What’s in the Word?

When the word is God, rather a lot. That the universe is of divine creation, that there is God, or Gods, are notions that humanity has nurtured since pre-history. The problem has been, and still affects the world’s religions, is that the concept of the divine has been limited to reflect society at any given moment.

Indeed, ideas about God often seem to lag behind social changes and should be obviously anachronistic to those who continue to espouse them, For example, the Christian Church still refers to God as King of creation: this suffers from the twin difficulties of being anthropomorphic and outdated.

The theist God is very human, all be it on a grander scale. In fact, king is not a bad epithet for a deity that is jealous, ruthless, angry, demanding of praise and fealty, loving the subservient, dispensing favour or punishment according to the divine whim. A despot indeed.

According to religious teaching, God created man in His own image. It would surely be more accurate to reverse that, man creates God in his own image. This is reflected in recent times by feminist theologians who insist on the female nature of God, as if this makes any real difference to such a limited concept.

If God is demonstrably a human creation rather than the other way around, why persist with the notion? Strip away all the cultural and religious accretions and religions have one element in common, God. It seems humans have an a priori knowledge that the universe in which we all exist was created, and continues to be created, by something way beyond our ken.

It is because this ineffable something lies way beyond our very partial understanding that it has become repeatedly dressed up in human attire. The word God allows us to indicate this mysterious something, to consider and speculate about, even have vague intimations of, the divine.

Deists celebrate reason because it enables us to have insights into creation and see in all the wonders science reveals laws and purpose. We know from human experience that creation requires a creator.

From the first primitive log role to the very latest automobile there has been conscious choices made by numerous people down the centuries. Even chance would have contributed, but a fortunate accident would require someone to choose to learn from and incorporate it into the process of development. This is evidence of human being.

On the very much grander scale creation requires a creator, divine being. That our view is limited doesn’t prevent us appreciating the significance of that of which we are a part.

Analogies are always flawed, so accepting this consider: Actors are filmed scene by scene in no particular narrative sequence. Often, they have little or no idea as to the story being made. Indeed, the director in the editing suit cuts the film and makes the story. We are like those actors, only we may never get to see the whole production.

Some deists choose to use the Latin Deus rather than God, considering the word God has too many cultural and religious associations. There are deists who argue they are not religious at all, rather they subscribe to a philosophy not a religion.

So, what’s in the word? An awful lot, it seems, but language is a living not a fixed entity, discarding outmoded meanings and adopting new ones. For the word God deists offer new definitions appropriate for our times, a word that can open thinking to new concepts and understandings that transcend religious boundaries. We might be defined by God, but we cannot define God.

A Short History of Deism

“Deism” is the Latin form of the Greek “Theism”, with both meaning a belief in one God, contrasting with polytheism (many Gods) and Atheism (no God). However, language is ever changing.

During the latter part of the 17th and into the 18th centuries, science and rationalism began to systematically emerge, challenging prevailing religious notions. This new thinking began to permeate religious ideas, resulting in a radical Christianity.

This new theology (or should that be deology?) subjected the scriptures and creeds to forensic examination, applying scientific rigor to what had traditionally been accepted on faith.

Such critical Christianity rejected concepts such as revelations, miracles and the infallibility of the bible. Requiring a convenient name to differentiate it from conventional Theism, this developing religious view adopted Deism.

Deism quickly became influential amongst leading philosophers, politicians and scientists of the day, spreading through Britain, France, Germany and America. It embraced advances in physics, chemistry and astronomy, and leading figures such as Bacon, Copernicus and Galileo.

It was a logical progression to apply the techniques for the rational study of nature to religion. Indeed, nature became the starting point, the “gospel” Deists drew upon as inspiration for their promotion of God.

God was no longer an anthropomorphic figure rewarding the faithful few and damning the rest to the torments of Hell. Indeed the concept of God became rather less definite, a First Cause in the chain of cause and effect creating, and constantly recreating, the universe.

These early Deists contended the Bible did hold important truths while maintaining it was not divinely inspired and, therefore, beyond error. Bible study became a branch of history.

An early Deist, Lord Herbert of Cherbury in his book “De Veritate” (1624) suggested “Five Articles” for Deism to observe:
i. Belief in the existence of a single supreme God.
ii. Humanity’s duty to revere God.
iii. Link worship with mortality.
iv. God will forgive if sins are repented and abandoned.
v. Good works and evil will receive their due reward or punishment in this life and after.

The influence of 1500 years of Christianity is still clear in Herbert’s “Articles” and over time, as Deist thinking advanced, they were superseded. In fact, the notion that Deism required “Articles” or a creed was eventually dismissed and such terms would come to be used only figuratively, not literally.

Deist thinking was advanced by such as Anthony Collins (1676-1729), Matthew Tindal (1657-1733), FMA de Voltaire (1694-1778) and JJ Rousseau (1712-1778).

Many of the founding fathers of the USA were Deists, including Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. English born Thomas Paine, author of the hugely influential Deist book “The Age of Reason”, was involved in the revolutions of the US and France.

Deists advocated the important principle of separating the church and state, along with religious freedom, which was incorporated in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the USA.

Today, Deism largely does not associate itself with any of the Abrahamic religions and is often very critical of them, while recognising a basic idea in common, advocacy of God.

Really, Deism is no longer a religious movement in any conventional sense. There are no Deist places of worship, no priests, no holy books or scriptures and no hierarchy wielding authority.

Many Deists regard Deism as transcending religion, a philosophy recognising that while there are intimations of the divine, ultimately God is ineffable.