nature.
- The stress on reason in matters of religious believe.
- Their attitude towards miracles is not without some justification.
- Their attack of traditional Christianity has brought fort some
great defenders of Christianity.
Some negative points:
- Their understanding of God is incompatible with their stand against
Miracles, as creating the world is the greatest possible miracle.
- Their concept of God is built on an invalid mechanicanistic model
rather on a personal model. God is not a mere Master machine-maker,
and as such there is no need for personal interaction of God with
his creation.
- A God concerned enough to create men in the beginning should be
concerned enough to intervene if they fall into grave difficulties.
- The deistic arguments intended to eliminate the basis for believe
in a supernational revelation apply equally well to elimination of
the deistic believe in creation.
- The deistic criticism of the trustworthiness of the Biblical
documents and writers is definitely lacking.
Resources
Exposition of Deism:
- De Veritate, by Herbert of Cherbury.
- Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone,
by Immanuel Kant.
- The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine.
- Christianity as Old as Creation by Matthew Tindal.
- Christianity Not Mysterious, by John Toland.
- Discourse on Miracles, by Thomas Woolston.
Evaluation of Deism:
- Remarks upon Late Discourses of Free-Thinking,
by Richard Bently.
- Analogy in Religion, Bishop Butler.
- Infidelity, New York, American Tract Society (no date).
- A View of the Principal Deistic Writers..., by John LeLand.
- English Deism, by John Orr.
Based on Chapter 9 of
Christian Apologetics, by Norman L. Geisler.
About the existence of God