Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Why I Am Not a Deist (No Offense to Deists)

Why I Am Not a Deist (No Offense to Deists)

Last updated on: January 20, 2014 at 1:43 pm by Roger E. Olson

Why I Am Not a Deist (No Offense to Deists) 2014-01-20T13:43:04-05:00 Roger E. Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In a recent blog post I talked about idols and how some are better than others—for promoting personal and civic virtue. (I used “virtue” there in a very broad sense of, for example, respect for human rights.) Some idols reflect “true myth” (C. S. Lewis’ phrase for non-Christian ideas of god) better than others.

One that I mentioned was deism. Whenever I mention deism I draw fire from someone claiming to speak for deism. The usual response is something to the effect that deism is rational whereas Christianity is irrational.

I think there’s some truth in the claim that deism is (or can be) more rational than full, robust Christianity. So why am I not then a deist? I’ll come back to that.

Whenever I teach a course on Reformation and post-Reformation Christian theology (which I do about once a year) I end the course by having students read one of the great classics of “Christian deism”—John Toland’s Christianity Not Mysterious (1696). It was heavily influenced by John Locke who wrote The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695), but it goes beyond Locke in terms of attempting to make “real Christianity” rational. (The students will go on to study modern Christian theology much of which was influenced by Locke, Toland, Tindal, et al. And they will read hear and read critiques of deism and Enlightenment “rational religion.” So Toland’s book isn’t the capstone, so to speak, of their encounter with historical theology.)

Deism of some type is alive and well in America—both on an intellectual level and on a popular “folk religion” level. Sociologists of American religion have invented a term for the prevailing theology of church youth in America: “moralistic therapeutic deism.” I personally know of professors at Christian universities who say they are deists and others who are but don’t say it.

So what is deism? Well, that’s not easy to answer—at least in a way with which everyone, including self-identified deists, will agree. My “portrait” of deism is based on the works of Toland and Matthew Tindal (Christianity as Old as the Creation [1730])—the two giants of deism during its heyday. Both considered themselves Christians in some sense, but their Christianity was “free thinking” Christianity as opposed to “dogmatic Christianity.” Many deists quote the French deist Voltaire admiringly, but his deism (which he called “theism”) is not encapsulated in a single volume but scattered throughout his writings.

First, deism is allegedly a religion of pure reason—what all rational people can believe about God without faith.

Second, deism is a religion without anything supernatural except God himself. But God, who is the creator of nature, does not intervene in it. Miracles are not necessary to real, rational religion. Deism believes in “general providence” without “special providence.”

Third, deism considers God personal, powerful and just, the creator and moral governor of the universe.

Fourth, deism regards Jesus Christ as an example of good humanity but not God incarnate.

Fifth, deism is non-trinitarian. It is what early Christians would call “monarchian”—radical monotheist.

Of course anyone can define “deism” however they want to, but this is a general consensus description of deism based on primary and scholarly secondary sources.

Now I’ll return to the claim that deism might be more rational than classical Christianity and why I’m nevertheless not a deist.

When I say that deism might be more rational than traditional, orthodox Christianity I mean it does not go beyond what reason alone can discover and reveal about God. I believe deism (as described above) is much more reasonable than, say, atheism or even agnosticism.

If someone says they prefer to stop (in religion) with what natural reason, unaided by special revelation or faith, can know I have no argument with them unless they go on to include in their deism what is not supportable by natural reason alone. And that is a big problem. Most deists I know do believe in more (about God) than what natural, unaided reason can discover.

Of course, if a deist wants to go beyond deism, then I have much to say to him or her. And, if a deist claims his or her deism is “Christian” I will argue that it is not. And, I will say to any deist who pits deism against orthodox Christianity that deism that, compared with Christianity, deism is insipid, tasteless, bland, and offers no hope.

Blaise Pascal asked of the deists (really precursors of deism) “Do you love by reason?” In other words, is unaided, natural reason really the only guide to the good life? If not, then why would it be considered the only guide in religion?

This introduces my main problem with deism. The majority of deists believe God is good, even loving, or at least that, because of Jesus, we should be loving. But love transcends reason. Reason alone cannot arrive at a good, loving God or at a life lived according to self-sacrificing love as the good life.

There is no evidence from nature and reason alone that God is good. Nor is there any evidence from nature or reason alone that the good life includes care for others unless it benefits oneself.

I agree with deists that religion should not be irrational, but we will disagree about what constitutes “irrational” belief. But I disagree with deism that religion should not go beyond reason. A religion that doesn’t go beyond reason has no place for love or sin or care for the weak or hope for an ultimate triumph of good over evil. And its god would seem to me to be bad insofar as he is omnipotent but never intervenes in history or persons’ lives.

Having said all that, I would prefer to have a president, for example, who is a deist over one who is an agnostic or atheist. At least deism provides a moral basis for justice, however incompletely and inconsistently (from a Christian perspective). I truly believe that if there is no god nihilism is the only rational option. (See Hans Küng’s excellent book Does God Exist? for a sustained argument for this belief.)

Take away the incarnation of God in Jesus and Jesus’ resurrection and I would stop being a Christian. I might be a deist instead. But I would not love God; I would only fear him.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 18, 2014

Are All Idols Equal?

Next Post

January 23, 2014 How to Solve a Theological Dilemma when Scripture Doesn't Clearly Solve It: An Exercise in Theological Method

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Messiah" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Anointed one Redeemer Blessed Servant