By Lewis Loflin
As a Classical Deist, I approach religion without the hostility of modern internet Deists or the radical skepticism of the French Enlightenment’s extremist Deism. My focus lies in the history and origins of religions, particularly those that shaped Western thought and culture—Judaism, Christianity, Hellenism, and Zoroastrianism. This naturally draws me to the Bible, not as a believer, but as a student of its influence.
I’m not a Christian—never have been—so I don’t carry the emotional baggage of ex-Christians turned hostile. My rejection of what I call “Paulism” stems from a straightforward reading of the Bible: the Old Testament, as written, undermines the New Testament’s claims. The Jews were right to dismiss Paul, its primary architect. See my analysis in Apostle Paul: Founder of Christianity.
I don’t accept authority based on blind faith—be it religious institutions, prophets, or holy men claiming visions, dreams, or guidance from invisible spirits. Paul rewrote Judaism through such means, leaning on an unseen Holy Spirit suddenly equal to God. I’m not convinced. Jesus, though, was a real figure—a 1st-century Jew in what’s now Israel (I stick to BC and AD, not BCE). He wasn’t Zoroaster, Mithra, or Buddha, as some assert, despite Jewish exposure to Greek and Zoroastrian ideas via Persian, Greek, and Roman rule.
Those empires—especially after Alexander the Great conquered Persia—didn’t meddle much in local faiths but fostered idea exchange through trade and movement. Hellenism, thriving in Alexandria and Asia Minor, challenged Judaism with new concepts, as seen in 1 and 2 Maccabees. Jesus’ apocalyptic sect fused Zoroastrian and post-Exile Jewish ideas with national hopes—a military-religious leader to oust pagan rulers and establish God’s kingdom, per Zechariah 9:10. That figure wasn’t meant to die on a cross.
Paul’s Christ—born of visions—bears little resemblance to that Jesus. The Trinity smacks of Gnostic-Platonist roots, not Jewish tradition. Paul, steeped in Hellenistic culture (see Hellenism), opposed Jewish norms much like Secular Humanism resists traditional American values today. His risen man-god breaches the Ten Commandments’ first three rules. For a historical Jesus, I lean on the Gospel of Mark and parts of Acts—a human, perhaps God-inspired, who saw himself as the Jewish Messiah. He misjudged, crossed the Romans, and was crucified for sedition.
The Temple, run by Roman-appointed Sadducees—cultural liberals akin to today’s progressive Judaism or Protestantism—clashed with fundamentalist Pharisees, like modern Evangelicals. Matthew, Mark, and Luke paint Jesus as a Pharisee. Paul, no Pharisee but a Gnostic-leaning Roman citizen, worked as the Sadducees’ enforcer. His Jesus, and John’s, reflects Hellenistic religious syncretism. By the 2nd century, Christianity split from Judaism, claiming the Hebrew God’s authority while ditching the God Himself.
My work explores this swirl of Hellenism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity—presenting views to spark thought, not push beliefs. Faith is personal; everyone should chart their own path. But I draw a line at historical revisionism, propaganda, or political agendas twisting religion for power or suppressing others. I oppose both religious fundamentalism and Secular Humanist dogma on those grounds.
We have a right to freedom *of* religion—not *from* it, nor from being offended. “Separation of church and state” isn’t in the Constitution; the state must stay neutral, not favor secular dogma over faith. Banning forced prayer in schools makes sense—kids are captive—but barring it at sports events or public meetings, where one can opt out, is overreach. Balance, not extremes, is the goal.
Ben Franklin, a tolerant abolitionist, captured Classical Deism’s essence:
Here is my creed. I believe in One God, the Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we can render Him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion.
Classical Deism seeks to reform and modernize belief systems—not erase or replace them. So why do modern internet Deists reject Franklin and Jefferson’s views, yet claim their authority for their own inventions? It’s akin to Christians invoking the Hebrew God while peddling Paul’s Gnostic twist—hostile to Deism as Paul was to Judaism.
I cover Judaism, Christianity, Hellenism, Zoroastrianism, and their offshoots—valuable yet flawed traditions. Each offers insights and pitfalls; the choice is yours. Below are key resources:
The following extracts from A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction by William C. Placher (© 1983) are presented for educational purposes only, with all rights retained by the owner. Split into sections for clarity:
The following extracts from A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction by William C. Placher (© 1983) are presented for educational purposes only, with all rights retained by the owner:
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this page. The final edits and perspective are my own.
