Q&A With Jayson X, Deputy Director of the World Union of Deists
Growing numbers of people today believe in the existence of a higher power responsible for bringing this universe into being and maintaining it (or what is called ‘God’ in English) and at the same time do not subscribe to any institutionalized religion. Their God-gifted faculty of reason, which they use to reflect on the existence and nature of the universe, suggests to them that there must be an all-powerful God behind the universe and the myriad life forms in it, but at the same, for a range of reasons, they do not identify with any of the existing religions whose votaries claim have been ‘revealed’ by God. Reason, and not what is claimed to be ‘Divine revelation’, forms the basis of their faith in God and their relationship with God. Such people are called ‘Deists’, the term being derived from the Latin word deus, which means ‘God’.
Deists are advocates of Deism, a simple philosophy which is based on the belief that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of God. Deism is what might be called a philosophy of ‘reason-based [rather than religion-based] devotion to God’.
Based in upstate New York (USA), Jayson X is the Deputy Director of the World Union of Deists, an organization dedicated to teaching humanity about Deism. In this Q&A, he talks about various aspects of Deism, highlighting the contemporary relevance of this philosophy in today’s global context.
Q: How would you define ‘Deism’?
A: Deism is the philosophy that teaches only the following two things: 1) One should base all of one’s beliefs on reason, and 2) reason leads one to conclude that God (the being who purposefully created the universe) exists or at least probably exists.
That’s it! Therefore, Deists can believe anything that is reasonable. Some people who claim to be Deists assert that Deism teaches more than just these two things, but I disagree with them. Deism is only a simple epistemological and theological position. Simply speaking, like Atheism, Deism teaches that one should base all of one’s beliefs on reason; but unlike Atheism, Deism asserts that God exists, or at least probably exists. In short, Deism is both as simple and as complicated as Atheism. I happen to be convinced that Deism is much truer, though.
Q: Are there different definitions of Deism? If so, what are some of them and why are there different definitions of it and not just one?
A: Some years ago, I decided to Google “what is deism”, and here is the first thing that I saw:
“de·ism /ˈdēizəm/
Noun
Belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a
creator who does not intervene in the universe.”
That is a common definition of Deism, and I will refer to it from this point on as “the Google definition”. Part of the Google definition I agree with, and part of it I disagree with. I agree that Deism is the “[b]elief in the existence of a supreme being”, but I disagree with the part that states “specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe”.
What is the true definition of Deism, and how can I prove that that is the true definition? I think that Wikipedia’s definition of Deism is true enough: “Deism . . . is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of God, accompanied with the rejection of revelation and authority as a source of religious knowledge” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism). Note that this definition agrees that Deism teaches that God exists, but it does not teach that God “does not intervene in the universe”. Also note that this second definition of Deism, unlike the Google one, states that Deism bases this belief on “reason” and “observation of the natural world”.
It makes much sense that Deism bases its belief in God on reason and the observation of the natural world. Because God created the universe, the universe teaches us that God exists. As Thomas Paine wrote in The Age of Reason:
It is only in the CREATION that all our ideas and conceptions of a word of God can unite. The Creation speaketh an universal language, independently of human speech or human language, multiplied and various as they may be. It is an ever-existing original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged; it cannot be counterfeited; it cannot be lost; it cannot be altered; it cannot be suppressed. It does not depend upon the will of man whether it shall be published or not; it publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches to all nations and to all worlds; and this word of God reveals to man all that is necessary for man to know of God
(Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason: The Complete Edition. Escondido, CA: Truth Seeker Company, 2009, page 28.).
Unlike what is claimed by some, Deism is not the belief in the existence of a God who does not intervene in the universe. Some Deists believe that God intervenes in the universe, and other Deists don’t.
Q: If people who call themselves ‘Deists’ have different understandings of what exactly Deism is, what accounts for these differences and what are some of these differences?
A: Deism does not have one simple definition that is universally agreed upon. I like my definition the best. It is simple, accurate, substantive, and applies to the philosophy of most people who call themselves ‘Deists’.
Q: What is the linguistic root of the term ‘Deism’ and who
coined it and when?
