Deism Today

Where Is Heaven?

2011-03-27T09:38:00.001-05:00

It has been 14 long months since I have posted here. Honestly, I don't know where the time goes. Not much has changed ... still rooted in Deism, following other's postings who share similar (and opposing) beliefs, and just living. But now and then I am compelled to write.

I have written before on basic facts about our Universe ... at least what is known at this time about it. I am utterly fascinated by the science and the sheer vastness. So, let me ask, "Where is heaven?" Such a childish question. So elementary, right? But this is not a rhetorical question; I want to know.

Generally, when heaven is spoken of, we merely need to lift our eyes "up" to know where heaven is. But is this "up" from the perspective of the northern or southern hemisphere? Or maybe it's a perpendicular delineation. Hard to believe that half of our globe is getting it wrong. They should be looking downward, through the Earth, in an effort to express their desire for direction toward heaven. But wait, no, that would show a yearning for hell, wouldn't it? It's certainly not difficult to imagine where the writers of these holy texts came up with the notion of hell, so we'll just let that go for now.

Is heaven in our solar system? Is it in our Milky Way galaxy? Is heaven at least in our own Universe? At any rate, hidden from the multitude of sensors and optics of scientists. How long will it take to get there? Hours? Maybe hundreds, or thousands of years? In the case of the outer reaches of the known Universe, billions of years? Or, as in select texts, in the blink of an eye? This one, in particular, presents a tiny little problem. Can our souls (or risen bodies) travel faster then the speed of light?

What do you mean our journey to heaven doesn't have a speed limit? Hold on. We agree that God created the Universe, right? In His infinite wisdom He created our Universe with space and time. It takes time to go through the space ... and it goes against these laws of Nature, which we agree God created for us, to go anywhere of note in the blink of an eye. In case you don't know, it takes over eight minutes for the light of the Sun just to reach Earth. So, we know empirically heaven is not around Earth, and certainly heaven is not within our solar system, and too, we might all agree heaven is not contained in our galaxy. I would venture that no believers would think heaven is contained at all, even within our Universe. Most would probably allude that heaven is outside of this physical world - outside of this Universe. Wow, well God certainly has presented us a huge paradox. He has created for us a Universe with almost incomprehensible distances, complete with natural laws that limit how fast we might travel the space within it.

Just to recap; the known observable Universe is about 540,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles across. That's more than 540 sextillion miles, or about 45 billion light years out from Earth in opposing directions - 90 billion light years across in total. And scientists believe it goes much further ... that's just what we can see!

So, tell me again, "Where is heaven?"

One Deist Φ

Quotable Quotes

2009-12-31T01:45:00.000-06:00

My adaptation of several relatively well known quotes. It's a little longer then I prefer, but it does cover a lot in a small paragraph.

The only thing that makes your particular faith absolutely true, is your absolute faith. It is your faith that matters to you, not truth. And maybe a billion others believe similarly too, but if a billion people believe a lie, it is still a lie. That's what Christians would say of a billion Muslims; that's what Muslims would say of a billion Christians; and that's what I say of two billion with blind faith.
-- One Deist Φ

One Deist Φ

A New Deism for a New World

2009-12-27T12:45:00.000-06:00

This is a must-read for those who would practice and promote Deism in a positive light.

Celestial Lands » Blog Archive » A New Deism for a New World.

One Deist Φ

Incredulous Christian

2009-10-06T00:27:00.000-05:00

A Christian recently expressed disbelief and skepticism for my claim of peacefulness within Deism. The following represents part of our conversation:

After decades of Christianity I have finally found tremendous peace in Deism. Looking back, I am reminded of the profound faith it took to be a Christian. An unreasonable faith, based on fantasy, fear, myth, prejudice, elementary errors and blatant conflicts as presented in the Bible. For myself, it simply got to the point where I could no longer believe in the perfectness of God as revealed through such an imperfect body of literature. No more apologists, no more rationalizing, no more excuses – it’s just wrong.
G.B. said: I would love to hear more about this ‘tremendous peace’ of which you speak. I hear your feelings about the Christian writings and their story, but I would love to know what specifically your deism offers for you to feel peaceful.

Yes I have tremendous peace in Deism, as well as joy, liberation, comfort in belief, and profound awe of God’s work. I am no longer shackled by the delusions and ascendancy of a select few people, but can lead a sound and fulfilling life which utilizes, to the best of my abilities, the reasonable wisdom of all human history.

The fact is, if you were born into a Muslim family, especially within a Muslim nation, odds are overwhelming that you would be Muslim. And much the same can be said of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. If you are an adherent of one, you are heretical to another. Choice of religion is societal, not divine.

Most people, if fully informed, would look at Scientology as a complete farce. A mind controlling cult that bilks millions of dollars from adherents, created by a science fiction writing madman. Looking at his organization reasonably and objectively, Hubbard’s methods are easily discounted. Those outside the group find it difficult to understand how those inside could have been manipulated into belief. And these same ideals of reason and objectivity can carried over to Mormonism, Christian Science, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc.

Those things considered divine in any given faith will not be found unique to that faith. God, satan, immaculate conception, virgin birth, savior, healing, heaven, hell, miracle, angel, prophet and much more, share a common thread in many faiths. Several of those faiths predate and contributed to Christianity as well as other faiths. I understand that the faithful who read this will feel that theirs is the correct one, and that their holy text is the true word, but there are other compelling faiths which present proof within their holy texts. It is paramount to understand that scripture, in and of itself, is not proof.
G.B. said: If Christianity is false then we’ve added rules and codes, morality and ethic that constrains our taking full advantage of our life in the Now.

YES! I want make clear, though, that as a Deist I believe morality and ethics are very important, but certainly not divine. In other words, it’s through God's gift of Reason we find the answers, not revelation.

Religion, in every instance, stifles the progression of man. It makes the world flat (and the center of the Universe), rather then putting a man on the moon. It prays and lays on hands, rather then giving needed medical attention. It credits God for good and bad, rather then discovering bacteria and antibiotic. It rebukes and murders those who lack identical beliefs, rather then finding peace among cultures. It lives in the past, rather then encouraging and embracing the future.

