March 9, 2008


a re-acquaintance with the terminology

Richard Dawkins (paraphrased):

THEIST: Someone who believes there is a supernatural intelligence behind the universe that intervenes on behalf of humanity at certain junctures. A theist believes that prayers are answered, interventions occur, miracles happen. A theist believes that the supernatural intelligence has a plan for each human on earth and is deeply invested in the fate and proceedings of its creatures.

DEIST: Someone who believes that there is a supernatural intelligence behind the universe but does not believe there is any continuing intervention. A deist believes that the supernatural intelligence was intimately involved with the creation of our universe, but aside from that preliminary work, is not active with respect to the daily affairs of humankind.

PANTHEIST: Someone who does not believe in a supernatural intelligence at all, but appreciates the beauty and wonder and structure of the natural world around him. A pantheist may occasionally dip into religious language, but the God mentioned when doing so is a poetic, metaphorical god that represents the feelings of awe and smallness of man when contrasted to the natural world and its systems. God to the pantheist is a non-supernatural term for nature, the universe and the laws that govern its workings.

…

Pantheism is sexed-up atheism; deism is watered-down theism.

posted by Jeff Ventura in consciousness, humans, mysticism, philosophy, religion, science, spirituality 

comments

6 Responses to “a re-acquaintance with the terminology”

  1. Deron Bauman on March 9th, 2008 at 11:02 am

    I like that. And by the way Jeff, you’ve stumbled — innocently? — onto one of the essential clusterflock memes.

  2. Deron Bauman on March 9th, 2008 at 11:03 am

    you’re sure to be writing about donkeys next.

  3. Jeff Ventura on March 9th, 2008 at 11:07 am

    Deron: totally innocently. I’m too new and dumb and naive and stupid to do it by design…

    …right?

  4. Deron Bauman on March 9th, 2008 at 11:10 am

    we’ll be watching you Jeff, if you write about donkeys, the big lebowski, jumping over drums, apostrophes, squirrels, cocks, or really any of a dozen other things that have been said on this site in the last two and a half years we’ll know you’re up to something.

    btw, will you help Sheila and me make Swedish Imperialists! a clusterflock meme?

  5. Jeff Ventura on March 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Don’t even GET ME STARTED on Swedish Imperialists. Just DON’T.

  6. Andrew Simone on March 9th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

    Good heavens. I couldn’t not look at the comments of this post.

    It brings back so many memories.

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