Life Questions – Andrea Arthur Owan

The Basics of Theism and Deism—What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

A lot of people have had tremendous influence on how we think about things and approach life. Great thinkers have loudly voiced their thoughts and developed philosophies or worldviews . Some are optimistic, and some are so pessimistic you wonder how and why anyone would want to go on living!

Today we’re returning to our overview of some of the worldviews that have shaped men’s minds and hearts, and subsequently our children’s and the world’s. And even music. It doesn’t take much listening to some of the heavy metal lyrics to discover that many of these young men and women are devoid of hope and are profoundly depressed about and frustrated with life.

As we go through these views, think about whether your thinking and reasoning has been influenced in any way by them. We’ll cover two or three of them a week.

In the beginning—

It doesn’t take too much studying in history to realize that all ancient civilizations had some kind of worldview that involved worshiping a god or multitude of gods. Or nature. It’s only been fairly recent that people have dismissed the idea of a creator and universal ruler and gone out of their way to make sure god is removed from the public square, or education.

For our discussion, we’ll look at several God-focused worldviews: Theism and Deism.

Christian Theism—A Christian Theist believes that an omnipotent God exists and He has authored a Spirit-inspired and man written work called the Bible that is the final authority on life and living it. (Notice I didn’t say it is the final authority on how everything was and is created. It is not exhaustive in that regard.) This Bible contains precepts and laws upon which man should base society and living. Hence, God and the Bible have a real, significant and lasting impact on our lives.

Theism—A person who calls themselves a Theist might be referring to a Christian definition, or they might be a non-Christian theist who believes in a god or many gods. Because of this, it is extremely important to define your terms when you’re having a discussion with someone about “god.” The God you’re discussing and referring to might not at all be the god they worship or follow. They are not all the same.

A person who says they believe in and follow Jesus, but doesn’t believe in the immaculate conception of Him, or His resurrection, certainly doesn’t believe in the same Jesus as someone who believes those things.

There are some religions that identify as Christian, or Christ followers, but they believe that Jesus was really Satan’s brother, who was able to rise to the level He did because He was able to live a perfect life on Earth. They also don’t believe in the incarnation or that Jesus was the God Jehovah. They think all men can become gods, if they live a perfect enough life on Earth.

And there are others who believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael, come down to Earth as God’s son to fight the battle. They also don’t believe in a true bodily resurrection, but see it (as the Gnostics did way before them) a spiritual one. They don’t believe Jesus is God incarnate, and they think only 180,000 select individuals will go to heaven. The rest of the followers will spend their eternity here on a redeemed Earth.

You can see that it’s critical to know who you’re talking about and define your terms.

Deism—Some of the founding fathers of the United States could be classified more as Deists than Theists. A Deist believes there is an authoritative creator, God, who has authored the Holy Bible, which is the source that should be used to guide men’s actions and governments.

A Deist knows that God was once omnipotent, before and during creation.

But they believe that once God finshed all of His creating, He decided to take a back seat in the affairs of men and, instead, distance Himself from the world and His creation. Hence, not be involved.

To them, the world can be looked at as a clock, once created by an intelligent being, but a clock that has been set on autopilot, more or less. Man is left to go it alone and figure out how the clock works and go on living.

They believe that you can know God only through reason and observation of nature, but not through a personal relationship, revelations, or miracles, which they would regard with skepticism.

Some do and some don’t believe in an afterlife. And among the believers of it, there is varying opinion.

If you’d like to do further reading on that subject, see this discussion posted on the Church of the Modern Deist website.

And you?

Which worldview would you ascribe to, or have you combined them in any way, leading you to have a melded or divided worldview?

NEXT WEEK: Romanticism and Naturalism (Can anyone say Tchaikovsky or the Disney movie, Pocahontas?)

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Dawid Zawila

Worldview: Can You Put Your Faith Into a Logical Explanation?

Were you able to answer last week’s worldview questions—

What’s your worldview?
Why do you believe what you believe?
Who’s had the greatest influence in your life, and why?

Perhaps you were able to write down what you believe in several sentences, even though you might not have been able to put a title to the worldview philosophy it fell under.

But I’m going to guess that answering Why you believe what you do might be tougher to answer.

A story of worldview failure and the lifelong negative effects—

I once asked a friend why she’d become an atheist, and she revealed to me that one day in Sunday School class, when she was a little girl, she asked her Sunday school teacher: “Why do you believe that? How do you know that’s true?” The answer she received from her Sunday school teacher was less than affirming, or confirming, and it would have a lasting, dramatic affect on my friend’s life and faith.

What was the teacher’s answer?

“I just know it’s true.” That’s it. No defense, no apologetics, no explanation to satisfy the thoughtful curiosity of a very inquisitive child. (My friend would go on to become an investigative journalist). My friend claims she was so frustrated and disgusted that she lost all faith in God or Christianity, because, as far as she could see, even her teacher didn’t know why she believed what she professed to believe. Thirty years later, my friend still had a tone of disdain in her voice for that teacher, who definitely let this seeking little girl down. With a thud.

What’s the moral of that story?

The Apostle Peter provides it in his first personal letters to Christian believers. The Amplified Bible gives a great, thoughtful rendering—

“But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:25).

The CEV version gives it to us short and sweet:

“Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.”

