Question for deists

[Question Everything]

Why are you deists and not atheists? I am not trying to attack you, I'm just asking.

[Baz]

Why are you deists and not atheists? I am not trying to attack you, I'm just asking.

I’m sort of a deist/pantheist or thereabouts, I don’t have any strong reasons for this belief (as far as I can recall).

I have had an interest in religions for a good part of my life. Strictly as an armature/layman and I believe the many people I have met that say they have had an experience of one sort or another.

I can’t say that I have had any defining moments and in reality can take or leave religion, but I do pray to something and feel a connection (delusional or real) that at times that is quite strong.
I would never ask for anything material in prayer because I don’t believe that god has any interest in or ability to provide me with anything.

I think it’s a bit presumptuous of me to try and define the nature of god but in an effort to prompt discussion in this area I will state some of my ideas.
To me god is;
Sort of like a brain and we are thoughts.
In everything and everyone.
The potential of everything.

For some unknown reason, I find that when I still my mind and look for guidance (in the form of understanding or decision making) I connect with something bigger than just me.

All atheists will be pleased to note that I consider myself to understand very little and know nothing.


How’s that for a starter.

[Question Everything]

Why are you deists and not atheists? I am not trying to attack you, I'm just asking.

I’m sort of a deist/pantheist or thereabouts, I don’t have any strong reasons for this belief (as far as I can recall).

I have had an interest in religions for a good part of my life. Strictly as an armature/layman and I believe the many people I have met that say they have had an experience of one sort or another.

I can’t say that I have had any defining moments and in reality can take or leave religion, but I do pray to something and feel a connection (delusional or real) that at times that is quite strong.
I would never ask for anything material in prayer because I don’t believe that god has any interest in or ability to provide me with anything.

I think it’s a bit presumptuous of me to try and define the nature of god but in an effort to prompt discussion in this area I will state some of my ideas.
To me god is;
Sort of like a brain and we are thoughts.
In everything and everyone.
The potential of everything.

For some unknown reason, I find that when I still my mind and look for guidance (in the form of understanding or decision making) I connect with something bigger than just me.

All atheists will be pleased to note that I consider myself to understand very little and know nothing.


How’s that for a starter.

Thanks! I can't really argue with anything you are saying, I am just trying to figure out what this deist thing is all about.

Have you ever looked at Yoism? You might like it.

I would also encourage you to go to any local freethought group that meets near you. I think you would get along with them just fine.

[Baz]

I haven't given Yoism much consideration, I was led to believe it was more of an atheist piss take (sorry about the term, couldn’t think of anything else that fitted) are you saying it is worth a sereous look?

I like attending Unitarian meetings and can consider myself one without too much trouble. No dogma but we can give tradition and authority a measure of respect without compromising our personal beliefs (in most cases)


I hope this thread brings in a selection of beliefs as I was hoping to find out more about how others see the nature of their god.

[Question Everything]

I haven't given Yoism much consideration, I was led to believe it was more of an atheist piss take (sorry about the term, couldn’t think of anything else that fitted) are you saying it is worth a sereous look?

I wanted to answer this before, but I just couldn't figure out how to get the words to come out right.

Let me put it this way.

I consider the most important question humanity can answer is "How can we make life better for everyone on the planet?". IMHO, Religion has done a horrible job of answering that question, yet for reasons which I have tried and tried to understand and have been unable to, people keep turning to it for the answer - even when it is very clear that it just simply does not work.

Why is this???

I just don't get it!!!

Hello!!! Look at the history of the world over the past 2,000 years. Most people lived very short lives in disease ridden poverty. Only in the past hundred years or so did we have large numbers of people with standards of living exceeding that of medieval kings. What do we have to thank for this miracle? Christianity? No. The only time that ruled the world was during the Middle Ages, and that made things worse for people than what they had before. Islam? No. This turned Arabs from being one of the most advanced and prosperous societies on the Earth to one of the poorest and most backward.

More than anything else, the one thing that has made life better for everyone on the planet has been science.

How do we get this message across? We are facing serious problems with overpopulation, climate change, a crashed economy, and a world that still has many living in poverty. We need to be working on solutions to these problems. Fundimentalist religions are doing more harm than good and need to be scrapped. I love humanism, but it has been around a long time and has not been very successful at getting converts.

Yoism might be the answer because it is more friendly to people who want some kind of mysticism in their lives. I don't know if this will work or not, because I have no idea why people want mysticism in the first place. But if it takes off, I am all for it. Whatever. I just want people to get going on the problems facing us so that we can make life better for everyone on the planet.