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Deism: Difference between revisions
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== Literature ==
* Used by [[Arthur C. Clarke (Creator)]] as the prevailing religion in the last installment of his ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' novels. Sort of. Everyone in ''3001'' believes "as little as possible", and the big split is between Theists, who believe "in at least one god", and Deists, who believe "in at most one god".
** Whether Clarke intended this or not, it's actually a pretty good definition. Deists believe in one god or none, depending on whether an inactive god "counts" as such -- but not more than one, because if God is outside space and time and doesn't do anything, if there were two of Him, what would make them distinct?
** Also used in the [[Rendezvous With Rama|Rama Series]], although again it's not really present until the last installment, ''Rama Revealed'' (and a little bit in ''The Garden of Rama''). The creatures who built Rama did so as part of a project to collect life from all over the universe, to learn about God's plan for it, and are committed Deists.
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=== Tropes ===
* [[The American Revolution]]: Deism would probably be almost completely forgotten today, if not for the fact that many leaders of the American Revolution considered themselves Deists. As philosophically-minded, anti-establishment figures in the 18th century, it's practically certain that at least a few of them would be. While exact numbers are hard to pin down and the [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment]] applies, it's unquestionable that [[Thomas Jefferson]] took it upon himself to edit supernatural elements out of [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]], and [[Ben Franklin]] found Deism so persuasive it led to a good quote for [[Straw Man Has a Point]].
* [[Have You Seen My God?]] : practically the [[Trope Maker]].
* [[Older Than Feudalism]] : associated with the Enlightenment, but the idea originates in Ancient Greece.
* [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]] : Much Deist literature is about how silly are theistic ideas of revelations, miracles, talking snakes, virgin births, etc.
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