As I recently noted, Deism is neglected in Christian apologetics. That's because most folks either convert from atheism to Christianity, or Christianity to atheism (or some other religious alternative, like Islam or Judaism).
I'd like to briefly note a basic problem with that position: there's no specific evidence for Deism.
On the one hand, evidence for the existence of a divine Creator, although consistent with Deism, is equally consistent with Christian theism.
On the other hand, the alleged lack of evidence for divine activity in natural history and human history, although consistent with Deism, is equally consistent with atheism.
So there's no line of evidence that singles out Deism. It falls between the cracks.
Conversely, there's an abundance of specific evidence for Christian theism.
Hume thought design arguments fit better with deism, because of the problem of evil. He thought we have good reason not to think an all-powerful God cares about us enough to justify theism, but he also thought design arguments had enough going for them that they justify deism. This also seems to have been Flew's view in his last years.
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