User:Xango banango/Practical Theism

Practical Theism' refers to the beleif that there is a God, Gods or higher powers however the exact nature of those beings is unceratain. Practical Theism emphasises the practical advantages of ones interaction with the higher power through prayer, meditation and trust rather than dogmatic adherence to a particular creed or book. Practical Theism empahsises the inate nature of morality in the form of virtue and is open to the possibiity of the after life though does not assert any specific beleifs about it. William James refers to practical theism in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience. The Twelve-step program takes a practical theistic approach which is emphasised in step 3: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

Subjective nature of it. Derived from natural theology to personal experience.

"In other words, philosophic theism has always shown a tendency to become pantheistic and monistic, and to consider the world as one unit of absolute fact; and this has been at variance with popular or practical theism, which latter has ever been more or less frankly pluralistic, not to say polytheistic, and shown itself perfectly well satisfied with a universe composed of many original principles, provided we be only allowed to believe that the divine principle remains supreme, and that the others are subordinate." The Varieties of Religious Experience Lectures VI and VII