A recent survey on religion shows there are 34
million Americans who are classified as "Nones", that is they do
not embrace any of the "revealed" religions and the vast
majority of them are not Atheists. In actuality, the vast
majority of the "Nones" are actually Deists!
The survey shows a giant step forward for Deism in the fact that it
actually uses the word "Deist" and for the very significant raw
numbers it shows as representing the number of people who are
Deists. In reality, the number of Deists is actually
higher than the survey shows because the survey uses an outdated
definition of Deist. For a more accurate definition please see
our Deism
Defined page.
Click here to read the
actual survey. (It's in PDF)
Raising Children in Deism
THE
INTRODUCTION:
WHY SHOULD WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO BE DEISTS?
All people are a mixture of good and evil.
Some people are relatively good, while others are relatively
evil. What accounts for
this difference? One of the
greatest factors is education.
Children who are taught to be relatively good tend to stay
relatively good, and children who are taught to be relatively evil tend
to stay relatively evil.
Deism is probably the best beginning for a personal philosophy because
it is based on two great ideas.
The first of these great ideas is that we should base
our beliefs on reason.
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. Unless one is
relying on reason, one is relying on superstitious thinking.
Reason tends to embrace facts, and superstitious thinking tends
to embrace superstitions. A
superstition is a belief that is not based on reason.
It is important to accept facts and reject lies because we have
to understand reality to deal with it wisely.
If a train is headed for us, we should use reason and get out of
the way. We should not grab
our lucky rabbit's foot and hope that the train misses us.
Not only does reason help us cope with reality, it
also helps us be more moral.
Mediaeval witch-hunts, the trial of Galileo, the Spanish
Inquisition, and the current Arab-Israeli conflict are all examples of
evil caused largely by superstitious thinking—or, if you prefer, a lack
of reason.
The second of these great ideas is that reason leads
us to believe that God exists.
Here God does not mean the deity of the Bible or Koran.
It means the real Supreme Being who purposefully created the
universe, whoever the real Supreme Being is, which is probably not the
deity of the Bible or Koran.
The universe seems designed.
Therefore, it probably has a Designer.
The universe is also full of things that exist.
How did those things get here?
One thing caused another, and that other thing caused something
else, and so forth.
Consider a human—me—for example.
What caused me to exist?
Here is the probable chain of events as I understand them:
I am a human who came from other humans, and the first humans
came from apes, and the first apes came from some other kind of mammal,
and the first mammal came from a reptile, and the first reptile came
from an amphibian, and the first amphibian came from a fish, and the
first fish came from some other kind of multi-celled aquatic creature,
and the first multi-celled aquatic creature came from a single-celled
aquatic creature, and the first single-celled aquatic creature came from
the Earth, and the Earth came from a nebula, and the nebula came from
the galaxy, and the galaxy came from the Big Bang, and the Big Bang came
from . . . something. Was
that something God or a quantum fluctuation?
Remembering the Argument from Design, we should conclude that
that something is probably God.
Is God completely good?
I don't know for certain.
But there are some facts which indicate that God is, and there is
every motivation to hope that God is.
Assuming that God is completely good, that gives us much
inspiration to be good. To
be like God, we must be relatively good, and being relatively evil is
contrary to the way we are meant to be.
This reminds me of a friendly warning: Please carefully read these lessons before you try to teach them to your child. Some of the subjects mentioned in these lessons might not be suitable for younger children. Whether you need it or not, you have my permission to change any of these lessons to align completely with your beliefs and your child's needs. Just make sure that you document these changes accurately. I want you to get the credit for your ideas, and I want everyone else to get the credit for their ideas.
Lastly, this education series is an ongoing endeavor.
(It had better be, because, at this time, I don't have nearly
enough lesson ideas.) So
please send me lesson ideas or, better yet, complete lessons so that we
can make a Deist education series which is at least as good as any other
religion's or philosophy's.
You can email your lesson ideas to me at
jaysonx1776@gmail.com.
I am particularly interested in Deist lessons from a
multi-cultural perspective.
Public School Teacher
and Deist
Main Menu
News of Interest to Deists
Astronomers report a recent
study strongly indicates the Universe is infinite.
One of the reasons the freethinker Giordano Bruno was tortured and murdered by being burned alive by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition was that he said the Universe is eternal and infinite which violates the superstitions in the Bible found in Genesis. This new study vindicates Bruno.
One of the reasons the freethinker Giordano Bruno was tortured and murdered by being burned alive by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition was that he said the Universe is eternal and infinite which violates the superstitions in the Bible found in Genesis. This new study vindicates Bruno.
Does the Abraham Accord Promote Peace or a Plan
For War?
The Abraham Accord between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the US seems to be more of a war plan against Iran than any kind of legitimate peace agreement.
The Abraham Accord between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the US seems to be more of a war plan against Iran than any kind of legitimate peace agreement.