After all, if we ambitiously learn new things we might find scripture errant and unreasonable, right?

One Deist Φ

Farewell Mom

2009-09-04T11:32:00.002-05:00

My heart hurts. My Mom has passed away.

I've been away from my home, and my computer, for the funeral and time with family. While my beliefs are unfaltering and my interests are still the same, I never quite realized how much everything else is so meaningless in times like this.

I'm torn as to what I should share with you, and exactly how much. From my previous post, Letter To My Mother, you already know she was a devout Christian. Her entire existence was an extrapolation of her faith. She spent over thirty years studying, researching, analyzing and writing about the Bible. Mom has one published book, had plans for at least two more, and she was a prolific writer on a personal level. She loved her God, her family, her friends, her home and her cats. But oh how she loved her God. No matter how devastating things might have been at times in Mom's life, she never lost sight of her faith.

I suppose you could say it's my fault. In the late 1960's Mom was an encyclopedia salesperson who liked to target homes with children, and I was an innocent five year old riding my bike on the sidewalk. She asked if I lived nearby; I answered yeah, follow me, and raced back the opposite direction before she could get her car turned around. Mom managed to follow me though, met my Dad, and eventually married him. You see, "Mom" was step-mom to my younger sister and I, and the only Mom we ever really knew. My Dad would later quip that most kids normally drag home a cat or a dog, but I had to drag home a Mom, and his wife.

I must admit, most of those years growing up with Mom were rocky. There always seemed to be tremendous lows and tremendous highs. Seldom, it seems, were there times that were just normal, whatever that would be. It was a roller coaster. What hasn't been revealed to you until now, is that Mom had Bipolar Disorder. I believe it was present, although relatively mild, throughout the time I was being raised, but undiagnosed until years later. I should emphasize that the good times are dominating my thoughts right now. Berry picking, family vacations, picnics, camping and lazy afternoons at the lake. Mom was a great cook, and always had a delicious dinner ready at five sharp. She taught me to love and take care of animals, and she gave me the freedom to explore the world around me. Together, my Mom and Dad taught me to love your spouse through thick and thin ... no matter what. Mom was always a person I could talk to, even if it hurt. She taught me that even guys have to express what's inside now and then, and that an apology is better then stubborn machismo. Mom would always give me the straight answers - and angles not considered - no matter how much I tried to rationalize my point of view. Mom absolutely adored my Dad, for 41 years, and I know she loved us kids equally too.

I left my parent's home at seventeen, never to return except for vacations, which we all cherished. In thirty years of vacations I had never visited my parents during Mother's Day until this year, and you can only imagine how poignant that is to me now. Mom's funeral was made very special by the participation of three of my cousins on Mom's side of the family. It was a traditional Christian ceremony of which my cousins made up nearly the entire event. One cousin performed music, one read passages and hand-written notes from Mom's Bible, and the last provided a sermon and lead vocals. The pastor of the church filled in the gaps and provided other necessary rites. Christian indeed, and I would not have wished for anything different. It revered and honored my Mom and the life she stood for. And although I don't believe as she did, I can only hope she found the Heaven and the God she so very much desired.

Well, I was there for Mom's birth into our family, and I was there at her last breath. I loved my Mom; I respected and honored her; and I am really going to miss her.

One Deist Φ

Discussion With A Christian

2009-08-17T00:24:00.000-05:00

A Deist and a Christian (let's call him Boomer) have a conversation on Boomer's blog.

Boomer's blog post was referring to one of those terrifying stories in the Bible, and at the end of his post he quipped, "I truly don't understand how the Deist can believe that God doesn't intervene into history. Left to our own devises, would we not all be aligned with Satan himself?"

I suppose the Deist was motivated to provide a response. Boomer's goal in their discussion, of course, was to save a soul, whereas the Deist wanted to be just a bit more pragmatic and reasonable. Kudos to them both for being very cordial - an interesting read.

A Boomer in the Pew: Brutal Rape, Dismemberment, and a Tribal War.

Stop Blaming God and Satan

2009-08-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."
-- Dr. Steven Weinberg

These words haunt me.

The entirety of all lives lost in the name of religion haunt me. Parents killing children, nations killing nations, one sect killing another sect - all in the name of their religion. It is all, in it's totality, insanity. Your religion is no excuse, your God is no excuse, your perceived superiority is no excuse.

It is all myth. There is no satan; and God would not ask these things of you. If you choose to do evil things, it is simply your choice to do so, not the choice of God.

I am to the point of equating religion with alcohol - people are drunk with their beliefs. There was a time when alcohol intoxication was a marginal excuse for the evils of man. Now it simply isn't so, and it should be the same with religion. If you kill or hurt anyone, in any way, in the name of your religion or your God, it shall be no excuse for your evil deed. You have done the evil deed at your own sad discretion.

To paraphrase the quote above:

There are good people and evil people in the world. Religion does not make you good if you do evil - you are simply evil.

One Deist Φ

Wholly Unholy

2009-06-30T16:49:00.000-05:00

I've seen, somewhere, the Koran described as a copy of a copy of a bad original. Indeed, there are several references to the Bible within the Koran. And of course the entirety of the Bible is an extension of the Pentateuch. And the Pentateuch is crammed full of archaic fables, superstition and mythology. The "miracle" of the fulfilment of a savior - Jesus, and hence Christianity - is derived from one tiny passage from this mythology. This, of course, is just another in the thread of superstitious teachings within all the pages of these "holy books".

So, if the Pentateuch is wrong, doesn't that make the Bible wrong? And if the Bible is wrong, doesn't that make the Koran wrong? And if these are wrong, doesn't that make all related and supporting texts wrong as well? To my simplistic way of thinking, this concept is the "black hole" of all the revealed religions. Once you get the facts nearby, the unstoppable force of the black hole will unwaveringly draw them in faster and faster, extruding the truth for all to see - if you choose to see.

