MORE ABOUT DEISM
Rev. K Hyler DD OCC, Spiritual Deist Fellowship of Salem OR
Some of this may sound familiar from prior blogs, but I figured I'd try to condense some of the information and add to it. So - here we go...
Spiritual Deism doesn't have to depend on the teachings of a church or on a holy book based on revealed truths. We tend to question any truth to see if what was said makes sense and that is up to the individual. You can be inspired by any truth passed on over the eons, but you know somehow that humankind tends to ‘reinterpret’ things to his purpose so you have to figure it out for yourself. (If you’ve played the game ‘telephone’ you know how reliable humanity is.) You can only guess what God meant and go with the spirit of the teaching, and usually reason and intuition will tell you if you are right or close to it. This is what Deists such as I believe.
What you do have to fall back on is nature and the natural (aka 'universal')laws; and from a Deist viewpoint that is evidence enough that there is a Creator. The laws are numerous (gravity, etc.) and they stand the test of time for at the base of them all is a Creative Intelligence that set it all in motion, put us in our places on the grid of life, and (I believe)interacts with us through Divine Providence. We are, by our very choices, actions and reactions, co-creators of our own destiny. (Some Deists believe that we were set in motion and left to our own devices but I don’t believe that. I’ve seen too much evidence in my life contrary to that thought.) I fully believe in an interactive and loving Godforce.
True, sometimes things happen; such is the nature of life on an active planet. It is for us to deal with it and move forward. Human beings get too soft if they are not tried and tested. And sometimes awful things happen because of our free will. Some human beings don’t use the compassion that is within them and they commit acts of violence. It’s unfortunate, but free will is not perfect. If it were, it wouldn’t be free will.
I do not mean to insult or knock somebody else’s beliefs. If I have done so I ask your pardon. If believing in holy books and mystic gods/men will make you a more moral person then I’m all for it for I too have learned from these resources; and I will proudly defend your right to believe as you believe. I only ask that you in turn do not proselytize to me and that you accept my beliefs with equal tolerance and respect. Show me your love for God by action and example, not by words and preaching.
I am a Spiritual Deist; I believe that throughout the ages there have been many holy and wise men and women who were born to speak to us and to help us correct our ways; I believe there possibly was at least one man named Yeshua (Jesus) sometime between 5 BCE and 33 CE. I believe he was a Rabbi and a wise teacher and I believe that the primary teaching of Yeshua (as well as other wise ones) was to show love to our Creator by loving one another, regardless of who the other person is. If we cannot show love, we can at least show compassion and forgiveness. It’s a shame mankind keeps killing the messenger because they don’t like the message.
I only need the one God; God is, and that is enough for me.
I also believe that we have the gods because, as Desmond Morris and Joseph Campbell taught, we give God names and masks in order to better interact with and comprehend what God is to us. Again, it is a very individual decision. God is beyond human comprehension; the idea that something so powerful and beyond our knowledge would want to relate to the creation is incredible and humbling.
Enough preaching for now… Shared knowledge is, I believe, a good thing. When will I hear from the rest of you?
1/8/13 Rev. K Hyler DD OCC