A: According to Wikipedia, the terms deism and theism are both derived from words meaning ‘God’: the Latin term deus and the Ancient Greek term theós. In English, the words ‘deist’ and ‘theist’ were originally synonymous, but by the 17th century the terms started to diverge in meaning.
Q: The word ‘Deism’ itself seems to suggest that it is yet another ‘ism’, an ideology or belief system. Is that a correct perception?
A: Deism is more of a philosophy than a religion. Although simple, it is a belief system. Many words that end with the suffix -ism are belief systems, so, yes, Deism is yet another belief system that ends with -ism.
Q: If at the core of Deism is belief in the One God Whom God-given reason (as distinct from what is regarded as ‘Divine revelation’ in many religions) leads a person to believe in, do you think Deism could be described as ‘Reason-based Religionless Monotheism’ or ‘Reason-Based Monotheism Without Religion’?
A: Deism is more of a religion than a philosophy, but I do not think that it is necessarily monotheistic. One can be a Deist and believe in more than one God. But there are at least two reasons why the vast majority of Deists believe in only one God: 1) They come from cultures in which most people who believe in God believe that there is only one God. 2) Everything came from something except the first thing. It is reasonable to believe that that first thing was a person—the one God who purposefully created the universe.
As long as you base all your beliefs on reason and conclude that the universe was purposefully made, you are a Deist. If you are like most Deists, you are a Monodeist, which is a Deist who believes in one God. (I just made up the word ‘Monodeist’, so don’t expect to find it elsewhere!) And if you are a Deist who believes in more than one God, you are a Polydeist. (I also just invented the word ‘Polydeist’!) Both Monodeists and Polydeists are strongly encouraged to join the World Union of Deists. There is strength in numbers; and the more Deists who work together, the better.
Q: Deists believe that our God-given reason clearly indicates the existence of the One Creator God of the universe and that we can come to the realization of this One’s existence by reason alone, without the help of any what is called ‘revealed’ religion. Is this what may be called ‘Natural Theology’?
A: Natural theology is generally characterized as the attempt to establish religious truths by rational argument and without reliance upon what is commonly called 'divine revelation'. If it happens—and I don't believe that it does in this life—divine revelation is when something supernatural like God miraculously reveals truth that cannot be learned with just reason.
I believe that God exists for at least the following two reasons.
The first reason is that the universe seems purposefully created. The universe is complex, magnificent, and balanced. If it were an accident rather than a work of God, it would almost certainly be homogeneous, bland and chaotic. For example, a haze of gray gas is likely to exist without being created but not all the complex, magnificent, and balanced galaxies, stars, planets, and creatures of the universe. Therefore, God probably exists. This assertion is especially obvious when we realize that our universe seems fine-tuned for life. The Fine-Tuning Argument goes like this: There are so many aspects of the physics of the universe that make life as we know it possible, that the universe seems finely tuned to support such life. Therefore, it is much more likely that these aspects were purposefully arranged by the person or persons who purposefully created the universe than by accident. In other words, because the universe seems finely tuned for life, there are probably one or more fine-tuners. Such a fine-tuner is often called God, or such fine-tuners are often called The Gods.
The second reason to believe that God exists is that everything came from something except the first cause, because there cannot be an infinite regression.
Q: Human reason alone might indicate or point to the existence of the One Creator God, but do you think it is sufficient to inform human beings of the nature of this God, of His Creation Plan (including why He made human beings and what happens to them after they die), of the values that He might want humans to live by, of the way of life that He might want humans to follow, of how we can relate with Him, etc..?
A: Sort of. Human reason is the best tool that we have to know that God exists, what God is like, what God’s plan is, etcetera. I say ‘Sort of’ instead of ‘Yes’ because our human reason is limited. Using it, we can make our best speculations. However, we have to do a humbling amount of guesswork.
Q: Many religionists might contend that mere human reason cannot provide us answers to the very significant issues mentioned in the immediately preceding question, that we cannot understand these things on our own, and hence the need for, and importance of, Divine revelation. How would you respond to that?
A: I believe that God gave us reason, not religion. I regard reason as the best way for one to understand the truth, including the truth about God, morality, and the meaning of life. In my opinion, religion as conventionally understood is just a belief system based on faith that one or more people invented.