This all started with a blip I heard on the radio of a "believer" touting "facts" from the Bible where it is proposed that people used to live extremely long lives - even eight or nine hundred years. What fantasy! What kind of person really believes this stuff? There is absolutely no scientific evidence that anyone ever lived to that age. No paleontological/archaeological record of this whatsoever. Well, what do you know ... it was God who decided, at some point early in Genesis, we shall only live to about 120 years. But I sure wish we could find just one or two of those skeletal remains that lived 900 years. I'd even take 300 years old, but it will never happen, because it never actually happened.

Not much is reported of this Bible errancy. But along with conflicting stories, dragons, satyrs, unicorns, a man living in a fish for days, reports of God killing millions of people, etc ... what in the world does it take for people NOT to believe these books?! Seriously.

One Deist Φ

This One Is Golden

2009-05-05T12:46:00.000-05:00

There are lots of rules. It seems that during every waking moment our lives are directed by some rule. And if someone disagrees with something we do, there is sure to be a rule which should have precluded us from doing it in the first place.

With few exceptions, our laws and religions are based on one thing -

The Golden Rule

Also known as the Ethic of Reciprocity, it asks that all of us be fair and just to everyone else, and that everyone else be fair and just to us.

It can be prescribed as a negative:
"Don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself."
or as a positive:
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Sometimes these are differentiated as The Silver Rule and The Golden Rule, respectively. There are philosophical grounds for the difference, but for me it's only a matter of the glass being half empty or half full. I like my glass half full.

This primitive and fundamental rule of humanity has been debated on principle. It is argued that I don't know what you would have done to yourself and you don't know what I would have done to myself. Also, it's argued that just because you like something, it doesn't mean I would like that same something too. But I would argue another way - the "glass half full" way.

It isn't the literal interpretation of this idea, but the spirit or intention of The Golden Rule that matters to humanity. It isn't necessarily the specific things in our lives to do, but the fact that we would consider doing; it's the consideration of others that matters in our lives. This is important - to have CONSIDERATION of others. The things for consideration change with location, culture, age, and many other human factors. But the fact that we have consideration is what we need to hold dear.

Empathy is the essence of The Golden Rule. It begs us to put ourselves in the place of another. It's good to receive the consideration of others, and it's imperative that we likewise do the same. The Golden Rule, when properly applied, perpetuates itself.

It may be true that we Deists don't have scripture or dogma, but I for one would suggest The Golden Rule as paramount in our religious philosophy, immediately following our belief in God.

I would do this in consideration of you.

One Deist Φ

Deism Is Spiritual, Not Political

2009-04-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

I have seen, several times, some people associate Deism with politics, and an assumption that Deists have only a single direction as to their political views. Usually this slant is toward a liberal political party. I have also seen where this behavior of relating Deism to politics pushes people away from Deism.

I believe this is a mistake which we should not make, and certainly we should not repeat. We don't want to lose Deists because of the political views of just a few. Some people are simply more reserved then that, and many do not normally express their political opinions. Even if political views were to be expressed, it would preferably not take place in a spiritual or religious arena. The two are not necessarily related.

But the biggest issue I take with the mix of Deism and politics is this: As Deists we do not believe in dogma. We don't blindly follow, but use our God given gift of Reason to make our own decisions. Once politics is injected into the equation, suddenly everyone becomes a lemming - Deists are liberals, and liberals are Deists, and there is no in between. If you dissent from the political views of others within the group then you become an outcast, and thus you are scorned and shunned. Suddenly it becomes zealotry, fanaticism and militancy, which is not Deism. Deism is not blind faith in clergy or political leaders, which goes against the very principles of our Deistic beliefs.

I refuse to be a card carrying member of anything except Deism. I will do the research on all matters and reach my own conclusions without the need for political affiliation. I refuse to be a political zombie, mindlessly following the political crowd.

Let's leave politics out of our spirituality. I believe it makes all of us better Deists.

One Deist Φ

Absolutely Deism

2009-04-10T07:03:00.000-05:00

In English grammar there are words called "absolute terms". These are words that cannot be compared or used with a modifier. Words like dead, pregnant, infinite and unique. You don't get a little pregnant, nor is something more infinite. One of the most abused absolute terms is "saturated". You see it all the time in weather reports when the forecaster says "The ground is extremely saturated." No, no, it's either saturated or it's not.

I've felt for some time that Deism should be taken in the same context - as an absolute term. Deism seems so fundamental in nature that we shouldn't add modifiers to the name. We openly have the latitude to apply our own individual beliefs within its broad parameters, but if we apply our own parameters, aren't we changing Deism to our own belief system, requiring a different name?

Let me give you an example - "Christian Deism". This must be the greatest oxymoron in Deism. I have read some descriptions of this school of thought, but am not convinced their nomenclature is proper nor accurate. A Christian is someone who "accepts the divinity of Jesus as Savior and follows his teachings." Most of the Christian Deists say they believe God is active in the world, and they believe in the teachings of Jesus. Deists don't have many tenets, but one of our core beliefs is that God is not active in the Universe; and, generally Deists also reject revelation. So, "Christian Deism" in its very foundation is not Deism at all. (And I dare say, not Christian either.) Obviously they can call it what they like, but it doesn't benefit the cause of Deism in any way whatsoever. It would be nice if folks are going to make up their own religion, that they would make up their own name too.

As a Deist I encourage all of us to use our tremendous gift of Reason to learn from the wisdom of the past. To use our mind is to fully realize God's blessing to humanity. Just because we follow some of the teachings of Buddha does not make us Buddhist Deists. If we are comfortable with a few of the lessons of Zoroaster it doesn't mean we are Zoroastrian Deists. Using Plato as our philosophical compass doesn't make us Platonian Deists. As Deists we should acknowledge the brilliance of great people. We're free, not only to explore all of the sages, but to apply their wisdom to our lives while discarding the outdated notion that they were divine. We are simply being great Deists!

To me, modifying the name of Deism is kind of fatal.

