A Classical Deist Creed

by Lewis Loflin

Deism’s not some vague New Age mush or French atheist stunt—it’s a rational creed, rooted in nature and reason, not revelation’s fairy tales. Here’s what it stands for, straight from its English origins and American backbone, not the twisted mess of Voltaire or Rousseau. Let’s cut the noise.

The Creed: Five Tenets

Lord Herbert of Cherbury nailed it in De Veritate (1624)—five points that define classical Deism (see English Deism). This isn’t pantheism or humanism—it’s reason meeting a real Creator:

• One Supreme God: A single, intelligent cause behind nature’s design—no trinity, no idols.
• Reverence Due: Worship’s owed—not groveling, but respect for the universe’s maker.
• Morality as Worship: Virtue’s the real prayer—live right, not just mouth words.
• Repentance for Justice: Screw up, own it—forgiveness comes through fixing yourself.
• Afterlife Accountability: Life’s not a free-for-all—justice hits in the next round.

This is Deism’s spine—Herbert’s logic, not Voltaire’s “watchmaker” or Rousseau’s state-god crap.

Founders’ Echo

America’s big guns—Jefferson, Franklin—lived this. Jefferson’s 1823 letter to Adams: “It’s impossible… not to perceive design… in every atom” (Jefferson Cyclopedia, here)—reason proves a “fabricator.” Franklin, 1790 to Stiles: “One God… governs by His Providence… soul’s immortal” (DAR, Vol. 106). Their “Nature’s God” (Declaration) leans on Blackstone’s Christian natural law (see Blackstone), not French radicalism (see French Deism).

No aloof deity here—God’s active, not meddling. Paine’s Age of Reason trashed scripture but kept a Creator and afterlife (see Paine). This creed built liberty, not guillotines.

French Distortion

French “Deism” went off the rails—Voltaire’s elitist scorn (see Voltaire) and Rousseau’s sleazy “general will” (see Rousseau) birthed chaos, not reason. The Cult of Reason (1792-94) and Robespierre’s Supreme Being (1794) were theater—atheism or state-worship, not Herbert’s creed (see Cult of Reason). Modern “Deists” on the web ape this—pantheism or humanism, not the real deal (see Pantheism).

Why It Holds

This creed’s no philosophy salad—it’s nature and logic, backed by Paul’s Romans 1:20: “God’s invisible things… seen through what’s made.” Jefferson saw design; Franklin saw justice. It’s English Deism’s win—reform over ruin (see Origins). French junk—Voltaire’s cynicism, Rousseau’s blood—flopped. Join us at Classical Deism Facebook.