In 1794, one of the United States Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine distributed his writings to the general public called, The Age of Reason. Its a pamphlet written by British and American revolution Thomas Paine himself, that challenges institutionalize and organized religion and also the legitimacy of the Christian Bible, the central text of Christianity. It was a bestseller across the United States, where it caused a short lived deistic revival. British audiences, however, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French Revolution, received it with more hostility, The Age of Reason presents common deistic arguments, for example, it showcases what Paine saw as corruption and shady-ethics of the Christian Church and scrutinizes its efforts to acquire political power (theocracy). Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as an ordinary piece of literature rather than as divine inspired text. It also promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a creator-God. Most of Thomas Paines arguments and writings had long been available to the educated elite, but by presenting them in an engaging and irreverent style, he made deism appealing and accessible to a mass audience. Fearing the spread of what they viewed as potentially revolutionary ideas, the British government prosecuted printers and booksellers who tried to publish and distribute Thomas Paines book!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 17:20:14 +0000
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