Being A PanenDeist

Deism is definitely an interesting religious philosophy. It is currently in a process of evolution in which our modern understanding of existence is being mixed with the more classical philosophy. This has led to a tug of war between classical and modern Deists (luckily we are not out killing each other in the streets).

Now, I do not believe that one is superior to the other but it does make for some very emotional responses from some Deists about what is and what is not Deism.

For years I have used the title of Deist to describe how I define my theologically but more and more a concrete definition of Deism seems to becoming less of a possibility anytime soon. Also, I tire of the constant arguments over what is a Deist.

So, I have decided to use the term of PanenDeist exclusively rather than Deist from this time forward so the current arguments of what a Deist is and is not will not be a problem. Now, I know that PanenDeism is not easily defined either but it does not seem to have the same problems (probably because there are so few of us).

This is why I classify Deism as a category of belief in which one believes in a transpersonal God and PanenDeism is an off-shoot of Deism.

So, I am a PanenDeist. Now, the question is what kind?

Joe

Hi Joe welcome! Good to have you here.

I think that a lot of the confusion over how to define Deism comes from the fact that deist theology has two main elements; epistemology and metaphysics.

I think that a lot of the "classical" deists (or more accurately neoclassical deists) get caught up in the metaphysical aspect. If you don't hold to the same metaphysical beliefs as Paine and Voltaire then you're not a "real" deist. This of course ignores the fact that even the "classical" deists differed in their metaphysical interpretations.

IMO the thing that binds all deists together from Lord Herbert to now is a reason based epistemology. As far as I'm concerned, if you base your beliefs on reason rather than tradition or dogma, you're a deist in my book.

As far as I'm concerned, if you base your beliefs on reason rather than tradition or dogma, you're a deist in my book.

Yeah, that works for me as well.