Deism Revived

I know that most of us think of our founding fathers as Christians. The truth is that many of them were Deists. Deism was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries. According to wikipedia, "Deism differs from theism in that according to deism God does not interfere with human life and the laws of the universe." That's the difference in a nutshell. Deists largely rejected the miraculous and argued instead that religion was based on reasoning through the natural world to determine what we can know about God. Deism as a religious philosophy largely died out by the early 1800's, giving way to unitarianism (any god will do) in one direction or atheism (no god at all) in the other.

Deism, however, is not dead. I suspect, in fact, that there are more deists today than theists. Theists hold that God is personal and that He is intimately involved with everything that occurs. A deist view would say that God takes a more "hands off" approach. The idea is that God set up the universe, spun it all into action, and then let it go. You can find deism in the "Christian response" to the September 11th events when they said, "It was simply due to human sin; God had nothing to do with it." You could find it in the "Christian response" to Hurricane Katrina. "It was just an act of nature; God had nothing to do with it." You can find it in the current response to the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis. "It was a product of a fallen world; God had nothing to do with it." And deism is, again, alive and well. To be fair, true Deism rejects the Bible and Christianity, but deism (small "d") still holds that God didn't do it, and that deism has survived the 19th century.

I have actually been surprised by those who call themselves theists. They would emphatically deny that they are deists. They would strongly denounce the notion that God set everything in motion and let it go. Still, when someone suggests that God is intimately involved in everything that occurs, they respond with equal strength. "No! God would not be involved in that!" The Westminster Confession of Faith says, "God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass" (III.I). Trot that statement out for most Christians who classify themselves as "theists" and they are often ready to take up arms against it. Why is that?

It doesn't take a Hebrew and Greek scholar to find theism in the Bible. Job's inquisition at the hands of God (Job 38-41) is God's question, "Are you sure you want to ask Me questions?" When it ends, Job says, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). God, through Isaiah, tells His listeners, "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things" (Isa. 45:7). Indeed, the list is long regarding God's capabilities, including "calamity". However, Paul gives the best summary: God works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). It seems clear. Bad things happen because God ordains them. "All things" would seem to encompass ... all things. We're happy that He keeps an eye on the sparrow (Matt. 10:29), but argue that crime and natural disasters fall outside of His realm. Why is that?

I suppose it really boils down to the very first question from Satan in the Garden. "Did God say?" Can you trust God? Can you take Him at His word? He says He causes calamity. Is that okay with you? He says He is good ... and still works all things (including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina) after the counsel of His will. Is that okay with you? He brings death on the people of Canaan in Joshua's day -- men, women, and children. Is that okay with you? The real question is are you going to accept God at His word, or are you going to have to mitigate His statements? He claims to be good and just and loving. He also claims to bring about calamity and judgment. He claims to be gracious and merciful. He also claims to have wrath like you cannot imagine. It seems that too many of us who call ourselves "theists" are unwilling to actually allow God to be God. Instead, we want to understand Him in our own terms, and we reduce Him to a god who isn't quite there. He has limited His options, tied His own hands, and cut Himself off from doing what He would want to do ... what is best. That's the God many Christians claim. Too many evaluate the truth claims based on "How does it make me feel?" or "Does that work for me?" and find truth wanting.

Not me. I'm a theist. I believe that God is intimately involved in every detail of life. I believe He actually is the Potter Paul speaks of Who makes people for honored use and dishonored use (Rom. 9:21). I believe He actually makes the wicked for the day of trouble (Prov. 16:4). I believe He works all things after the counsel of His will. I believe that not a sparrow, a tower, or a bridge falls without God's prior knowledge and approval. I believe that earthquakes and hurricanes and the like are not random or unintentional. And I believe that God causes all things to work together for good. Sometimes you may not like that. Sometimes I may not be able to give you a "satisfactory reason" for it. But I believe it. And the comfort it gives me to know that a good God is in charge of every single event, pleasant or tragic, is beyond my capacity to explain or describe. I'll remain a theist.