I was raised Christian, got a Master’s degree in Theology, was ordained a priest, and served in that capacity for approximately three years. Later, I created my own personal philosophy and largely rejected Christianity. I invite you and the rest of humanity to create your own personal philosophy too—a personal philosophy that may be more true and good than your inherited religion, and a personal philosophy that is designed to improve over time as you learn more about reality.
Before I created my personal philosophy, I thought to myself, “What should I base my beliefs on?” I concluded that I should base my beliefs on reason because reason is my best guide to embrace truth and reject falsehood. Then I thought, “Reason alone will not guarantee that I will be a good person. Ayn Rand was very reasonable, but her philosophy, Objectivism, is very selfish and evil.” So, I concluded that I should also base my beliefs on compassion. Then I thought, “Okay, that will make me reasonable and compassionate, but I can still despair.” So I also decided to base my beliefs on hope. I call my personal philosophy the ReaCH Philosophy (Rea for Reason, C for Compassion, and H for Hope.) Using that foundation, I live my life fairly well, I think. I also reject nonsensical assertions made in the name of or by religion.
ReaCH led me to Deism because Deism teaches just two things: 1) One should base all of one’s beliefs on reason, and 2) reason leads one to conclude that God (the being who purposefully created the universe) exists or at least probably exists. I was already basing all my beliefs on reason, and I still honestly believed that the universe was purposefully created. Thus, I still honestly believed that God exists because of what reason, not faith, led me to believe.
The reason that I mention all this to you is that I am convinced that it will help you (and everyone else) with any theological and philosophical difficulties that you have. If your current religion or philosophy is not good enough, ReaCH for a better one!: )
To learn what belief system results from my reason, read The Book of Expanded Deism, which is available on Amazon.com.
Q: In a world where there are different religions and considerable conflict on account of rival truth-claims made on behalf of their religions by religionists, what positive contribution do you think Deism and Deists could make in enabling people from different faith background to transcend their differences or at least agree to disagree on some matters related to theology and at the same time agree to agree on other matters?
A: Deism injects much needed reason into theology. The more Deistic religions get, the saner and truer they get. The saner and truer belief systems are, the more they converge on the truth.
Q: How do you think the God-centrism of Deism that is without and beyond religion as conventionally understood might be able to help people from different and conflicting religious backgrounds move towards a higher-level unity?
A: Time to repeat myself. Sorry. : )
Deism injects much needed reason into theology. The more Deistic religions get, the saner and truer they get. The saner and truer belief systems are, the more they converge on the truth.
Q: Contestation, and even violent conflict, between rival sets of religionists in the name of religion has been a feature of human history for centuries, and it continues to be so even today. What relevance do you think Deism, with its rejection of conventional religion, has in terms of promoting peace in the present global context, where there is so much conflict in the name of God and religion, which is caused, in part, by problematic religious teachings?
A: Deism is about honesty. Honesty tells me that Atheism and Agnosticism have a good point: We should base all our beliefs on reason and not believe unlikely claims. Honesty also tells me that all the supposedly revealed religions are a mixture of both good and bad. We should embrace the good and reject the bad.
Q: In a context when superstition, falsehood, exploitation, oppression etc. are actively promoted by many religions and/or in their name, what relevance do you think Deism, which rejects conventional religion, might have?
A: Deism hinders superstition and falsehood by promoting reason. Deism hinders exploitation and oppression by encouraging Freethought. As Wikipedia says, “Freethought . . . is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation.”
Q: Many people become dissatisfied with the religion that they had earlier been associated with—perhaps on ethical and/or logical grounds. They do not want to be agnostics or atheists, though, as they may intuitively know that there is a God or because they may feel the need for God. And so, abandoning the religion that they have become dissatisfied with, they join some other religion, thinking they will find truth and/or solace in it. Many religious conversions are of this sort. Perhaps such people think that God can be found only in some religion or the other, which is why they may go from one religion to another, thinking God is to be found there. What message and relevance do you think Deism, which holds out the vision of relating to God without religion, might have for such people?
