Deism / Deist: One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason. God is personal and transcendent but not immanent. He is a sort of "remote control" God. He "pushed a button" to create everythng and now passively watches what happens. This view acknowledges God but denies supernational intervention in the universe.
Providence: Divine guidance or care. God of Providence: God conceived of as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny.
Ben Franklin is one of the 55 Framers of the Constitution - (See my profile page). He was a Christian in his youth, Deist in later years, then back to his Puritan background in his old age
His June 28, 1787 prayer at the Constitutional Convention was from no "Deist", to wit: "We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that built it.' I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel." Benjamin Franklin, at the Constitutional Convention, 6-28-1787.
I report; the reader may decide who refuted whom, who is intellectually honest, and whether or not Franklin's prayer for God's "aid" was the prayer of a "Deist", or that of a believer whose God is the God of Providence.
Mylo: "Thanks for playing."
As you have seen, I don't "play". bttt