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| Discover a New Kind of Christian-Deism |
While the term “deist” best describes, for me, both my religion and my philosophy, as my recent posts have highlighted, I’m not necessarily anti-Christian. At the same time, yes, the label “Christian” makes me wince because I certainly don’t believe all, or even most, of the things that orthodox, traditional Christians do. Let’s face it, Christians don’t have a very good public profile in our culture. They are often seen as unloving, judgmental, anti-intellectual, superstition...us “sheep” who only know what their Bibles or churches tell them. I certainly have no desire to be that kind of person. Yet, there are certain kinds of Christians, mostly the liberal and progressive kind, who tend to favor the teachings of Jesus over the teachings of the balance of the Bible, or over the teachings of the Church or Christian traditions. I get along fairly well with these kinds of Christians. They seldom, however know what Deism is. I spent 35 years as a fairly conventional Christian before moving into Deism. Leaving Christianity has been freeing for me, but I also retain many things from the religion of my youth that, in my opinion, are still true and of value. With this in mind, I’ve decided to create the group, “Jesusian Deism”.
The purpose of this group is to discuss how both our understandings of God and the teachings of Jesus influence our lives. Deists generally believe in God as our non-intervening Creator. Jesusians find meaning in the philosophical and moral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, apart from the teachings of the rest of the Bible or of the Church or of Christianity. You may join if you like. It is asked that participants respect both deism and the general teachings of Jesus in order to maintain an amiable atmosphere.
The purpose of this group is to discuss how both our understandings of God and the teachings of Jesus influence our lives. Deists generally believe in God as our non-intervening Creator. Jesusians find meaning in the philosophical and moral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, apart from the teachings of the rest of the Bible or of the Church or of Christianity. You may join if you like. It is asked that participants respect both deism and the general teachings of Jesus in order to maintain an amiable atmosphere.
