Deism Expanded goes beyond the Deist Defined section and gives more detailed information about Deism.

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Deist Document

This was created by Stephen Dowell for the Positive Deism website and is an excellent source of education. Go here to read it.

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Deist Prayers

This is a group of prayers created by Steve Zinn and others for the Deist Info website and are beautifully written and eloquently expresses Deist thought.  Go here to read it.

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Deism, Faith and Reason

Reason is the primary tool used by Deists and it is not simply part of the puzzle but is the entire completed puzzle.  Many times reason has been equated solely to logic but this is false. Reason is made up of logic, intuition, knowledge and inference.  The definition of Reason is the ability to use intuitive and rational thought to develop logical inferences based on degrees of evidence (empirical and circumstantial).

There is a supposed conflict between Reason and Faith. However, this is what is called a False Dichotomy. This simply means that there is no separation or conflict with the two.  Reason is a methodology and Faith is a belief beyond evidence.  A real separation occurs between Science and Faith. This is because Faith is not about evidence and Science is about evidence.  The Deist utilizes Reason to develop a Reason-Based Faith which is different (but not better) than a revelation based faith.

Deism is about finding balance among what appear to be conflicting elements. There must be balance between logic and intuition, empirical knowledge and circumstantial knowledge, rationalism and romanticism, science and philosophy, nature and nurture, conscious and unconscious. As the universe is not in perfect balance, neither is the balance in using Reason.

Deists will produce balance between the elements.  Therefore, one Deist may lean towards science and logic while another may lean towards art and intuition.  As long as a natural balance exists then no conflict arises.  Reason is discarded when balance decays and one element is focused on over the other.  The individual begins to focus on one element over the other and this leads out of the natural reasoning process.

Some Deists may view nature with a more intuitive approach and see beauty and inspiration while others may view nature with a more logical approach and see order and complexity. However, both have balance and see from the other viewpoint.  Ultimately, all Deists will have awe and reverence for God and nature even though the balance that they personally hold may differ.

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Copyright © 2004 - 2010 J Hardwick