But many of us can’t put our faith into a logical explanation. Or we use a lot of Christian-speak that flies right over the head of unbelievers. They end up looking at us with glazed eyeballs, no closer to the truth than they were before asking us. Or, worse yet, they wind up moving farther away from a life-saving faith!

Because we’re not always ready to give an answer to someone when they ask us about our hope. We can’t give a logical defense for our beliefs. And you can imagine what that leaves them thinking about those beliefs and us.

Throughout history there have been a lot of thinkers and writers whose beliefs and teachings have had a profound impact on us. When they philosophized about life, their thoughts usually centered on God and His existence, or non-existence. Their beliefs have colored our world without us being aware of it.

When my friend didn’t get the answer she was seeking, she sought knowledge elsewhere. These thinkers colored her worldview and shaped her beliefs. They provided—what seemed to her—to be cogent answers to life’s big questions. And these thoughts have been guiding her life and decisions for decades.

Next week—

We’ll begin looking at 19 of the most well known thinkers and philosophers of all time and will specifically explore what these men thought about God in human history. Your knowledge of their thoughts, conclusions, and how they intersect, or diverge from, God’s word is important for living a true, well-balanced life.

But let me leave you with several questions to ponder before I sign off:

How would you have answered my friend? When she was little? Now—as an adult?
Have you taken Peter’s instructions to heart? Are you ready to give anyone who asks a logical explanation for your faith when they ask about it?

Thanks for joining me! I’d love it if you’d take a moment to make a comment! And please share this post with a friend you think might be interested in the topic. Maybe someone you’d love to enjoy a philosophical discussion with!

Until next week,

may you always be ready to logically explain your faith and hope—in much joy, gentleness and thanksgiving!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos courtesy of Google Images

What Are the 3 Fundamental Questions of Life? (And How Would You Answer Them?)

Have you ever asked yourself the three key questions that confront the mystery of your existence? The major questions philosophy students usually dig into. Like:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
What’s the meaning of life

Worldview

How you answer those questions depends upon your worldview, the lens through which you look to answer life’s big questions, make life decisions, and respond to socio-political issues. Worldview is your particular philosophy of life.

Your worldview is the template upon which you live your life.

Why ask those questions?

Asking those questions and grinding out the answers to them helps you focus on how you view life and function in it. If you’re secure in your answers, you have a firm template upon which to live your life well, live it balanced, and live it intentionally.

Surprisingly, though, most people cannot tell you what they believe, and their beliefs may waffle every day. Because they’re not firm in their beliefs and understanding of them, they vacillate. As my husband, the engineer, likes to say (with flowing, side-to-side arm movements to punctuate his statement), they flow back and forth like sea kelp—whatever direction the water or tide happens to be going, they follow.

It’s not a particularly pleasant or effective way to live life, following the crowd or most popular view. Living life that way gets frustrating and exhausting.

The deadly question

But then we encounter a tougher question: Why do you believe what you believe?

Even fewer people can answer that question and stumble all over their answer. Their “why” may be that they read it in some new book, or they’ve acquired someone else’s opinion about life and claimed it as their own. Or they’ve assembled such a hodge podge of ideas they end up with something akin to a worldview smorgasbord.

Answering the big questions

Let’s take a brief look at how you might initially answer the philosophical questions.

Who am I?

This really goes beyond the idea of “finding yourself,” which often doesn’t give you a firm, useful answer you can do anything constructive with. People trying to “find themselves” are usually floating around, trying and tasting everything life has to offer. While they might enjoy something for a time, they usually get bored and move onto something else. They have life Attention Deficit Disorder.

Maybe you answer it by saying: I’m a daughter or son, a sister or brother, a wife or husband, a mother or father. Or you could qualify your training or profession and answer: I’m a teacher, doctor, or housekeeper. Or choose the physical aspects of your life by noting you’re an invalid or athlete. And you could claim several of those identities simultaneously. With each identity comes different expectations and responsibilities.

Why am I here?

Sadly, many people have difficulty answering the Why because they think they’ve been arbitrarily plunked down on earth at this time in history, rather than being fearfully, wonderfully, and deliberately made for this particular time. Knowing and believing there is a point to your life will be the foundation for life having the meaning you desire it to have.

What is the meaning of life?

Your answer might go all different directions. But let’s take the example of the writers of the Westminster Catechism, who wrestled with this way back in the year A.D. 1647. Because they had a distinctive Christian worldview, they reworded the question as “What is the chief end of man?” which sort of rolls all three questions into one. And the answer they arrived at?

“To know God and enjoy Him forever.”

A six-word sentence packed with meaning and purpose. If we unpack it, we get more questions.

But we’re not going to unpack it today. Before we unpack it, we need to become philosophy—and archeology—students. We need to get an overview of all of life’s major world views (philosophies) and see where we fit into them. Then we need to dig in further to establish our beliefs. To further build a strong, balanced life foundation.

For the week

I invite you to spend some time meditating on those questions this week. How would you answer them? And why would you answer them the way you do? And if you feel like sharing, I’d love to know what your answers are! Just head over to the “Blog” page and leave a comment.

Next week Monday we’ll embark on Worldview 101. I promise it won’t be dry and boring!

Thanks for joining me for this Meditation Monday. I hope to see you Wednesday for the health and fitness post!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).