I (being one who refuses to be labeled) have finally given a name to my religion, and it is Deism.
(Wait. What closet did you think I was coming out of? WHOAH!!! I meant “spiritual” closet. I mean, not that there is anything wrong with the other closet, but I mean, you know, really… WHOAH!!!!)
Deism is about relying on reason, not faith.
Faith makes you do stupid things like trying to convert an unsaved lion to Christianity at the zoo, believing God has commissioned you to stalk Mel Gibson, or (my personal favorite) drinking cyanide-laced kool aid/have a standoff with the ATF because your beloved spiritual leader said so.
Deists are not Theists because Theists believe in a personal God who “loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life”.
Deists are not Agnostics who could go either way if the right proof is presented, whereas a Deist has rendered a verdict.
Deists are not Atheists simply because, well, Deists believe God exists and Atheists don’t.
A Deist can use reason to explain a belief that the world was created, rather than a product of an astonomically impossible anomaly.
1. The Creation theory suggests order
2. The Big Bang theory suggests chaos
3. The universe operates with natural order
The conclusion suggests Creation is more likely
That is not to say that a Deist believes in a silly fairy tale with two people in a garden, or that they wont be open to a more reasonable theory of how the universe came to be. Many notable scientists (including Albert Einstein) were Deists, and science and Deism are quite complimentary.
1. Christian Fundamentalists commonly believe the Earth to be 6,000 – 10,000 years old according to Genesis.
2. Scientists are uncovering fossils of dinosaurs dating back at least 65 million years.
The conclusion is… uhm, well… pretty obvious, ain’t it?
Evolution is also the only possible answer to so many races of people coming from Adam & Eve (assuming they even existed), as well.
The weird thing about all of this is that in all of my researching in religions… I’m only just discovered now such a thing as Deism exists. Most of my thoughts and writings have always been of a Deistic nature, and I never realized it.
I’ll cover more in an upcoming rant Reason: The Second Coming of Prometheus, but for now here is something to ponder:
1. Do you lean more on your reason and experience than your faith?
2. Do you find yourself bouncing from religion to religion and not quite agreeing fully with any of them?
3. Are you perceived as defending God to atheists, and attacking God to Christians?*
4. Do you gaze at the stars, or walk through nature and find it hard to believe it’s all here by accident?
5. Can you see a movie, read a book, or hear a song and extract some deep profound lesson out of it that some people don’t?
6. Do you feel ALL people have the right to their beliefs (or non-beliefs), regardless of whether you agree with them or not?
If so, you may be a Deist too.
(* Blatantly Stolen from Minister David Pyle’s “Deism: Past, Present, and Future “)
DUDE! U scared the S**T out of me with the whole “Comin Out Of The Closet” title…for a second there, I thought u was bout to bust out with “Am really a homosexual & like men ONLY”…I was like “DAMN!!! I could of sworn he was straight with the way he was flirting with me via email!!! My GAYDAR must be fucked up!!!” and I was like…”There goes my chance with a great flirter!!” *LOL*
Well, am glad you are comin out of the “SPIRITUAL” closet & not the “GAY” closet!!! “Phew!” *wipes sweat off forehead*
*LOL*
Anyways, back to web surfing…
BTW, good to hear you know what religion you are…as long as you thinkin straight and not confuse (spiritually…not sexually *LOL* )…I guess that is all that matters…
Although am a firm believer in faith…I can’t force my believes on anyone (never had anyways…that is a damn good way to scare others off…I should know…not that I done that to anyone…but others done it to me and IT AINT A PRETTY THANG!!! That shit could get PRETTY DAMN SCARY!!! Esp when you disagree with them!!! *LOL*)
Anyways, take care dude!
Nope. Still a flirter. :0)
Funny thing that your comment reminded me of. When I was a teen, a friend’s mother told me “You’re gay. Well, you’re not gay now… but one day you WILL be.” And this woman’s “Gaydar” had an astounding pegging rate.
Well, you can imagine how that can screw someone up as if teenagers aren’t insecure enough as it is. I’m sitting there with my friends freaking out like “Oh man, am I really gay??? I don’t feel gay… Oh man!”
Finally a friend assured me “Dude, I see how you look at girls… believe me… you’re NOT gay.”
John said it. I believe it. And that settles it. 🙂
Although am a firm believer in faith…
As am I. Faith has a big place in everyone’s lives. I’ve done a lot of things in my life that required having nothing more than faith that I was going to make it through in one piece.
But what I have a problem is people taking the word of someone else without using their brain and checking out the facts with cold hard reasoning. This is how people end up in cults, bad relationships, and scammed out of lots of money. I’m not as interested in what someone believes, as much as I’m interested in HOW they came to believe it.
“There are no facts, only interpretation” – Frederich Nietzche
“Everything you know is because someone told you it is so” – Me
“But what I have a problem is people taking the word of someone else without using their brain and checking out the facts with cold hard reasoning. This is how people end up in cults, bad relationships, and scammed out of lots of money. I’m not as interested in what someone believes, as much as I’m interested in HOW they came to believe it.”
Dude, AMEN TO THAT BROTHA!!! Do not trust MAN!!!! If you ask me…those type of people are the REAL DEVIL here…hope you got some faith in God though! Anyways, am not here to preach to you or whatever…but I do agree with you whole heartedly on that!!! Corrupt people are the real evil in this world…DAMNED THEM TO HELL!!! For killin those who have faith and are so pure and innocent…damned them type of people for corrupting our safety net of beliefs and all that…
Anyways, Lets hear it for u being straight!!! *LOL*
Sorry couldn’t resist…*giggles*
*LOL*