Deism and End of Life Worldview

[cclendenen]

Let's get straight to the point. I have been diagnosed with a terminal disease (lung cancer), and due to Stage IV metastasis, I cannot look forward to a "cure". My condition is believed to be treatable (I will find out more on Tuesday), and the goal of my treatment will be to afford me the greatest quantity/length of life (hopefully several more years) at the highest possible quality of life (relatively free of pain).

In short, it is time for me to "get my affairs in order" and assess my current spiritual path. Does this path still serve my spirital needs? And will it continue to serve as a guide to the pathway's end?

I have spent several years trying to figure out what it means to live as a Deist, and now I must contemplate what it means to die as a Deist. That is what this discussion will be about, and where it will go, I cannot say. it will be held in two different places simultaneously: here in the Deist Spirituality Forum of Positive Deism and in the Reason & Spirit in our Daily Lives Forum on Reasoned Spirituality. You can follow one discussion or both or neither. It's entirely your choice.

For this, the Positive Deism discussion, I want to talk about Deism as a complete philosophy and its ability to address our everyday spiritual needs without having to draw heavily on other philosophies to answer the most important questions. For the Reason & Spirit in our Daily Lives Forum on Reasoned Spirituality I want to talk more about what we've added or clarifed, and how these changes have improved our ability to meet our needs. But don't feel you need to limit yourself in either forum.

(For the folks who haven't been reading these discussions all that long, a brief history: My initial contributions to the Deist Alliance have been the Church of Natures God, Deist.info, and Unified Deism. Nature's God has been a study to find out how to build a small community of Deists and other like-minded individuals who can learn to live together in a common spiritual tradition, free of dogma. Nature's God has been a mixed bag. The many undertakings that began there (Deist calendar, the Ethan Allen Modernization, the Deist Convention, taking on the Contemporary Deism Project, which eventually led to the publication of Deist: So That's What I Am!, etc.) gathered support on Positive Deism and throughout the DA. I recently closed the discussion forum on Nature's God, because it had become a forum for one member to perpetuate his own conspiracy theories. I will soon archive the rest of the site. Deist.info was a site started by Steve Zinn (bearcub). Through some odd circumstances, he lost the domain. I got it back, but he decided to leave the online Deist community, and so I tried to build it into one of the largest repositories on Deism available anywhere. It is too lare a project for one person to maintain. I would love to see a group of folks pick it up again as a project. If interested, contact me. Unified Deism was an effort by Dad, Dave Gaddis, and me to better organize our efforts to promote Deism and build an online Deist community. It was a wonder experiment that suffered from some interpersonal conflicts that were largely resolved. We, nonetheless, reorganized as the Center for Reasoned Spirituality (DfRS). Unified Deism is still part of CfRS.)

[cclendenen]

Each individual Deist can mold Deism into a complete philosophy of life and a comprehensive worldview. Deism is a framework and a toolkit for observing and experiencing life by using reason to make some sense of it all. But out of the box, Deism does not come with a very comprehensive set of instructions. In fact, it comes with almost none. And for some of us this is ideal. Others need more, something with structure.

Deism has worked for me, but I had to put a lot of time and effort into it. Many people turn to religion and spirituality to find strength and support when times get tough. So do I, but when I turn to Deism with questions, Deism comes back with one answer, and that answer is that I need to figure out for myself.

And I realize that the answer Deism gives me is the correct answer for me. If I ask you a question, and I take your advice without question, I am accepting on faith that your answer is a better one than I could have come up with on my own. That method does not work for me. I I do not have strong enough faith in any religious or spiritual discipline to allow its authors to make my decisions for me.

When we look to Deism, we look to Deist authors and fellow Deists. When we find something that sounds like it might contain some kernel of the truth, we take notice, and then we go back and examine more closely. We make this type of seeking part of our daily lives. We take on the responsibility for creating our own foundations. We invest the time, because we are worth it, and we know that what we are building has as much value as a foundation built by someone else. Or if we are brutally honest with ourselves, we realize that the best we can do is add to the dialog, but that is still better than letting someone else dictate what you should think.

So, considering where I am, I am extremely happy that it is I am walking this path after being prepared by Deism for the journey. I don't know any better than you what is around the next bend, but I am better prepared for it, and I look forward with anticipation rather than dread. No, I am not happier about finding myself closer to the end of the journey, but I am happier about the potential for the best of all possible outcomes, and I do have some very interesting fellow travellers with me on the trip.

