Christians do not like Free Thinkers like me.

I found this image online in a forum, and I was shocked.

If you look at this closely, you can understand why Deism is so reviled by the revealed religions (Christianity etc).

 A free thinker uses logic and reason to think and ask questions. How many of us have asked questions of our parents, our church elders and pastors, and been brushed off with a comment like this? "Oh, you just have to have more faith."

I have.

Lots of time. 

For me it all started when I was 16, and I looked at a map of the Sinai peninsula.

Do you see just how small the Sinai peninsula really is?

Now the Bible claims that 1 million Hebrews wandered around in that very small patch of desert for 40 years - apparently without once retracing their footsteps - which meant they did not cover the same place twice.

For 40 years??  Come on. No way. Not for that very small triangle of desert.


The Christian Research & Apologetics Ministry (CARM) gave these three reasons on “Why isn’t there any record of millions of Jews wandering in the desert?“

First of all, no archaeological find has ever contradicted the Bible.

Second, lack of evidence doesn’t mean there wasn’t an Exodus.

Third, it may be that the traditional site of Mt. Sinai is incorrect.

I personally beleive the third option is the correct one.

Now, do you see the huge "empty desert" right next door?   1 million Hebrews can easily have wandered around there for 40 years without retracing their steps...

And there were no muslims at the time of the Exodus. There weren't even any arabs really. 

It took forty years for the Hebrews to make the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, somewhere in the land of Canaan.But if they had walked directly there on foot, along with their flocks and families, it should have only taken about six to eight weeks.

Anyway, getting back to the first picture I posted above (the Free Thinker is a slave of Satan), what it really shows is that Christians are NOT permitted to think for themselves. They are required to accept, learn and repeat the "party line" of their religion.

Some people call this CONFORMIMG to the majority. 

I call it conforming to society.

I personally will never conform to what society or any religion tells me to think, do, say or believe. I will obey the legal laws.

How to deal with the religious zealots.

 
When you get a christian (or a zealot) coming up to you and asking you - Are you saved - you know what they are really asking. They want to know what your religion is.

 I always tell the truth - NO I am not saved, and I dont wish to be saved, thank you - and I try to continue on my way.

But if they continue to get in my face and say - Well you are going to hell, lady!!

I usually stop and say - If you want to believe I am going to hell, that is your choice, but there is not need to harrass me about it, since I personally do not believe that - and I try to continue on my way.

If they insist on continuing their harassment, I will continue to speak to them - All this harassment is not encouraging me to want to join you people at all. I see nothing nice or loving about your actions or words.

And if they still wont leave me alone, I give them a fake name and the phone number of my local police station.

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I could also say that I prefer to have free will in my life - what was it that Neo said in the movie - The Matrix - I dont like that the idea that I am not in control of my own destiny.

Christians will tell you that - Sure you have free will - but as soon as you convert to their religion - they throw a 2000 page Rule Book at you.

Deism has NO rule book and just ONE rule. The Golden Rule.

The Universe - a wonder to behold

I recently came across a wonderful image made by the Hubble telescope that really shows just how LARGE our universe is.  Hubble Deep Field Image - Galaxies


This image shows hundreds of galaxies out there in space - and that was only in one very small section of space.There are billions of galaxies in all the universe. 

We humans are just one small minute life form in one galaxy, amongst hundreds of millions of other galaxies.

The sooner we understand and accept just how small our species really is, the sooner we can accept that we are just one of many life forms in this universe and that we are NOT special, but we are also not alone.


As Jodie Foster (Ellie) says in the movie Contact (1997)
The question was asked - Are we the only ones?
Ellie's answer -  The Universe is a pretty big place - So if it's just us - It seems like an awful waste of space

I will also say this - the first 2 verses of the Hymn - How Great Thou Art - does represent the awe I feel whenever I look at the image of galaxies I linked to above.

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hand hath made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Chorus

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

How Deism got started...

Classical Deism was defined by Lord Herbert of Cherbury (d. 1648) and was one of the earliest proponents of Deism in England.

In his book "De Veritate," (1624), he described the "Five Articles" of English Deists:

1. Belief in the existence of a single supreme God
2. Humanity's duty to revere God
3. Linkage of worship with practical morality
4. God will forgive us if we repent and abandon our sins
5. Good works will be rewarded (and punishment for evil) both in life and after death.

Source - Exploring Deism, its Origins and History

Or in Modern Terms

1 - I believe in a Supreme Creator but NOT in a personal saviour
2 - We should revere the creator, or Natures God
3 - We should strive to be and act morally according to the laws under which we live
4 - Forgiveness shows mercy and love. This has nothing to do with any  god
5 - Karma - you reap what you sow - you brought it on yourself by your actions.



Benjamin Franklin was a Deist. He wrote the following in 1790 CE

Here is my creed. I believe in One God, the Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we can render Him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion.

Pagan Origins of the Christian Myth

At the time I found Deism and "formed my own religion", there was no internet. But shortly after I discovered that my beliefs had a name - I came across what I call the smoking gun.

 A website called Pagan Origins of the Christian Myth. This is what I call the smoking gun, and it totally and completely opened my eyes.  It also explained exactly why I felt that Christianity was wrong and I was right.

