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Introduction to Deism and the New Testament
Welcome back to Bible Student Languages. Today, we’re gonna take a look at the idea of deism, either for or against deism in the New Testament. Deism is a belief that God does exist, but is not a personal God. He creates or winds up the grandfather clock, so to speak, and then steps back and watches as everything plays out without directly intervening. Those who believe in deism would say that God created the universe, but likely would not say that God directly interferes with creation. Jesus would not be God, prophets would not be from God, but we can reason that there is a watchmaker because there is an intelligent universe.
With that, let’s take a look at, I would not say a possible influence, but some ideas that are used for and against the idea of deism in the New Testament. Acts 17:24. We’ll take a look at the intermediate Greek, and then Matthew 10:29, against the idea of deism. We’ll take a look at the original Greek as well.
Acts 17:24 – God’s Relationship to the World
So, Acts 17:24, in its original intermediate Greek says this:
Hoteos, of or seeing uranu of heaven, seeing that he is of heaven, ke and gaze and the earth. So he is of heaven and earth, or over created heaven and earth. Curious, the Lord.
Hipparchon is uknat in, which is in, keropoitos, the things made with hands, and those things are naeos, temples, katoike, duels.
In other words, God who has made everything that you can see in heaven and on earth, that Lord is not in things made with human hands dwelling, or temples made with human hands dwelling.
Now, the point of Acts 17:24 here is that God himself is not confined to a human temple. However, someone who believes in deism might use this verse to say that because God is set apart from the universe, he does not dwell in human temples. In fact, he cannot limit himself to any kind of human interpretation or human analogy. And so because of that, he does not interact with creation, cannot interact with creation, and therefore cannot in any sense dwell in a temple made with human hands.
With that, I don’t think that’s what Acts 17 is saying, but instead is saying that God is not himself limited or limited by any outside factors to dwelling in something made by human hands, although he may himself limit himself so that we can understand or perceive him.
Matthew 10:29 – God’s Intimate Care for Creation
And Matthew 10:29 argues directly against deism that God is set apart from the universe and does not interact with it. It says,
Or in other words, one of them cannot fall to the ground without your father knowing about it. And so, what Matthew is arguing here is that God understands, knows, and cares about even the smallest bits of creation, even the things that are only sold for a penny or a dollar, things that are not valued by humans, but God values them, watches over them, and interacts with them. How much more must God value you and desire to interact directly with you? This verse right here directly argues against deism.
Conclusion and Invitation
So with that, hope you enjoyed the video. If you have any thoughts about it, agree, disagree, please leave them in the comments down below and I hope to see you next time. Here are some more videos YouTube thinks you’ll enjoy and hey, if you made it all the way to the end, consider subscribing, leaving a like, or letting me know your thoughts down in the comments below. Can’t wait to see you next time.