[iDeismFounder]

Although a cure may not be possible, I am banking on years still remaining in front of you! We have lots of work to do, Chuck, so keep fighting. Also, thanks for sharing your personal challenge with the rest of the Deist community. I have no doubt you have you will soon see how many supporters you really have!

[stretmediq]

I just want to express my gratitude to you for all you've done for the Deist community. Many, many thanks -Rob

[NC_Bluebird]

So, considering where I am, I am extremely happy that it is I am walking this path after being prepared by Deism for the journey. I don't know any better than you what is around the next bend, but I am better prepared for it, and I look forward with anticipation rather than dread. No, I am not happier about finding myself closer to the end of the journey, but I am happier about the potential for the best of all possible outcomes, and I do have some very interesting fellow travellers with me on the trip.

Chuck, I found this post of yours to be so inspiring. I just quoted this last paragraph that especially touched me. I appreciate your support when I found my way back to Deism and I know you've done so much in this community for a long time that's appreciated by so many. Thanks for sharing this part of your journey with us and for reinforcing the idea that (at least for me) Deism can be a spiritual/religious path that can carry me through my whole life with hope and anticipation, as you well put it. I haven't participated much in this forum, I stay more on CfRS, but agree with you, there's some very interesting fellow travelers on the Deist journey. Thank you again for all your contributions to it.

Sharon

[siti]

Bula!

"Deism as a complete philosophy"? I think you were closer with the "toolkit" and "framework" comments. I was thinking it (Deism) might be more like an artist's palette. The raw colors are spread out for you but you have to mix them thoughtfully to get the exact shades you want to include in the masterpiece that becomes your own life (including your individual worldview). It is sad, Chuck, to think that the work of a kindred artist may be almost complete because, for one thing, it is much easier to learn from a master by watching him work. But I think there is also a sense in which the painting of our own life (including our individual worldview) forms an important and integral part of a much bigger picture that will continue long after our part is completed. I think Deism is like that - i.e. it is at one and the same time a very individual creation and part of a much bigger picture to which we each contribute.

So is Deism a complete philosophy? Yes and no. Yes in the sense - as you indicated in your comment Chuck - that it can provide the framework and toolkit through which, with some effort on our own part, we can address our everyday spiritual needs. Yes, for me at least, in the sense that I don't see any way (now) that I can separate my Deism from my life - it is part of who I am, it informs my decision making and my reasoned (and profoundly felt) connection to nature fulfills my spiritual needs in a much deeper way than it did before I recognized my deistic leanings. But no in the sense that the process of applying the tools of Deism (reason, observation, experience) will never really be finished - for any one of us individually, let alone the bigger picture. Deism stubbornly refuses to provide pat answers to the really tough questions. Instead, it provides the means for any individual of any generation to arrive at the most reasonable answers possible at the time without ever having to reject its core principles altogether. In that sense, I think that its "incompleteness" (in terms of stock answers) may very well make Deism potentially the most "complete" philosophy of all, for each and all of us.

[cclendenen]

Bula!

"Deism as a complete philosophy"? I think you were closer with the "toolkit" and "framework" comments. I was thinking it (Deism) might be more like an artist's palette. The raw colors are spread out for you but you have to mix them thoughtfully to get the exact shades you want to include in the masterpiece that becomes your own life (including your individual worldview). It is sad, Chuck, to think that the work of a kindred artist may be almost complete because, for one thing, it is much easier to learn from a master by watching him work. But I think there is also a sense in which the painting of our own life (including our individual worldview) forms an important and integral part of a much bigger picture that will continue long after our part is completed. I think Deism is like that - i.e. it is at one and the same time a very individual creation and part of a much bigger picture to which we each contribute.

So is Deism a complete philosophy? Yes and no. Yes in the sense - as you indicated in your comment Chuck - that it can provide the framework and toolkit through which, with some effort on our own part, we can address our everyday spiritual needs. Yes, for me at least, in the sense that I don't see any way (now) that I can separate my Deism from my life - it is part of who I am, it informs my decision making and my reasoned (and profoundly felt) connection to nature fulfills my spiritual needs in a much deeper way than it did before I recognized my deistic leanings. But no in the sense that the process of applying the tools of Deism (reason, observation, experience) will never really be finished - for any one of us individually, let alone the bigger picture. Deism stubbornly refuses to provide pat answers to the really tough questions. Instead, it provides the means for any individual of any generation to arrive at the most reasonable answers possible at the time without ever having to reject its core principles altogether. In that sense, I think that its "incompleteness" (in terms of stock answers) may very well make Deism potentially the most "complete" philosophy of all, for each and all of us.

