Is it possible to be a Christian deist?

[trotsky]

Definitions from dictionary.com:

deism: belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation

Christian: of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ

Kinda comes down to whether or not the "teachings of Jesus Christ" are a "supernatural revelation." I'd guess that to the vast majority of Christians, since they believe Jesus is also a god, (or IS god, however you want to put it), they definitely are, so it would seem one cannot be a Christian deist.

Thoughts?

[Cartoonist]

1. No

In the first definition, the phrase evidence of reason rules out Xians.

[Voltaire2]

2. There are Christian Atheists.

Christian atheism is a form of cultural Christianity and a system of ethics which draws its beliefs and practices from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament and other sources while rejecting the supernatural claims of Christianity at large. Christian atheism takes many forms: some Christian atheists take a theological position in which the belief in the transcendent or interventionist God is rejected or absent in favor of finding God totally in the world (Thomas J. J. Altizer) while others follow Jesus in a godless world (William Hamilton). Hamilton's Christian atheism is similar to Jesuism

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism

[trotsky]

4. So they reject supernatural revelation AND the notion of a creator god.

Certainly nothing inconsistent with that, unlike someone who claims to be a Christian deist.

[Voltaire2]

10. Altizer (ref in the wiki article) is the source of the famous God Is Dead Time Mag cover.

His version of Christian Atheism is unique in that he thinks that his god existed, created the world (universe) and then in his incarnation as Jesus, self-extincted. He believes no gods exist - now - but that a god existed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._J._Altizer

[trotsky]

13. That's an interesting spin.

Can an all-powerful god will itself out of existence? Maybe it finally tried to create an object too big for it to lift.

[Voltaire2]

15. Why not?

I don’t see any contradiction.

He’s trying to reconcile a modern world where there clearly are no gods with the ancient world where, in his view gods just as clearly not only existed but were present in every day life.

Of course there is a much simpler explanation.

[MineralMan]

3. Well, some people here claim to be both deists and Christians.

The two things seem mutually exclusive to me, really, since the teaching supposedly given by Jesus include a caring, omnipresent deity that is concerned with the daily life of humans. Deism seems to exclude that possibility. It creates an obvious problem.

However, Christianity is very vague, as a religion. Individual claims of Christianity are even more vague, in many cases. The term encompasses all sorts of contradictory ideas and behaviors. For at least one self-described Christian in this group, belief in a "Creator" is all that's needed, along with selective following of various teaching supposedly originating with the Jesus character, who may or may not be a deity himself. It's very confusing, really.

Many of the practical social teachings attributed to Jesus are simply common teaching in almost every culture. So, it's hard to make Jesus their source, since they developed independently in many times and places, including times and place that predate this Jesus character.

Still, if someone says he or she is a Christian, I guess we have to take that person at his or her word. I don't think we have another alternative that doesn't imply that the person is simply "saying the thing that is not."

[trotsky]

5. Yes, I'm generally going to give someone the benefit of the doubt when they claim to be Christian.

I just thought it was interesting how directly contradictory it would be to both claim belief in a god that does not engage in divine revelation, but yet embrace a religion that is directly dependent upon it.

Oh well, no one ever said religion had to be logical.

[MineralMan]

6. Well, some have claimed it to be logical.

I suppose it is, in a circular sort of way...

[Major Nikon]

12. I wouldn't agree the religion is dependent on it

There’s no reference in the synoptic gospels about the divinity of Christ. Hellenistic Jewish literature frequently used the term “son of god”, as a reference to piety, not divinity. Many pre-Nicea Christians didn’t believe in the divinity of Christ. The trinity only became the default view after the Romans started burning books and people who contradicted that doctrine.

[trotsky]

14. True, Paul (the earliest account) never claimed a physical resurrection.

The story definitely evolved. I was surprised at discovering the history my church DIDN'T teach me.

[Major Nikon]

16. They also won't teach that there's no evidence for the trinity in the synoptic gospels

Nor will they teach all the glaring contradictions between gospels, or the factual accounts which are easily disproved. When asked apologists will make up half-fast excuses like "god works in mysterious ways" and "we can't know god's will" right after they just told you how god works and what his will is. Or some will say the bible shouldn't be taken literally, even though the Pope and many denominations do, but then out of the other side of their mouth they will tell you only fake Christians fail to take the bible literally.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. I would question why they say "Christ" and use "Christian", since it means "anointed"

and that requires an interventionist god to do the anointing.

[Lordquinton]

8. Maybe if you're a Webster literalist!

Have to see the true meanings in the dictionary.

[Major Nikon]

11. We all know the dictionary is metaphorical

That’s how deism can be just another form of theism, despite the literal contradiction.

[Major Nikon]

9. Thomas Jefferson essentially was one

Although he never identified with any belief system, he did write favorably about both Christianity and deism while rejecting the divinity of Christ.