I recently read an article on The Gospel Coalition blog that was titled, Deists who love Jesus (and talk like Freud). I found it to be really enlightening and relevant to many discussions that I've had lately. One of the most important parts, the part that grabbed my attention, was a definition of something called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Here are a set of beliefs associated with this form of deism:
- A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
- God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
- The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
- God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life, except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
- Good people go to heaven when they die.
What I find to be alarming about this set of beliefs is that so many people I know, who would call themselves Christians, would hold to these beliefs. I have talked to countless teenagers who would hold to these beliefs. The majority of people that I meet would hold to these beliefs.
What about you? Are you a Christian or a Moral Therapeutic Deist?