One Deist Φ

New Blog and Forum

2009-04-01T19:43:00.007-05:00

Although the new web site is still being built, I have have already activated my new blog and community forum.
This blog has been transferred to my own servers, rather then being hosted here at blogger.com. You will need to change your RSS feed with the link available in the blog to receive new entries. Please click on the following link and add to your bookmarks for the new blog site:
~~blog.deismtoday.net/~~

The new community forum is set up and ready to go, albeit a bit barren at the moment. I'd like to invite everyone interested in Deism to come on over, register, and join in the discussions. It's going to be a race to see who will be the very first registrants on the new forum! Discussions will generally be limited to Deism and its promotion, plus there is a large area for general discussions as well. Enjoy our community of like-minded people! Please click on the following link to the forum, and bookmark so you can get back:
~~forum.deismtoday.net~~

To be continued at the new site. See you there!
One Deist Φ

Living In The Past

2009-04-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

As a westerner, I often hear it said that certain countries or regions are living in the past. It's not meant as a put down, but more of an observation, usually describing an area's religion or lack of technology. And it's true ... many religions covering large regions and populations are two or three thousand years old, along with technologies that are on the same par. The commentary usually ends with some remark that the west could bring great technology to those people and make their lives much better. We could enrich their lives with technology for food, water, manufacturing, health care, and so much more.

I realized today that westerners are the same as all those other people around the world when applied to religion. Almost the entire globe is living in the distant past with faiths that are two or three thousand year old fantasies. Few others but Christianity have even tried - very stubbornly - to reform, attempting to keep up with modernization. Many other faiths proudly boast that their beliefs are unchanged for millennia. Islam, in particular, is stuck with what they have. Their faith dictates that Mohammed was the last prophet and there will be no other; the Koran is the final and literal word of God, and cannot be changed; and anyone who tries to adapt, improve or change this religion in any way, is an "innovator" and will be cursed. Mohammed did very well profoundly imprisoning his followers.

People of revealed religion, ask yourselves,
"Why would God want to repress mankind?!"

Every revealed religion restrains the progress of man to some degree. In what way would God benefit from this? Why would He care? How does it honor God for men and women to not progress and not become the greatest creatures He ever created?!

Deism practically begs mankind to become more tomorrow then we are today. It embraces science and discovery. Deism wants all of us to use our tremendous reasoning skills to advance our lives and the lives of our children. If the whole of mankind would have used these tremendous God given gifts throughout history, I'm certain we would have explored most of the Universe by now. I'm sure our lives would be as rich and fulfilling as the religious dreamers from history had imagined for us in heaven. But there is no scriptural heaven, and what they didn't imagine was that the religion they were creating would actually prevent us from attaining happiness here on earth. Revealed religions stifle us from living up to our full potential, and prevent us from finding peace on earth.

Let's break free of the shackles of revealed religions developed in antiquity, and advance ourselves to levels of humanity that we can't even fathom today. Deism is the perfect religious philosophy in advancing mankind. Deism simply asks that we become everything in our ability to become; that we live up to our absolute full potential.

Let's do amazing things!

One Deist Φ

Amazing, Truly!

2009-03-21T16:27:00.000-05:00

It simply amazes me that we humans have allowed ourselves to be completely duped all this time. So very many people have happily gone along with the fairy tales and lies of the "revealed" religions. How could this have happened in human history? Forget history, it’s happening even today! One day our species will look back on this “Religious Period” and scoff at us! Our descendants will say, “How could they have been so foolish and blind?!”

I can only imagine what might have been, had we not been so consumed on proving that our various religions were the true one. So much of our energy, for so very long, wasted on the fantasies of just a few individuals, then propagated to the masses. Those few may have been charismatic, but certainly not divine.

In the dawn of mankind, and on through ages, we had absolutely no idea about the science of the world around us. Raise your hand if you believe the Bible came from God and is unerring. Don't you think God, creator of the Universe, would know that the Earth is not flat, or that the Universe does not revolve around Earth? These simple facts were unknown when men, who claimed to be inspired and/or communicating directly with God, wrote and assembled the Bible. Because of the “revealed" religions and their abhorrence for anything that even resembles heresy, advancement of human kind has been stifled for literally thousands of years. Shame on us!

The laws of God in "revealed" religions amount to no more then the laws of humanity. The fine folks who revealed the laws, and hence created their religions, may indeed have been wise, especially considering that way back then many of the inhabitants of this planet were very uncivilized and needed some good laws to go by. Using the God-given gift of Reason, it is easy to see that those basic “rules” still apply today. But we do NOT need a Bible to tell us that killing another person is wrong. Lying is wrong. Adultery is wrong. Cheating is wrong. Gluttony, lust, stealing – all wrong. The time of those who once may have been considered inspired and holy for bringing such laws to the people is long past. These principles are now merely common sense.

It is time to move beyond the dark ages of man-made religions.
Please, utilize God's divine gift of Reason.

One Deist Φ

Thomas Paine Day

2009-01-29T05:33:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday Thomas Paine! (January 29, 1737 – June 8, 1809)

You helped shape nations, including our own, and your writings have inspired us for over 200 years.

Today we honor you!

So Now What?

2009-01-27T12:09:00.000-06:00

It has been months since my last post to this blog. It's not that I don't want to add more. Nor is it that I don't have any further ideas to share. It's almost as if I kind of "got it out of my system" - like I ran a sprint instead of a marathon. But I don't want to be one of "those" bloggers. You know, they make one or two posts and that's it forever.

This eye opening conversion to Deism still consumes me. Almost every waking moment I draw comparisons to what is now, for me, and what was then. I see the inspirational billboards for a Christian church. I see the old shopping strips where three out of seven stores are actually a "church". (If still a Christian, I could never do the shopping strip store front church thing, by the way. And yes I understand that it's not the building, but the people who make the church. Whatever ... that's not a church to me.) The giant electric billboard-type sign outside another church flashing a well known Aesop quote as if it's biblical. The construction of a new church near an affluent part of town, with the biggest concrete cross in the state, I would think, complete with neon highlights. Jewish leaders running radio ads condemning the trouble in the middle east. The middle east fighting their perpetual wars in the name of Allah. (Seriously, is it so ingrained that you cannot even consider peace?!) The revealed religions continue to march on.

