 | The Reverend Amy Baumgartner is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS. Amy was ordained at First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Before attending seminary, Amy graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture and worked several years for an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. You may contact Rev. Baumgartner by email AssociatePastor@firstpresbywichita.org, or by phone at (316) 263-0248. |
Religion
2011-10-20 10:47:35
Deism
Q: Deism, which is based upon the light of nature and reason, teaches us to not worry about the hereafter as we should trust nature’s God with our future. Thus, we should do everything we can in life to make for a better world. What do religions based upon revelation have to say about Deism?
A: Deism is the belief that God exists but that God is not directly involved in the world. Often, the analogy is drawn that deism views God as the great “clockmaker” who created the clock, wound it up, and let it go. God under the deism belief system is often portrayed as ambivalent, uncaring and uninvolved.
Those religions that are based upon revelation, like Christianity, have a different view of God. The Bible, believed by Christians as the revelation of God, is full of different instances in which God interacts and interferes with God’s creation. Christians also believe that God is still involved in the world today through God’s Spirit. Many individuals have instances in which they sense God’s work in the world even today.
It is not difficult to understand why deism is appealing. Looking around our world full of violence and suffering causes many people to question the existence of a good God who is in control and cares for his creation. In addition, many who claim to follow Jesus Christ instead of nature and reason live their lives as poor examples of Jesus’ model of loving God and loving thy neighbor.
The Bible presents God as sovereign and God’s ways that are often beyond human comprehension. Our inability to completely grasp God and God’s ways can cause some to question God’s existence or involvement in the world. However, that does not make deism the only way to view God. By asking God for further revelation of who God is, one can move beyond an ambivalent understanding of God to knowing God more fully.