A response like this is precisely what I had hoped to elicit. Your post, Siti, affirms that others can embrace Deism and make it a part of themselves, and by doing so, they become, not reflections of some other Deist, but rather more authentic versions of their own selves.

By adopting and learning better how to use the toolkit called Deism, I have become a more complete version of myself.

[Dad]

I was thinking it (Deism) might be more like an artist's palette. The raw colors are spread out for you but you have to mix them thoughtfully to get the exact shades you want to include in the masterpiece that becomes your own life (including your individual worldview).

Ever since I was a toddler I've been acutely aware that life is a terminal condition. It bothered me a great deal as I was growing up and the promises of eternal life in paradise did little to assuage the reality that each of us faces ugly obliteration here. More than once I baulked at bringing children into this world to face the same demise.

I agree with Siti's metaphor above. For many years Christianity was the picture in my mind but it was full of ugliness that did not fit with the concept of a loving God. Once I'd obliterated the Bible from the palette I was able to look back on the history of thinking about one supreme God and trace the steps that belief might have taken had our forbears not resorted to lies to support their beliefs. Now as I age I feel more comfortable and happier in hoping for better than my upbringing taught me. The picture in my mind these days is far from clear, but the colours are warm and bright and death is but a chapter ending prior to a new adventure.

[loveroflife]

This post made me very sad the first time I read it. And I'm still sad the second time around.
I've only met Chuck once, at the Deist Convention in Tulsa, but I feel like I know you better than some people I spend tons of time around. Finding this Deist community has been a wonderful experience for me. And Chuck, you are an outspoken, active, and hardworking member of this community. You will be missed. Greatly. I have a habit of writing down quotes that I like/remind me of something I need to know/make me think, just wanted to let you know you've given me a few to write down. Your positive, open minded, and thought provoking outlook has added a beautiful hue to my own painting.

But even with sadness, I also have hope for whatever comes next. I wish for you the best for the rest of your journey here with us.

[cclendenen]

Before Deism I was a project and a product of what others believed. At most, I adopted their beliefs. Deism forces me to analyze what I believe. I have to judge my beliefs to satisfy a harsh critic - myself.

Although the time I have remaining to continue this analysis has apparently been shortened, I end up having as much time to do it as anyone ever does - to the end of my life. Like everything in life, the details are uncertain, and that is normal. That is as it should be. I am suspicious of just about anything that is certain. How much certainty do we find in life? Why should we expect certainty at the end? Having certainty about an afterlife makes no more sense than having certainty about any other thing at all. Where do you find certainty? Where do you find The Truth?

To have purged such a great deal of certainty from my life is one of the great benefits I have found in Deism.

[cclendenen]

Marcus Aurelius suggested, “Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

In other words, be virtuous for virtue's sake, and you will have chosen the best path, because the other choices are not really choices at all. You do not get to choose whether or not God exists. You only get to speculate and believe as you choose. Or worse yet, someone else will select your beliefs for you, which deprives you of your individuality.

I am, of course, a product of my culture, and what I am saying is completely foreign to some cultures. but it is the lens through which I much perceive my world.

[siti]

Bula!

You do not get to choose whether or not God exists.

True enough - but don't you think there may be a sense in which our individual choices do to some extent determine whether or not God exists - at least as far as our own experience and spiritual connection to God is concerned? And if God (if there is one) is in any way connected to each of us individually, then each of our individual choices would have to make a difference to God (perhaps a miniscule difference on a cosmic scale, but a difference nevertheless). We are each a unique creation - hopefully, to a significant extent, of our own making. And if each of our perspectives, our experiences, our consciously and conscientiously lived lives, do make a difference to God (whatever God is if God exists at all), surely it (our existence) ultimately adds value to the creation and therefore to God? And surely that added value remains after our brief physical existence comes to an end? It becomes part of the culture of our loved ones, our friends and families, our communities. It becomes part of God - "all that groks".