So now what for Deism? No question we need to share our story - we have so much to offer humanity. We have wisdom, we have peace, we have inspiration and hope and love. But how do we share these aspects with the world? This challenge is made more difficult because of a couple of our fundamental precepts - no dogma and no revealed texts. For instance I feel more wise and totally at peace with my belief in Deism. I feel more inspiration and hope and love then at any other point in my life. Not because of the untruths from man made religions of old, but because of the truths I have discovered thanks to Deism, science, books and the internet; and the likes of Paine, Jefferson and Johnson.

Perhaps what we should do in Deism is simply march on as well. Let's share our principles and history every chance we get.

One Deist Φ

Letter To My Mother

2008-07-06T09:53:00.003-05:00

Dear Mom,
First, I want you to know how much I love you and Dad. In fact, my love for you has grown tremendously over the years. I'm in my forties now, but because I've always lived so far away since becoming an adult, I miss you more then ever.

I admire you, Mom. You have taught me more then you will ever know. You brought me up in a strong Christian home, even though this faith was rejected by much of the extended family. Your belief in Christianity and its principles surely gave us a foundation that others only wished they had. Your intense belief in the Bible motivated you to do decades of research into it, even to the point of publishing a book on your findings and beliefs. All of this while battling personal obstacles that might have crushed anyone else. You, Mom, are an amazing woman.

I must tell you, Mom, that one of the most powerful things you taught me, whether it was intentional or not, was to think on my own - to question things and come to my own conclusions. This, I feel, was your greatest lesson for me.

It probably won't come as a tremendous shock to you, but may disappoint you - I no longer consider myself a Christian. I too have done a lot of research, and believe that all of the revealed religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and the like, are no more then man made belief systems made up of fantasies, superstitions, folk lore, myths and fables. I also believe that these religions were created, at best, as guides for human existence, but more probably to control or favor different groups of people. I believe these faiths have been both a tremendous blessing, and terrible curse to humanity.

I want to point out that I absolutely, positively, unequivocally believe in God, the single supreme creator of the Universe. I believe this through the observance of Nature and the divine gift of Reason. I want to tell you, Mom, that I'm a Deist.

Please know that just because I've given up the dogma of Christianity, it in no way means that I relinquish its values. In fact, as a Deist I hold myself to an even higher standard. Through the God given gift of Reason I now understand that it benefits all of us to live a good life, to obey the laws of humanity (such as the Golden Rule; be honest and don't lie, cheat or steal; freedom, dignity and equality for everyone; etc.) and to give back and support others in these endeavors.

Mom, I'm trying to think of what you may be thinking. That I'm a heretic? Well, as a Christian I was heretical to many other faiths. Maybe that I'll miss the rapture, won't go to heaven, or will go to hell? If these concepts were real, I'd be concerned too - but they are a man made fabrication. Maybe that I'll now lead a sinful life or that the whole world will fall into chaos and anarchy if they were to convert to Deism? No way! The whole idea of Deism is to believe in God based on Nature and Reason, and to live a good life based on the laws of humanity. If everyone believed these principles, the world would certainly be a better place.

I give thanks to God every day, Mom - for you and Dad and our family; for my wife, child and grandchildren; for the challenges and the blessings that befall me; and especially for this life that I live, as humble as it may be. God did good in creating our Universe, and I'm happy to be a tiny little part of it.

I love you Mom.
Your son,
One Deist Φ

Jerome Bixby's "The Man From Earth"

2008-06-24T19:53:00.004-05:00

So what if this movie was not at the top of the box office charts; and maybe it is a low-budget snoozer. You simply must see this movie!

From the producers:

On a cold night in a remote cabin Professor John Oldman gathers his most trusted colleagues for an extraordinary announcement: He is an immortal who has migrated through 140 centuries of evolution and must now move on. Is Oldman truly Cro-Magnon or simply insane? Now one man will force these scientists and scholars to confront their own notions of history religion and humanity all leading to a final revelation that may shatter their world forever.

It is a very well written and wonderfully acted story that may as well have been written by a team of ... us! Now let's see; if 100 Deists got together to create a movie, what would they want to tell the world? Jerome Bixby did us all a huge favor in writing this. His final work, by the way, finished by dictation from his deathbed.

One Deist Φ

Extra Points for Originality

2008-06-07T09:25:00.007-05:00

Although there will surely be other postings in this blog, there is no other subject that betrays my trust in "revealed" religions more than the one I'm going to cover here. My search for a religion or faith to apply in my personal life ends now. The topic discussed here puts the final nail in the coffin of "revealed" religions and guides me to the purest form of belief in God - Deism.

My quest for faith has always centered primarily on originality. I always felt that if I could just find the source for all religions - that is, the root of all religions which eventually branched out into the faiths of the world - then surely it would be the one true divine belief system. Only then could I have a deeply personal relationship with God, and apply His principles to my life. The problem is that every time I discovered a great original source in my personal quest, eventually there would be another older source to take its place; or there would be a parallel belief system - as if two faiths borrowed from each other - not original at all. And now I believe there are completely non-divine sources for them all.

It appears that there is general agreement by scholars and theologians that Moses did not write much of the Pentateuch, (the Torah, or first five books of the Old Testament) traditionally attributed to him. Reviewing a website that defends the Bible, they say a standard argument against Moses writing these books is because there was no writing in his day. After all, we are referring to the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age. The website goes on to prove there was writing long before Moses, pointing out the Ebla Tablets and the Code of Hammurabi [alt link]. The former dates to about 2250 BCE, and the latter dates to about 1750 BCE, while Moses lived somewhere in the 14th to 13th century BCE. Both the Ebla Tablets and the Code of Hammurabi are written in cuneiform script.

The Code of Hammurabi was produced on a basalt stele by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. It is a column listing 282 crimes, punishments, and dispute settlements for the people of his kingdom. Hammurabi believed that he was chosen by the gods to deliver these laws to his people. That sounds familiar. Also familiar, the repetitive nature of punishments in these laws, which specifically mandate an "eye for an eye", "tooth for a tooth", "limb for a limb", and "life for a life".

