In this episode we look at the 3 forces Charles Taylor proposes as fuelling the rise of deism:

-the success of the order project, the mentality that "we can do it on our own"

-continuation of the ideals of the reformation, the decline of the mysterious and heroic as the ordinary vocations are affirmed

-reaction against the 'juridicial-penal' model, where self-interest came to be accepted as good in a rejection of the "depraved humanity" of Jansenism

We discuss what was it may have been like for the individual and their life of faith living in this period of transition, as well as the response of theologians through theodicy (giving an account for God). Taylor sums up this response when he says "Now that we think we see how it all works... [people begin discussing divine justice] and the theologians begin to feel that this is the challenge they must meet to fight back the coming wave of unbelief" (p. 233).

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor: (226-234)

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