A: You are more likely to find the true God in the God-made universe than you are in human-made religions. Deism has no sacred text. The universe is the closest thing Deism has to one. Metaphorically speaking, it is the only sacred text which God has written.
Q: Growing numbers of people are becoming indifferent to God and even becoming atheists, one reason perhaps being that they find the religions that they are familiar with problematic—maybe on logical or ethical grounds. Perhaps many such people think that God and religion are synonymous, and so when they lose interest in religion or reject religion altogether, they lose interest in God or reject God altogether, too. What message do you think Deism, which is based on faith in God but without religion, might have for such people? How do you think Deism might be an attractive option for them to consider?
A: One’s reason is one’s ability to perceive reality as honestly and completely as one can and then make logical conclusions based on what one perceives. Even though one’s reason is imperfect, it still is the best means to believe what is true and disbelieve what is false. My reason tells me that the universe was probably purposefully created. Therefore, God probably exists. My reason also tells me that if God is completely good, God will do at least two things: 1) after they die, adequately reward relatively good people and adequately punish relatively evil people; and 2) eventually make all beings completely sane, good, and happy forever. Thus, with Deism you can have everything good about religions without any of their shortcomings. You can have the reason of Atheism and Agnosticism without their hopelessness. And you can have the best hopes of all other belief systems without any of their nonsense. For people like me, Deism is the way to belief in reason, God, true justice, and universal salvation. (For the record, I know that Atheism and Agnosticism are more theological philosophies than religions. I’m just keeping my answer simple to get my point across.)
Q: What might some of the basic features of Deistic spirituality be?
A: First, I should define what spirituality is. I will say that spirituality is how one tries to think, emote, remember, believe, and be personality-wise. There is no standard Deist explanation of Deistic spirituality because Deists are Freethinkers who happen to agree that God probably exists. Here is what I say, though: A Deist should strive to base his or her thoughts on reason, accept his or her emotions regardless of what they are, believe what is true, disbelieve what is false, and always try to do good without doing evil. To do these things, it greatly helps to be honest, humble, reasonable, compassionate, hopeful, educated, scientific, and philosophical. Studying the universe, contemplating God, praying appropriate prayers, and thinking appropriate mantras can also be helpful.
Q: Why do you think it is that a simple, beautiful, immensely attractive as well as liberating idea behind Deism—that one can relate with God without having to go through, believe in, follow and identify with any religion, as conventionally understood—seems to be so little known even today?
A: Simply speaking, for the vast majority of history, humans only had faith-based religions to explain what we should believe and how we should live. The scientific revolution, which began around 1543 when Copernicus proved that the sun was the center of the solar system, enables more and more people to replace faith-based religions with reason-based belief systems. Deism is a reason-based belief system. That is why it started becoming popular after the scientific revolution began; and the more science advances, the more people become Deists. It is taking centuries, perhaps millennia, for our philosophical understanding to catch up with our scientific understanding; but it is happening. More and more people are becoming Deists, just like more and more people are becoming Atheists and Agnostics. This trend seems to be increasing, too.
Q: Why is it that vast millions of people perhaps do not even know that such a thing—relating with God without religion—is even possible?
A: It would greatly help if everyone accepted and promoted the best definition of Deism possible. That way, people would understand what Deism is and either accept or reject it as true. As it is, there are many different definitions of Deism, and many people are Deists and don’t know it.
Q: Why do many people seem to think (even though perhaps not consciously) that one can connect with God only through some religion or the other, as conventionally understood, rather than directly, without going through some religion or the other?
A: There are at least two reasons: 1) They were raised to believe that the religion they were born into is true. 2) Religions often offer powerful rituals and community that people crave. We are social beings who love doing social things with social organizations.
Q: Can you briefly describe when, how and why you became a Deist?