The Ebla Tablets (first made public in 1981) are even more revealing, yet they are much older. There are over 15,000 tablets describing the life and times of Ebla, a city-state in what is now modern day Syria. Most of the tablets are written in Sumerian, but about 20% were written in a previously unknown language called Eblaite. Part of this collection includes extremely detailed vocabulary lists, which allows for translation between the two languages. The Eblaite language holds amazing similarities to references in the Bible, including personal names, cultural events, and city names from the region, like no other language. These include Adam, Eve, Jabal, Abraham, Ishma-el, Esau, Mika-el, Saul, David, Ashtaroth, Sinai, Jerusalem, Sodom, and Gomorrah. Also, there have been about three creation hymns found in the tablets, all of which follow the same theme and may sound vaguely familiar:

Lord of heaven and earth:
the earth was not, you created it,
the light of day was not, you created it,
the morning light you had not [yet] made exist.

Not only do these tablets predate Moses, but Abraham too! Man has certainly been on this path of discovery for God, for a relationship with Him, and for spiritual fulfillment, a very long time. I believe man took a wrong turn early on, and the rest just stayed the course, fine tuning religions to uplift only themselves and their people. What selfishness - how ungodly!

I believe God's presence has always been directly in front of us, but we haven't been able to see the forest for the trees. Step back just a bit - stop chopping down the trees for the texts of man-made religions - you will see the glorious nature of God, not only in seeing the forest, but the Earth and beyond. Remember, it is only you and I who are even capable of contemplating such notions. Only God could have created the opportunity for humans to have this power. Such is the originality of God!

One Deist Φ

No Apology Needed

2008-06-05T17:08:00.005-05:00

Question: How many apologists does it take to rationalize the "revealed" religions?
Answer: All of them! (And more if you got 'em!)

Why would so many people through the ages believe a holy text that needs explanation and excuses right from the start? Maybe it wasn't - isn't - so perfect and holy after all. Wouldn't God know how to do it right in the first place?!

It's like preaching "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" was real. Then, when someone challenges the new faith, that reindeer can't really fly, you either slaughter the sinful heretic or explain in the most pious way that reindeer do fly in spirit. They must believe in Rudolph and the unerring holy texts which have been dutifully transcribed, word for word, by his eight stag-only disciples, to be saved in the afterlife. (Rudolph was a humble and wise, yet illiterate sage. In fact, Rudolph used to hang out in the biggest herds, boasting just how wise he was, and that humility was his strongest suit!) So you tearfully beg the doubter to join the Reindeerists, lest he be lost to eternal damnation. Oh, you also explain he must never eat clover or fir, but it is mandatory to wear the Reindeerist undies - called The Garment - which itch like crazy! Well, at least the hats are fun. I'll be on my way to Heaven now, thank you very much! Come on people! Sheesh!

Thank God for Deism! The beauty of His text lies open before us. God's holy book, the Creation, can never be adulterated by man; and it is absolutely perfect! God and His Creation has no precedent nor equal; it is everything, and we are in it. We each can find His words in our own way, whether the delicate beauty and smell of a flower, or the grandeur of a mountain. In an intricate latticework of a microscopic specimen, or seeing a star birth through a powerful telescope. We are surrounded by God's word and work! Apologists need not apply.

We are living within the work of God, and the coolest part is that
only we humans have the capability to acknowledge that fact!!

One Deist Φ

You and I in the Grand Scheme of Things

2008-05-26T03:17:00.000-05:00

Reviewing a previous post, "God's Awesome Power", reminded me of an internal concept I've had of our place in the Universe. In that post I gave you some very elementary statistics about our Universe, both near and far, yet the numbers are almost incomprehensible.

For instance, our tiny corner of the Universe - the Milky Way galaxy - is 100,000 light years across. At six trillion miles per light year, that equates to 600,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter, which is 600 quadrillion miles. It's important to note that this number is tiny in comparison to the Universe - infinitesimally small. Then we can zoom in to our solar system within the galaxy, and then our planet within the solar system, and finally to each of our little plots on the planet. Now, I don't know about you, but those kind of figures really make me feel small - not insignificant, but small.

It makes me realize how unimaginably great God is - truly, ineffably grand. I believe God exists, not in spite of this vastness, but because of it. I don't resent my smallness in the Universe, I am inspired by it. In no greater way do I believe the Universe could exist, except by God.

I don't believe any human has ever spoken to God, as this would be paramount to communication greater then the Universe. I don't believe any human has seen God, as this would be paramount to vision greater then the Universe. I don't believe I can comprehend God, nor can anyone else, but I can certainly recognize His work.

One Deist Φ

Pick a Prophet, Follow a Faith

2008-05-23T17:12:00.041-05:00

I have come to the conclusion that the success of any given "revealed" religion is merely a popularity contest. It's whatever is in vogue or fashionable for a given period of time in human history. Problem is, we humans have always taken our beliefs so seriously - so fervently - that we often massacre anyone who doesn't follow the fashion.

No question there has been tremendous sincerity in our various religions. Every sect believes their religion is the only true and righteous way, and they want to make sure you and I are a part of it. Their beliefs are the only way to bring good fortune, live a holy life, and be saved in the afterlife.

Our perception of God has dramatically changed throughout history. No longer do we think Emperors and Pharaohs are God. Few if any people still believe a volcano, the sun, or an animal is God. No longer do we make human sacrifices to the Gods as some cultures did. But I'm certain the people who once believed these things knew they were being Holy and doing the right thing. They were simply living in the culture of their time - these things were in vogue. Would we consider them Holy now? Would we think they were (or are) heaven-bound? Well, eventually someone comes along and says, "Hold on folks. You have it all wrong."

Here's a not so little list I unashamedly borrowed from Wikipedia. It shows many of the religions throughout history and who founded them. (Please don't hold it against me if there are issues with the data. It's purpose is only to demonstrate an idea for this post.)

