What does this antiquated religion have to do with freedom? - The real answer is, a lot. Many of the founding fathers of the United States were deists.
Some ask why now?
Or isn't it an old idea that has been lost to time? - Sure a bunch of intellectuals from 200 years ago called themselves that, but it is not a modern religion, right? -
Yes, many people from 200 years ago were deists.
I would argue that deism is timeless and many people who use other titles for their religion are actually deists. Deism requires that those who have beliefs think deeply about their own spiritual experiences and abide by a set of ethics that each individual has created for himself. It is this deep thought about the state of being that links deists and the freedom movement throughout history. This is no less true today.
So what exactly is deism? - That certainly is a complicated question and it differs depending on the deist you ask. Personally I like how the famous deist Voltaire described his deism. He said, “find God in nature, and be a good man.” That certainly works for me.
What did he mean though? –
How do we find god in nature? –
Does he suggest that each of us should be tree hugging hippies? –
Maybe we should all be tree hugging hippies, but I do not think that is exactly how he intended his statement to be read. Finding God in nature to Voltaire, who loved Sir Isaac Newton, was to find evidence of the divine in the universe using a scientific approach. I like that.
In today’s world, you are supposed to pick a side. You either believe in God or you believe in science. This is ludicrous to me. Science is not just another religion to be believed in or not. It is through the scientific method that we discover the world around us.
Also, in our culture we are told by religious people to choose from a particular set of dogmas that are clearly defined by this religion or that one. Those of us that cannot or will not choose a particular religion or think of God in unusual ways are labeled atheists.
Those all knowing clerics of whichever religion look down their nose and figure we are lost.
Lost from what? – Every religion from Christianity and Islam to Buddhism and Wicca tell us they are the ones who know the right way and the others are evil, misled, or just wrong. They all want to save me from… well, me. I am an infidel and I don't know it.
Even if these religions are right and I am wrong, what kind of God punishes you for loving him differently? - A tyrannical one who was invented by those who wish to control your spirit for their own ends that's who.
The reason that many of the revolutionaries in both America and France were deists is easily answered. God is all around us and it is easy to find him if you just look.
Aristotle pretty much proved his or her existence a long time ago. People want to believe in God but these religions keep pushing their ways on a creative mind. Those revolutionaries by definition were radical thinkers and were busy throwing off the chains of government and finding that the same chains were being held in place by religion. These were freedom fighters and they were not going to bow to anyone.
Yes deism is old, but it still retains its radical ideas, like you are the only one who knows what you believe. Or, you are the one who can best choose what your spirit needs.
Deism teaches fundamentally in the spirit realm what Libertarianism teaches in the physical one. You own yourself. You own your spirit. Man is fallible and it is your decisions that make you who you are.
In summary Deism is just what the name implies a belief in God. What it is not is a defined set of beliefs. I have explored many religions, Christianity, Wicca, Thelema, Voodoo, Hinduism, and many others. I learned a lot about spirit in all of them. My relationship with the spirits I have come to know and love will be something I cherish all my life whether that spirit is Azrael, Gabriel, Gede, Chango, Pan, Ganesh, Erzulie, Hecate, or Kuan Yin. My philosophy though has led me to good company in deism. I love the writings of Voltaire, Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
You will notice each of these men is a also member of the freedom movement from over 200 years ago. Liberty is universal and we all can learn a little from these giants. We also can look around and learn from each other. Just because someone does not call themselves a deist does not mean I cannot learn from them.
Just like God continues to show himself in the workings of nature all around us, freedom also as a force of that God is there. Freedom, Love, Peace, and Compassion are the true tools used by nature. It is up to you whether you pick up those tools and use them or if you choose not to.
I decided long ago that I will pick them up.
I still am learning how I will use them.
