Toward A Christian Worldview - Faith Presbyterian Church Reformed

Chapter 4: False Philosophical Systems
utter despair (Friedrich Nietzsche) or to irrationalism (Søren Kierkegaard
{5} ).
Deism
Deists (Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin), recognizing that
there is a need for a creator of the existing universe, maintain that
there is a god who creates the world. But this god remains transcendent;
he does not enter into the affairs of his creation. This god is not
the immanent God of Biblical Christianity. The god of Deism is similar
to the “watchmaker,” who, after having made his watch, sits back
and lets it run itself. And the universe runs according to “natural law.”
The god of Deism is usually “one” in essence and “one” in person;
he is an absolute unity. It is not surprising, then, to learn that Unitarianism
grew out of Deism. A consistent Deist might praise his god,
but he would not pray to him. Because this god does not enter into the
everyday affairs of men. In Deism, there is no special revelation, there
is only general revelation. Any system of ethics in Deism, then, must
come from “natural law,” or that which is common in human nature.
In a Deistic worldview, reason and science are the primary “tools” of
life.
Finite Theism
Finite theism, espoused by such men as E.S. Brightman, William
James, and Rabbi Harold Kushner, posits the existence of a finite god.
He is limited in his perfections or attributes. He may be omnibenevo-
5. Soren Kierkegaard is considered by some to be a “Christian existentialist.”
There are some scholars who consider him to be the father of existentialism.
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