Prophet or Founder	Religion or Belief	Era
Akhenaten	Atenism	~1300 BCE
Zoroaster	Zoroastrianism	~1200 BCE
Moses	Judaism	~1200 BCE
Numa Pompilius	Codified and organized Roman religion	717-673BCE
Laozi	Taoism	~600 BCE
Siddhārtha Gautama	Buddhism	563-483BCE
Confucius	Confucianism	551-479BCE
Pythagoras	Pythagoreanism	520 BCE
Mahavira	Jainism	~500 BCE
Mozi	Mohism	470-390BCE
Leucippus	Atomism	440 BCE
Plato	Platonic Realism	427-347BCE
Epicurus	Epicureanism	307 BCE
Zeno of Citium	Stoicism	333-264BCE
Patanjali	Raja Yoga	~100 BCE
Jesus of Nazareth	Early Christianity	6BCE-27 CE
Paul of Tarsus	Pauline Christianity	~50 CE
Simon Peter	Petrine Christianity	~50 CE
Judah haNasi	Talmudic Judaism	~100 CE
Nagarjuna	Madhyamaka	150 - 250
Plotinus	Neoplatonism	205 - 270
Marcion of Sinope	Marcionism	110 - 160
Mani	Manichaeism	210 - 276
Arius	Arianism	250 - 336
Nestorius	Nestorianism	386 - 451
Eutyches	Monophysitism	380 - 456
Mazdak	Mazdakism	~500 CE
Bodhidharma	Zen	~500 CE
Muhammad	Islam	570 - 632
Songtsän Gampo	Tibetan Buddhism	~600 CE
Padmasambhava	Nyingma	~700 CE
Adi Shankara	Advaita Vedanta	~800 CE
Kūkai	Shingon	~800 CE
Ad-Darazi	Druze	~1000 CE
Basava	Lingayatism	~1100 CE
Madhvacharya	Dvaita	1238 - 1317
Ramananda	Sant Mat Vaishnavism	~1400 CE
Kabir	Kabir Panth, see Sikhism	1440 - 1518
Srimanta Sankardeva	Mahapuruxiya Dharma	1449 - 1568
Guru Nanak Dev	Sikhism	1469 - 1539
Baba Sri Chand	Udasi	1494 - 1629
Vallabha Acharya	Shuddhadvaita	1479 - 1531
Martin Luther	Lutheranism	1483 - 1546
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu	Achintya Bheda Abheda	1486 - 1534
Henry VIII of England	Anglicanism	1491 - 1547
Conrad Grebel	Swiss Brethren, Anabaptism	1498 - 1526
John Calvin	Calvinism	1509 - 1564
Akbar the Great	Din-i-Ilahi	1542 - 1605
George Fox	Religious Society of Friends	1624 - 1691
Raja Ram Mohan Roy	Brahmo Samaj	1772 - 1833
Ghanshyam Pande	Swaminarayan	1781 - 1830
Nakayama Miki	Tenrikyo	1798 - 1887
Allan Kardec	Spiritism	1804 - 1869
Joseph Smith, Jr.	Latter Day Saints	1805 - 1844
Jamgon Kongtrul	Rime movement	1813 - 1899
Báb	Bábí Faith	1819 - 1850
Bahá'u'lláh	Bahá'í Faith	1817 - 1892
Ellen G. White	Seventh-day Adventist Church	1827 - 1915
Madame Blavatsky	Theosophy	1831 - 1891
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad	Ahmadiyya	1835 - 1908
Swami Vivekananda	Ramakrishna Mission	1863 - 1902
Aleister Crowley	Thelema	1875 - 1947
Gerald Gardner	Wicca	1884 - 1964
Mary Baker Eddy	Christian Science	1821 - 1910
Swami Dayananda Saraswati	Arya Samaj	1824 - 1883
Guido von List	Armanism (Germanic Mysticism)	1848 - 1919
Sri Aurobindo	Integral Yoga	1872 - 1950
Charles Fox Parham	Pentecostalism	1873 - 1929
Ngô Văn Chiêu	Cao Dai	1878 - 1926
Ernest Holmes	Religious Science	1887 - 1960
Wallace Fard Muhammad	Nation of Islam	1891
Paramahansa Yogananda	Self-Realization Fellowship	1893 - 1952
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada	International Society for Krishna Consciousness	1896 - 1977
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes	Umbanda	~1900 CE
L. Ron Hubbard	Church of Scientology	1911 - 1986
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi	Transcendental Meditation	1917 - 2008
Sun Myung Moon	Unification Church	1920
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar	Ananda Marga	1921 - 1990
Mestre Gabriel	União do Vegetal	1922 - 1971
Nirmala Srivastava	Sahaja Yoga	1923
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson	Ásatrú	1924 - 1993
Sathya Sai Baba	Sathya Sai Organization	1926
Anton Szandor LaVey	Church of Satan	1930 - 1997
Osho	Osho movement	1931 - 1990
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar	Art of Living Foundation	1956
Vissarion	Church of the Last Testament	1961
Tamara Siuda	Kemetic Orthodoxy	1969

Here's the point: Not a single faith on this list was founded by God. Not a single one. Every religion and sect was formed by - you guessed it - man! Sure, these men may say they are chosen; they may say they are a prophet; they may say God spoke to them; they may even say they are God. Wow, man sure says a lot! Imagine the number of people who have believed these delusions and fantasies throughout history, even to the death.

Well, I'm not God, nor prophet, nor chosen - I'm just a man. Using God's gift of Reason, this I say:Believe in God. Have faith in yourself.

One Deist Φ

God's Awesome Power

2008-05-03T02:57:00.000-05:00

One of the best ways to be completely awed by God's work, is to take just a peek at the science of the solar system and universe. I'm not talking String Theory here. (Although my favorite physicist, Michio Kaku, makes that sound easy too.) No, I'm merely referring to basic facts and trivia. Keep in mind that some of these facts are from memory, some are verified, and some are estimates which are hotly debated.

Our solar system now officially (International Astronomical Union) has one sun, eight planets, and three dwarf planets. Pluto was demoted in 2006, now classified as a dwarf planet along with Ceres and Eris. Some of the planets have moons which are larger then the smaller planets.

