Is there actually a good Christian answer to Deism?

Question

I am looking for a good Christian response to Deism, one that specifically can deal with logically and rationally the arguments of Thomas Paine as published at www.deism.com/paine_essay03.htm. I can't seem to find one.

Answer 1

From a non-believer:

Good luck with that. Deism has the advantage that it can formulate proposals on the issues of universal reality, while at the same time dispensing with the absurdities of the writings of primitives. In that sense it's like "essential" theology. Neither "scripture" nor dogma can gain much of a toehold against it. That many of the American "founding fathers" subscribed to it should sound a word of caution to those who think it's some lightweight notion.

Answer 2

If one defines deism as the belief in a laid back God who simply made the universe and then backs off, then Paine's essay is hardly an apologetic for deism! Paine can attempt to rip apart the entire Bible for what he finds to be problems in the Bible, but that is no proof of an aloof God that he believes in. Here's some of my critique of Paine's essay which I have taken the pain to read through. It's a painful read, because all his arguments are flawed and questionable. Firstly, Paine dismisses all the OT prophecies about Jesus by ASSUMING that translators and commentators made up those prophecies. I hardly call this a proper treatment of the subject. Secondly, just because Paine thinks little of his own dreams does not in itself means that God cannot speak to people through dreams. On what basis does Paine dismiss dreams as ONE way of divine communication? Thirdly, Paine's ignorance about how the NT writers used the OT in their writings do not translate to an argument against the OT prophecies. The fact is that the NT writers (not translators) saw the OT passages as fulfilled in Christ. What Paine opines about that is irrelevant to that established fact.

I had wanted to "tear apart" Paine's essay and having started on it I realised that Paine's ravings about the NT and its supposed contradictions was really flogging a dead horse. Many books and articles have been written to counter all these arguments. You just have to take the time and effort to source them out and read them. No one may have written specifically to counter Paine's essay, but enough have been written on such a subject that the accumulated apologetic efforts of believers are more than enough to silence Paine to stop him from being a pain in the neck.

Bottom line, Paine's ravings against the NT is NOT PROOF of the truth of Deism at all.

Answer 3

I tried your link and it did not connect, I think this one works.
http://www.deism.com/paine_essay03.htm

This is one of the founders of the USA's political philosophy and he had an astounding influence on the framers of the Constitution.

the whole site is interesting if you are curious about religion;
http://www.deism.com/

I am an atheist but I enjoyed reading their arguments against it.

Answer 4

"So i began out examining the religion and spirituality section approximately 20 minutes in the past...it sort of feels that one and all christian questions and solutions are insane." and you will might desire to be right here plenty longer than that to ensure the sane ones chime in. they're extraordinarily few and lots between, when you consider that lots of the incredibly energetic contributors indexed right here are nutjobs no count number what they think, they oftentimes attempt to maintain their heads down till the trolls pass to mattress. "i recognize the Bible extraordinarily plenty, probably greater effective than a reliable quantity of you." Welcome to the in no way ending tale of R&S. "Do you extremely think of that the Bible is absolute reality? Are you specific a number of that's no longer metaphors?" they seem extraordinarily specific when I ask them, and when I ask them, that's apparently going to deliver me to eternal soreness and suffering if i do no longer think of so. "If God might deliver me to hell for thinking his existence while all I might desire to pass on is a 2000 year previous e book that asserts he's genuine, then i do no longer prefer to pass to heaven." i'm going to drink to that. *will strengthen glass*