They believed in God as the only being superior to man; but they claimed that, having created man, God left him to pursue his own course. They argued that an overruling Providence sustaining the machinery of the universe, and a foreknowledge of events would deprive man of free moral agency, and lower him to the position of a slave. They therefore disconnected the Creator from the creature, maintaining that man was independent of a higher influence; that his destiny was in his own hands. Denying as they did that the Spirit of God worked through human efforts, or natural means, they still held that man, through the proper employment of his own natural powers, could become elevated and enlightened, and that his life could be purified by rigorous and austere exactions. {3SP 44.3}

De troede på Gud som det (45) eneste væsen, der var ypperligere end mennesker; men de påstod, at efter at Gud havde skabt mennesket, overlod han det til at styre for sig selv. De sluttede, at et forsyn, som regerede og opholdt verdensaltet og som forud kendte alle begivenheder, ville berøve mennesket dets frie vilje og nedværdige det til en slaves stilling. De adskilte derfor Skaberen fra skabningen og fastholdt, at mennesket var uafhængigt af enhver højere indflydelse, og at det rådede over sin egen skæbne. De nægtede, at Guds Ånd virkede gennem menneskelige bestræbelser eller ved naturlige midler, og påstod, at mennesket ved hjælp af sine egne naturlige evner kunne forædles og opfyldes, og at livet kunne blive renset ved strenge bods handlinger.