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Deism: Reasons
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Deism was a theological movement that grew in the 17th and 18th centuries and was particularly popular in England. They affirmed the existence of a Creator (as distinct from atheists) but denied revelation, even in many cases the Divine origin of the Scriptures. This view had been taken by the Spiritualists in the 16th century, but they had dismissed the Bible as a "paper pope" and professed allegience to their "inner light" - the Deists, on the other hand, professed allegience only to that which could be proven by reason and empricism. In his The Reasonableness of Christianity, as Delivered in the Scriptures (1695), John Locke had declared that the Gospel was compatible with reason - the logical conclusion for the next generation was that those parts not compatible with reason must be discarded. Five years before The Reasonableness of Christianity, Locke had published An Essay concerning Human Understanding, which had split human knowledge into two categories - that which was a matter of revelation (of this one could be certain), and that established by the senses (of this one could be certain to a degree of probability). But among the former nothing could be admitted that was contrary to reason.
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In its implications for Deism, the Natural History of Religion (1757) may be Hume's most interesting work. In it, Hume contends that polytheism, not monotheism, was "the first and most ancient religion of mankind". In addition, contends Hume, the psychological basis of religion is not reason, but fear of the unknown.
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Deism would enjoy a brief rise in the Western world through the 1800s, but by the early 20th century, it was on the decline. The Unitarian movement would absorb most of it's teachings and eventually produce the Unitarian Universalists. Deism today is a mixed bag without dogma or teachings beyond the idea that one should employ Reason to understand the universe. As a result, Deists who believe in Divine Intervention, Intelligent Design, and many other ideas that would have been alien to the earlier Deists are now around.
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Deism is about finding balance among what appear to be conflicting elements. There must be balance between logic and intuition, empirical knowledge and circumstantial knowledge, rationalism and romanticism, science and philosophy, nature and nurture, conscious and unconscious. As the universe is not in perfect balance, neither is the balance in using Reason.
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Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that derives the existence and nature of God from reason and personal experience. This is in contrast to fideism which is found in many forms of Christianity.[1] Islamic and Judaic teachings hold that religion relies on revelation in sacred scriptures or the testimony of other people as well as reasoning.
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The word Deism is derived from the Latin word for God, Deus. Simply defined, Deism is the belief in God based on the use of reason and the observation of the natural world, as opposed to belief in God based on supernatural revelation.
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