Jupiter is a gas giant – its composition is primarily gaseous material. It's so large that 10 Earths could fit in the eye of that big storm alone, and its actual mass is about 320 times that of the Earth – that's a lot of gas.

Most of us know that a planet's rotation on axis makes a day, and a complete revolution around the sun makes a year. Well, Venus rotates so slowly on axis that it's day is much longer then it's year.

Our sun is big – really big! On average it is two to three times larger then the average size of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Its actual mass is about 333,000 times that of the Earth. The sun, and hence our solar system, is about half way out from the center of our galaxy, about 26,000 light years. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years in diameter, but only about 12,000 light years in thickness (A light year is how far light travels in a year – about 6 trillion miles.) Our solar system rotates around our spiral galaxy, similar to the way our planet rotates around the sun, and completes one revolution approximately every 250 million years.

Let's really crunch some numbers. Did you know that every single star you see with the unaided eye is from our own galaxy? It is estimated that the Milky Way has about 300 billion stars – many of them much smaller then our sun – and this is only the tiniest fraction of stars in the universe.

How many galaxies and stars in the universe? According to the National Maritime Museum in the UK, the universe probably contains more than 100 billion galaxies. And best estimates suggest that there are at least 70 thousand million million million (70 sextillion) stars in the universe.

Now, who wants to tell me that God couldn't communicate directly with each and every one of us – at the same moment – if there were a need to tell us something?

One Deist Φ

God's Antithesis

2008-04-30T19:28:00.018-05:00

As a Deist, I believe God created the universe. Every day I am awed and inspired by His amazing work. God’s divine task placed in motion the opportunity for this planet, along with you and I, to exist. We are reminded of His power when any living thing pro-creates, thus further developing and carrying on a new generation of the work God began.

I can’t imagine a greater antithesis for God, than killing in the name of God. Taking another life is a horrible crime, but to justify and rationalize doing such a horrendous thing in God’s name certainly puts it at the pinnacle of egregiousness. So many lives wasted and cultures lost at the hands of those who would force their beliefs on others.

If your Holy Scriptures contain any words to the effect that you are justified in killing those who oppose your beliefs - or those who don't worship as you do - do you not have the common sense to question those sacred texts? Think about it - I know it is ingrained into you, as it was me. To question those beliefs, which you may have had your entire life, might be difficult initially, but it can be done – there is a better way.

Taking another human life is diametrically opposed to our Creator.

One Deist Φ

Amazing, Truly!

2008-04-30T17:33:00.020-05:00

It simply amazes me that we humans have allowed ourselves to be completely duped all this time. So very many people have happily gone along with the fairy tales and lies of the "revealed" religions. How could this have happened in human history? Forget history, it’s happening even today! One day our species will look back on this “Religious Period” and scoff at us! Our descendants will say, “How could they have been so stupid and blind?!”

I can only imagine what might have been, had we not been so consumed on proving that our various religions were the true one. So much of our energy, for so very long, wasted on the fantasies of just a few individuals, then propagated to the masses. Those few may have been charismatic, but certainly not divine.

In the dawn of mankind, and on through ages, we had absolutely no idea about the science of the world around us. Raise your hand if you believe the Bible came from God and is unerring. Don't you think God, creator of the Universe, would know that the Earth is not flat, or that the Universe does not revolve around Earth? These simple facts were unknown when men, who claimed to be inspired and/or communicating directly with God, wrote and assembled the Bible. Because of the “revealed" religions and their abhorrence for anything that even resembles heresy, advancement of human kind has been stifled for literally thousands of years. Shame on us!

The laws of God in "revealed" religions amount to no more then the laws of humanity. The fine folks who revealed the laws, and hence created their religions, may indeed have been wise, especially considering that way back then many of the inhabitants of this planet were very uncivilized and needed some good laws to go by. Using the God-given gift of Reason, it is easy to see that those basic “rules” still apply today. But we do NOT need a Bible to tell us that killing another person is wrong. Lying is wrong. Adultery is wrong. Cheating is wrong. Gluttony, lust, stealing – all wrong. The time of those who once may have been considered inspired and holy for bringing such laws to the people is long past. These principles are now merely common sense.

It is time to move beyond the dark ages of man-made religions. Please, utilize God's divine gift of Reason.

One Deist Φ

God's Antithesis

2008-04-30T14:28:00.000-05:00

Why Phi? Not WiFi.

2008-04-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

Why, you may ask, have I chosen the Phi symbol to represent Deism? It goes to one of the basic principles of Deism - God created the Universe. Before this amazing event there was nothing; afterward, there was everything.

The Greek letter Phi is described as a zero and a one combined - nothing and everything. Apropos to God's creation of the universe, I must say. Also, Phi is known as the Golden Ratio, the Divine Proportion, the Golden Mean, and the Golden Section. It is also described as a universal constant of design; the signature of God. Mathematically, Phi is written 1.618033...

To type the Phi symbol with your keyboard, hold the Alt key and on the numerical keypad type 1000. In HTML document creation you should use "& # 9 3 4 ;" (without quotes or spaces) and on web page fields (like the Google search field) hold the Alt key and on the numerical keyboard type 0934. Each of these should create Φ, if properly done, although it may display other unusual characters on some computers.

Most don't know the Greek letter Phi, nor what it means. Hopefully this will change very soon.

One Deist Φ

The Beautiful Equation

2008-04-26T04:56:00.000-05:00

I was watching a documentary by Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist who deals daily with equations that are very long and complex. He mentioned [heavily paraphrased from memory] that he'd love to discover the tiny, perfect equation for the universe, holding his thumb and forefinger about one inch apart. He said, "It will be beautiful in its simplicity." This is how I feel about Deism.

The "revealed" religions man has developed over millennia, do much to describe how we should live our lives, physically, morally and spiritually. But they are extremely complex and riddled with superstitions, fables, hypocracy and contradictions. Deism has none of that dogma. It's astounding in its simplicity!

One Deist Φ