• When Osiris is said to bring his believers eternal life in Egyptian Heaven, contemplating the unutterable, indescribable glory of God, we understand that as a myth.
• When the sacred rites of Demeter at Eleusis are described as bringing believers happiness in their eternal life, we understand that as a myth. 
• In fact, when ancient writers tell us that in general ancient people believed in eternal life, with the good going to the Elysian Fields and the not so good going to Hades, we understand that as a myth.
• When Vespatian's spittle healed a blind man, we understand that as a myth.
• When Apollonius of Tyana raised a girl from death, we understand that as a myth. 
• When the Pythia , the priestess at the Oracle at Delphi, in Greece, prophesied, and over and over again for a thousand years, the prophecies came true, we understand that as a myth.
• When Dionysus turned water into wine, we understand that as a myth. When Dionysus believers are filled with atay, the Spirit of God, we understand that as a myth. 
• When Romulus is described as the Son of God, born of a virgin, we understand that as a myth.
• When Alexander the Great is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman, we understand that as a myth.
• When Augustus is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal , we understand that as a myth.
• When Dionysus is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman,we understand that as a myth. 
• When Scipio Africanus is described as the Son of God, born of a mortal woman, we understand that as a myth.

SO how come when Jesus is described as...
the Son of God,
    born of a mortal woman,
       according to prophecy,
          turning water into wine,
            raising girls from the dead, and
              healing blind men with his spittle,
                setting it up so His believers got eternal life in Heaven
                   and off to Hades—er, I mean Hell—for the bad folks...

how come that's NOT a myth?

 Source - Pagan Origins of the Christian Myth

It is perfectly clear that Jesus was just another story - but this time a church (the central authority) grew up around this old belief and it is the church that has kept the story of this son of god alive for the last 2000 years. And caused no end of misery to the human race as a result.

I have long since stopped thinking of the dates BC and AD. I now prefer to use the neutral dating system - CE and BCE. CE means Common Era and BCE is Before the Common Era.

I dont openly broadcast my beliefs. That is now how Deism works.  We do not go around Prosetylizing.

I have no trouble saying that I believe in God - even if my version of God is most certainly NOT the god of the bible.

As Thomas Paine said -  Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man. And the church has certainly been very cruel over the last 2000 years.

What Deists beleive in

This is a list of "unofficial" beliefs.

Unofficial means that nothing is official because Deism has no central clergy or authority. These beliefs are what we all tend to have in common.

•     Belief in an intelligent designer of the universe.
•     Belief that the intelligent designer is "outside" the universe, and not part of the universe (as in pantheism).
•     Belief that after the Deity created the universe, He stepped away from it to allow it to evolve naturally based on the laws of physics which He created without any need for His further intervention.
•     Belief that the Deity does not perform "miracles" which defy the laws of physics, or intervene in a supernatural way in the affairs of mankind.
•     Belief that the Deity does not reveal Himself to mankind through priests or other "enlightened" individuals, but rather through the workings of nature.
•     Belief that the Deity imposes no pre-ordained, or divinely inspired moral code of behavior on mankind, but rather expects man to develop his own codes of conduct for living in harmony with his fellow man based on his God-given Reason.
•     Although there is no scientific evidence for an afterlife, most Deists do have a "hope" for an afterlife.

Source - Spiritual Deism



I can still remember the day I finally made up my mind what I beleived in. It was back in the early 1990's. I was in my apartment and I had just finished reading the book - Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I clearly remember making the following assertions in my head.

• There is a supreme creator. 
• The universe and nature and our bodies are just too complex to have come together "by accident" which is what evolution teaches. 
• There is no Jesus Christ.
• No son of  god, 
• No crucifixion, 
• No raising from the dead, 
• No miracles, 
• No heaven,
• No hell and 
• The bible was written by man.

These were the basics of what I felt comfortable believing and over the last 20 years I have found no reason to change them.  I just assumed there was no name for this belief. It's only in the last 7 years that I finally discovered the name for this belief.

It is called Deism. 

Happy Birthday Thomas Paine

Happy Birthday Thomas Paine.

Today - January 29, 2013 - is Thomas Paine Day.

Thomas Paine was born on this day in 1737. That is now 276 years ago.

Thomas Paine - Wikipedia


I started this blog in celebration of this philosophy that I have followed for almost 20 years. I thought that today was a good day to start this new blog on Deism.

Just a quick biography. I rejected the protestant church and teachings I was raised in at the age of 19. I had been asking questions since I was 16.

I spent the next 10 years searching, reading about and investigating various religions to find an answer.

By the age of 30, I eventually came to a conclusion. One that felt right and reasonable and logical for me. I did not know if there was a name for what I believed in, and so I assumed that it had no name.

A few years ago, I discovered that my philosophy did have a name, when I came across an article about the American Founding Fathers being Deists.  What they believed in, matched my beliefs almost exactly. I was ecstatic to discover that Deism has played a large part in American history


I don't call Deism a religion since it does not have a leader nor any holy books, nor do I attend any regular meetings. I do however want to investigate the history of Deism,

Thomas Paine was a major proponent and supporter of Deism - although at the time he had no name for his new ideas. He only knew that what religion was telling him, did not stand up to reason, logic and lots of questions.

So he wrote a few books to answer his questions. 

His most famous books are Common Sense and Age of Reason.

Image Source - World Union of Deists