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 Pan-Un-Deism?

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Gnomon
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PostSubject: Pan-Un-Deism?   Pan-Un-Deism? Icon_minitimeWed Nov 03, 2010 10:22 pm

This post was prompted by a passing comment on the Positive Deism forum a few months ago. It suggested that the supernatural agent of Deism could actually be an Alien race of technologically superior beings, as depicted in various popular books and movies.

I doubt that many Deists could accept that mundane anthro-morphic sci-fi image of God. But the PD forum has such a broad-minded, non-judgmental, and inclusive do-it-yourself definition of Deism that it could easily be mistaken for some Postmodern, Pagan, and Paranormal believers in all things exotic and anti-traditional.

After getting the rant below off my chest, I decided that the reaction was out of proportion to the irritation, and might be offensive rather than instructive for some in the Big Tent audience of Universal Deism. But it seems a shame to waste such a huff of righteous indignation. So perhaps it won't raise too many eyebrows in a little narrow-minded wigwam like this.
Embarassed Cool



Pardon Our Regress.
Skeptical rant continued . . .

Quote :
Deists on this and other forums routinely debunk some of the irrational stories in the Bible. But some Deists are not so critical about equally obsolete ideas in Pagan, New Age, and other non-western traditions.

Alien Deities?

I have been hoping that Deism would turn out to be a forward-leaning philosophy for the future. But I see that some, who are attracted to the idea of an unconventional deity, are also drawn to the idea of romantic Golden Ages and Gardens of Eden and saucer-shaped Chariots of the Gods. I understand the emotional appeal of such past paradises, but not the reasons for believing in things that are so obviously idealistic allegories. I can only assume that a deficiency of practical understanding and critical thinking is at the root of the Lot’s Wife phenomenon.

Modern Deism is touted as a rational approach to religion. But all religious people, by virtue of being human, are rational to some degree, yet their religious rationales are often incompatible. So clearly reason alone is not sufficient to clear the path to a pristine 21st century religious philosophy. Deism, being freed from the slavery of entrenched tradition and blind orthodoxy, gives us a lot of leeway for finding a new set of beliefs. But that well-deserved enfranchisement shouldn’t give us license to lose all restraint, to believe in childish fairy-tales and wishful fables. Instead, rational freedom requires self-discipline and faith filters. Hence, it behooves us to go beyond simple methodical reasoning to the point of questioning even the validity of our own conclusions and delusions.

Rational Skepticism is not cynical nay-saying though, but the enforcer of a higher standard for truth. Skepticism serves the same function for Memes that Natural Selection performs for Genes. It ruthlessly weeds-out the weak and unfit beliefs that proliferate in a hot-house environment of anything-goes, suit-yourself, indiscriminate opinion reproduction. Without the protection of Skepticism, your open mind would be susceptible to an array of verbally-transmitted deceptions (VTDs). Of course, hard-headed critical thinking can co-exist with soft-hearted sympathy. But if the Skeptic label is too off-putting, maybe we can just call it “Validation”.

The absence of direct revelations, or authorized testaments, makes it necessary for Deists to tolerate a motley variety of peculiar god-concepts and evidence interpretations. Yet we mustn't be so open-minded that our brains turn to swiss cheese. Disillusioned people searching for a substitute to replace the discredited bible-god, sometimes turn to super-human aliens to explain some of the apparent miracles and mysteries of history. Before we open our minds to strange ideas, we should exercise a little doubtful prudence. Memes are like viruses : easy to catch but hard to exterminate.

The tacit assumption behind the various alien/angel myths seems to be that dull, plodding humans are too unimaginative and morally corrupt to achieve any real technical or political progress without superhuman intervention. Apparently, they can't conceive of a scenario where Sumerians could invent writing out of necessity. But why didn't the aliens give them iPADS instead of clay tablets to write on? Some seem to think that alien technology was required in order for humans to fly to the moon. But that simply betrays a lack of understanding of how technology works. If Egyptians built their enormous stone pyramids with the aid of anti-gravity levitation devices, why didn't the builders of the world's tallest building in Dubai call on their alien mentors for similar technology to get their construction materials up into the flightpath of airplanes? The automatic, boot-strapping, self-climbing, robotic-concrete-forming-system might look like alien technology to some of our contemporaries. [image below]

Again, the reason for going-on about non-judgmental tolerance of improbable and un-vetted mythical stories in the guise of Science is to keep Deism from pandering to the vulgar taste for comic-book beliefs. For those who prefer alien overlords to abstract deities, Scientology has some pretty far-out sci-fi stories to enthrall their most faithful initiates. Just as a theatre critic can offer an informed opinion, but can’t stop a show she finds of low quality, a skeptical Deist can only warn those with ears to hear that, in her informed opinion, some fringey fables really do belong off-off-broadway. Uncritical acceptance of strange beliefs may be democratic, but it’s not Deist.



Burj Khalifa : world's tallest tower of Babel
Pan-Un-Deism? Burj%20khalifa%202
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Aaron
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Aaron


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PostSubject: Re: Pan-Un-Deism?   Pan-Un-Deism? Icon_minitimeFri Nov 05, 2010 8:27 am

Yes, there's nothing wrong with a little healthy skeptism.
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Mechajutaro




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PostSubject: Re: Pan-Un-Deism?   Pan-Un-Deism? Icon_minitimeSat Nov 13, 2010 3:29 am

A crowd who's thoughts are identical=a crowd who's sentiments aren't well-thought out. If anything, a few nuts can, when handled w/ panache, make for good press ala. Xenu and the Jesus Bloodline.
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gainesvillecathy




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PostSubject: Re: Pan-Un-Deism?   Pan-Un-Deism? Icon_minitimeWed Mar 09, 2011 1:01 pm



Any way the wind blows.........

No
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