Theism versus Deism and Religion

I was listening to my local NPR radio station, and heard an Oxford professor talking, among other things, about the difference between theism and deism. The distinction they made was that a theist believes there is a God, who is actively involved in the day to day affairs of this world. A deist believes there is a higher power, but that higher power is not actively involved in this world. As a contrast, an agnostic is not sure whether there is a higher power, while an atheist says there is no higher power. This analysis is not dependent on the religion itself, but spans religions.

Now within those groups, there are some subgroups. Among the theists, there are the fanatic fundamentalists, who take offense at those who do not follow their religion or even their little slice of a religion. Among the atheists, there are what I refer to as anti-theists, who belittle and denigrate any religious belief or religious believers. The distinction between the two sets of extremists, is that some fanatic fundamentalists engage in verbal attacks on “non-believers”, while an even more extreme group engage in violent physical attacks on non-believers. Anti-theists limit themselves to verbal attacks on believers.

Not all fundamentalists are fanatic fundamentalists. Many merely proselytize to non-believers, or “pray for them”. I frankly take offense at any attacks on those who believe differently – whether verbal or physical and whether fanatic fundamentalist or anti-theist. The physical attacks may cause injury or death, but those engaging in physical attacks are mercifully few. Far more common are the verbal attacks, and they may result in psychological scars. I no more excuse the Richard Dawkins of the world than I do ISIS, or those murdering abortion providers, or the Westboro Baptist Church.

I cannot condone or accept those who attack others for their beliefs or non-beliefs, whether those attacks are physical or verbal. I’ve had to drop some friends who were too adamantly abusive of differing beliefs. I will also stand up against those attacking others based on beliefs. Fortunately, most people are not so fanatical either pro or anti religion.  I do not wish ill upon those people, I only wish they would find some measure of understanding, empathy, and sympathy for those who believe differently.

At this point in my life, I would likely be best characterized as a deist. I occasionally sway slightly toward agnosticism, and would say that while I think there probably is a higher power in the universe, I really don’t profess to know with any certainty. I also have zero concern as to what anyone else believes. I have no desire to sway the beliefs of any others, and would say that what I believe suits me, but may not suit anyone else. Interestingly, from what I’ve read, many of the founding fathers of the United States were deists. It also appears that Albert Einstein was a deist, albeit of Jewish descent.

How did I get to where I am in my beliefs? I was born into a Christian family, and raised as a Christian, baptized shortly after birth and I regularly attended religious services through my teens. It was in my teens that I began to shift somewhat. In Christian belief, what matters is that a person believe Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate, and that he was associated with certain miracles, including the virgin birth, rising from the dead, and performing miracles during his life. In Christianity, creed determines one’s outcome. A Christian who believes as above is guaranteed a place in the Christian heaven, almost regardless of how they lived their life. A person who does not accept Christian dogma is denied a place in heaven, regardless of how well they may have lived their life.

That bothered me, as I reached my late teens. A Christian who committed heinous acts, but accepted the dogma and “sincerely repented” went to heaven, while someone who did not accept the dogma but lived an exemplary life was consigned to hell. To me, the miracles associated with Jesus, were not of significance, at best they were window dressing. Treating others decently, and behaving decently was of significance to me. I felt unable to follow a creed so opposed to my own beliefs.

I maintained a belief in some sort of higher power, but determined I could not in good faith call myself a Christian. I studied Buddhism, Zen, and Taoism for many years, and found much of value in all. I found standards of behavior which I could easily adhere to, and which I agreed with. I found some measure of enlightenment, though never nirvana. Where I had difficulty was that Theravada Buddhism says explicitly that there is no deity. I didn’t feel comfortable with taking that step.

What I found in my reading, was that in Judaism, it is not the name you pray to that matters, or even whether you pray. It is not the creed you follow that matters either. What matters is how you live your life and how you treat others. In accepting Judaism, I committed to attempting to follow Jewish dietary laws, as I understood them, as well as Jewish laws regarding treatment of others. I already largely accepted the laws regarding treatment of others, but gave up pork and shellfish, which was of little consequence. Now I know many Jews who eat pork and shellfish, but I felt that was symbolic of my commitment.