In the previous blog “…. everything happens for a reason..” one of the assertions that were made is that some form of divine intervention may be present in event outcomes. The following blog will briefly outline the philosophical and  / or religious views of Theism and Deism. It should be noted that there exist sub-divisions within these views, however, will not be elaborated on, in this blog. Atheism, amongst others, is not explored at this juncture (Robinson, Sa).

A philosophical and / or religious belief could be influenced by the understanding of Theism and Deism. The understanding of divine intervention could be subjective and the interpretation of the cause or outcome may depend, amongst others, on a person’s belief of Theism and Deism, moreover, what choice will be taken would be based on that experience.

Deism came to the fore during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, being practised in Europe mostly by persons of academia. Subsequently, Deism also made its way to America. The premise behind Deism is that God exists and created the universe to a perfect state that encompassed science and moral laws and thus the foundations for a perfect universe had been completed that would not require any form of divine intervention. Foregoing, God “is separate from, and above, his creation”. Since he is inherent after the time of creation in all things, no intervention is required. Consequently,  miracles are not believed in and prayer is also not useful.

Theism, their believers conversely believe that God is superior, separate from his creation, but, remains an active participant in the laws of nature and is thus open to listening to prayers, whereby persons can offer their gratitude and requests for assistance. Common knowledge is the qualities of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresent, and all-loving assigned to God.

In conclusion, the above views discussed are just some of the philosophical / religious views expressed, however, the belief could be based on personal mystical experiences, that transcend that of religion with some basis of rationale. Such experiences are not based on any form of practice, or rituals, but on what happened through the experience and where it took the individual (Carmody & Carmody, 1996:4).

Source:

Carmody, D.L. & Carmody, J.T. 1996. Mysticism: Holiness East and West. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Robinson, B.A. Sa. Four main beliefs about the nature of God: Deism, Panentheism, Pantheism & Theism. Available at: https://www.theosophical.org/files/events/MahatmaLetters/About_God.pdf (Accessed 31 July 2023).