A: If a human is very interested in a subject, he or she tends to learn about that subject as much as possible whenever she or he can. I have always been interested in philosophical matters. Thus, I tended to learn about and absorb information about religions and philosophies. Ever since I can remember, I knew what Deism is and that Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were Deists. However, I was raised by a very devout Eastern Orthodox Christian family to be a very devout Eastern Orthodox Christian. I was so devout that, after I graduated with a B.A. in English, I went to Eastern Orthodox Christian seminary and became a priest. If you ever want to understand a subject well, teach it well. I taught Christianity so well that I began to realize that it is very flawed and that we humans need a much better belief system than it to be as good and happy as we can be. I also realized that reason is good and faith is generally bad, but I was still convinced that belief in God is probably accurate and helpful. In other words, one good reason to believe that God (the being who purposefully created the universe) exists is that God probably exists. Another good reason is that, if God is completely good—and there are compelling reasons to believe that this is the case—God will reward relatively good creatures and discipline relatively evil creatures, which leads me to yet another good reason to believe in God: the hope of conscious existence after death. If God exists and is completely good, I am completely convinced that all creatures will have an excellent conscious existence forever after death.
Q: As a Deist, how do you personally express your devotion to God?
A: Not all Deists do these things, but I do. I observe and contemplate the universe; study reliable history, science, and philosophy; rationally speculate about God; pray; think mantras; and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. I say two short prayers in the morning, both of which basically petition God to help me be as sane, good, and happy as I can be, now and always. And I say or silently think a prayer of gratitude before I eat something. That prayer goes like this: “Thank you, good providers, for this food. May the hungry always be fed.” God is one of the good providers of the food, so are all the people and animals involved in getting it to my mouth.
Q: What is the World Union of Deists, of which you are the Deputy Director, and what are its major activities?
A: The World Union of Deists is an organization of Deists across Earth. Its major activities involve educating people about Deism. Bob Johnson, its founder and director, frequently sends out many new electronic publications. I and other members of WUD have done many podcasts, interviews, books, articles, and lectures. WUD even recently paid for a nice-looking billboard in Florida that says something like this: “Believe in God but not religion? You’re a Deist! Go to www.deism.com”
Q: Is contemporary Deism more of a white Western phenomenon, or do you think other people, in other parts of the world, are also increasingly drawn to it? Could you please reflect on this in the light of the experience of the World Union of Deists?
A: Deism first became popular in Western nations. Therefore, most of the early Deists were Caucasian. However, Deism is becoming popular around the world. I have corresponded with many non-Caucasian Deists from Asia, Africa, and South America. I believe that this trend is only going to increase.
Q: Why is there little or no Deist presence in forums that bring together people from different spiritual backgrounds, such as interfaith groups?
A: A Deist who wants to involve him or herself in such an activity could easily do so. Probably some Deists are doing so already. Remember that many people are already Deists and don’t know it. I don’t get involved in interfaith forums myself because I stay busy enough just corresponding with people on behalf of WUD.
Q: Many religions have a large number of missionaries or preachers who are enthusiastically engaged in propagating their faiths. Why do you think this enthusiasm seems less prominent in the case of Deism?
A: Deism is more of a philosophy than a religion, and most people tend to be more passionate about religions than philosophies. Many people become Deists and think, “That's cool. I'm a Deist.” And then they don't talk about it much. However, I wish that all Deists would talk enthusiastically about Deism when it is appropriate to do so. Deism has reason, which is a much better epistemology than faith; and Deism still has God, which tends to promote morality and hope more than Atheism.
Q: How do you think a Deist, because they do not identify with any religion as conventionally understood, might be more universal in their outlook than the many religionists who are heavily biased in favour of their co-religionists and have negative views of people who do not share their religious beliefs?
A: Deism is based on reason, and reason leads me to believe that God probably exists. Thus, all creatures are siblings in a great family, whose head is and always will be our common parent, God. Reason also leads me to understand that all mortal humans are fallible and have different belief systems. Therefore, all mortal humans have imperfect belief systems. We should help each other to improve our belief systems until they are as good as possible, and we do that by learning from and teaching each other. We should not dismiss people as stupid or evil just because their honest opinion disagrees with our honest opinion. We are imperfect, and they are imperfect. They might be right, and we might be wrong. Let us reason together to improve our understanding, and let us never believe that anyone is doomed to eternal damnation just for having a mistaken belief. Deism helps me to believe that, one fine day, all beings will rejoice with God forever in Heaven—as one family with the One Parent!
Many of Jayson X’s writings are available on www.jaysonx.com
For more details about Deism, see the website of the World Union of Deists on www.deism.com
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