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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 22, 2011 at 9:20 pm
(May 22, 2011 at 6:10 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Deists seem to think of 'god' as sort of a human appendix. It's there....it serves no useful purpose...and sometimes it causes a hell of a lot of trouble.
If I may offer an alternate metaphor, atheism and deism are like America and Britain. Both are free societies (we might debate my own country's status in that regard but that's another issue) and occasionally work together against dictatorships where necessary but one keeps a monarchy. The monarch doesn't interfere in the daily running of the country and is largely there for pomp and circumstance. The other has decided that a monarchy serves no purpose and functions well without one.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 22, 2011 at 9:21 pm
(May 22, 2011 at 1:50 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: Summer Queen asked me about the philosophy of deism.
Ahh....I like it when men utter my name and I'm not even around.
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 2:32 pm
(May 22, 2011 at 9:20 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 6:10 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Deists seem to think of 'god' as sort of a human appendix. It's there....it serves no useful purpose...and sometimes it causes a hell of a lot of trouble.
If I may offer an alternate metaphor, atheism and deism are like America and Britain. Both are free societies (we might debate my own country's status in that regard but that's another issue) and occasionally work together against dictatorships where necessary but one keeps a monarchy. The monarch doesn't interfere in the daily running of the country and is largely there for pomp and circumstance. The other has decided that a monarchy serves no purpose and functions well without one.
I disagree that the British monarchy doesn't interfere in the runing of the country. The Royal family are immensely rich and are at the very pinnacle of the class structure of the country. In short, it is an instrument to maintain the status quo in the interests of the rich and powerful.
America's got it right.....no monarchy.
 A man is born to a virgin mother, lives, dies, comes alive again and then disappears into the clouds to become his Dad. How likely is that?
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 2:35 pm
(May 22, 2011 at 9:21 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 1:50 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: Summer Queen asked me about the philosophy of deism.
Ahh....I like it when men utter my name and I'm not even around.
Better check and see what they are doing with their hands!
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 2:36 pm
(May 21, 2011 at 9:47 pm)Cinjin Cain Wrote: (May 21, 2011 at 6:23 pm)bozo Wrote: (May 21, 2011 at 2:20 pm)Zenith Wrote: I'm just curios about deists' arguments for the existence of a Creator.
And, hopefully it does not sound foolish: why should there be only one creator?
Interesting question. Deists all believe their god is the true god. Do they believe in other, inferior, gods? If so, was creation done by a committee?
I've already addressed this OP in two other threads so I'll let some other Deist have a go at this.
I will say this though: It's reasonable to assume that the majority of revealed religions in the world consider their god to be the "true god", so I'm not real sure what point you're trying to make with that. Also, the handful of deists I know (including myself) don't care whatsoever about providing evidence for a God we know we cannot possibly prove exists.
Again, I will say I've already covered this in two other threads and I'm just not willing to go over it again. Perhaps Paladin might be interested in enlightening you, but if he's not, visit this website. http://www.deism.com/
I was trying a bit of humour but obviously failed miserably! The point I was making was that if many gods exist then presumably they all were in on creation? Or did some just abstain and let the god(s) interested in creating things just get on with it?
A man is born to a virgin mother, lives, dies, comes alive again and then disappears into the clouds to become his Dad. How likely is that?
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 3:04 pm
(May 23, 2011 at 2:32 pm)bozo Wrote: I disagree that the British monarchy doesn't interfere in the runing of the country. The Royal family are immensely rich and are at the very pinnacle of the class structure of the country. In short, it is an instrument to maintain the status quo in the interests of the rich and powerful.
America's got it right.....no monarchy.
Unfortunately, the lack of a monarchy hasn't prevented the rich and powerful from ruling both parties and hence the country.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 3:06 pm
(May 23, 2011 at 2:35 pm)Minimalist Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 9:21 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 1:50 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: Summer Queen asked me about the philosophy of deism.
Ahh....I like it when men utter my name and I'm not even around.
Better check and see what they are doing with their hands!
You had to take it there, didn't you Min?
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Yup.
![[Image: baghead.gif]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.simpeg.com%2Fforum%2FSmileys%2Fcustom1%2Fbaghead.gif)
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 4:14 pm
(May 23, 2011 at 3:06 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: (May 23, 2011 at 2:35 pm)Minimalist Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 9:21 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: (May 22, 2011 at 1:50 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: Summer Queen asked me about the philosophy of deism.
Ahh....I like it when men utter my name and I'm not even around.
Better check and see what they are doing with their hands!
You had to take it there, didn't you Min?
If I wasn't a married man, I would have. 
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
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RE: Question for deists: why is there a Creator?
May 23, 2011 at 4:20 pm
(This post was last modified: May 23, 2011 at 4:22 pm by thesummerqueen.)
Whoa! So...how 'bout them 'Skins?
PS, DP - I 'found' your YouTube channel. Not the best time to suggest that I'm stalking you, but I'm feeling like toasted shit today and therefore will have plenty of time to go home and watch.
One of the things that kept me from possibly being turned over into a good little Jew was the discovery of Spinoza when I was about 13 or 14. What's really the difference between Pantheism and Deism?
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