Thomas Paine’s Quotes on Religion and Politics Essay (Critical Writing)

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Quotes on religion

Ideas of Deity

Paine’s idea of deity is that the first cause a man can attribute to God is the cause of all things. He rejects the traditional conception that there is a time that a man would have eternal duration. He saw the idea of conceiving and believing that there is no end as outrageous (Paine, The Age of Reason, 2008).

The quote clearly depicts Thomas Paine as a deist but not a theist. He uses the model of enlightenment to purvey his issues on the logic of religion. Thomas Paine criticizes conservative views of religion. Strong in his texts is the belief that the traditional church is a mere creation of humankind and therefore false.

Also, he describes the church as a setup not only to chain but also to frighten them. It aims at monopolizing yield and dominance. Paine was extremely sentimental about how religion maintains things as they are.

It was a way of ensuring that the social structure remains the same. He dismisses the beliefs of the church as an established entity with a single God. His quotes on the duties of the church were insensible (Lucci, 2008).

Traditional Christian values and virtues of justice, mercy and other creeds of the church were an invention according to him (Dolbeare, 2009).

Paine discusses the inconsistencies that are present in the biblical texts. A good example he noted was that the first five books in the Old Testament were quite contradicting. The traditional view that Moses was the author of the books in his view did not hold. He reasons that Moses died before the era of the Pentateuch and contents in these books were irrelevant.

He questions the value of morality in the bible. The descriptions of war and punishment that befall people in the Bible are his base line of argument. God’s morality is in question here as he allows his people to suffer. A French philosopher by the name Voltaire agrees with Paine that this kind of traditional religion could eventually lead to atheism.

Christianity, he says, is a religion that is irrational and would result in immorality. Benjamin Franklin, unlike the two, maintains his conservative views on God and his beliefs in religion. He writes about thanksgiving, loyalty and service to God. All of them, however, agreed on some dogmas about religion (Hentz, 2010).

According to Paine, the nature speaks a universal language that is original and every man can understand it. The language cannot be neither counterfeited nor altered since it is based on original truth confirmed through the senses. Empirically, it is true since there is enough evidence. On this view, Thomas refutes faith to know the world (Paine, The Age of Reason, 2008).

Paine (2008) notes, “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead” (p.84).

He believes that through reasoning man could discover God. Nature spoke a clear language to him that is free from manipulation and contradictions from men. The religious texts were open to exaggeration and forged information since man writes them as God dictates. He argues that science is able to discover phenomena through the senses and therefore offer rational judgement (Corfe, 2007).

Thomas’ ideas are more radical than those of other philosophers mainly due to their presentation, the way he captures his audience and includes all classes. His ideas, as he projects, are exclusive. His inclusion of the less privileged including farmers makes his unique work of other philosophers. Other philosophers were particularly specific to their target audience. That is why he is the most radical liberal of his time (Lucci, 2008).

Political Quotes

Paine. (2009). “These are the times that try men’s souls” (p. 102).

Thomas Paine is particularly radical on the political spectrum. He advocates for true democracy and revolution. Different from the likes of Burke who were conservative valued the meaning of revolution. Burke sees any worth in the French and American Revolutions; in fact, he shows sympathy to the colonists.

He supported the existing tradition as well as the things as they are unlike Paine. Thomas Paine rejects Burke’s ideas on maintaining the social order. He campaigned against the existing social order calling the forming new social order (Paine, The American Crisis, 2006).

Paine continues and notes that the constituents of monarchy exclude a man from empowerment and information that would change him. He sees this as a hindrance against the highest form of judgement. Once this comes to reality, man is likely to rebel against the traditional system of governance (Dolbeare, 2009).

Thomas Paine Revolutionary ideas went a long way in influencing the common’s man’s rights, freedoms and responsibilities. He is famous for enlightening people of their civic tasks and dignity in Europe, America and England. He plays a significant revolutionary role in these continents. He receives credit for naming The United States of America. Napoleon suggests the erecting a gold effigy to honour him (Dolbeare, 2009).

References

Corfe, R. (2007). Deism and Social Ethics. Suffolk: Arena Books.

Dolbeare, K. M. (2009). American Political Thought. Washington: CQ Press.

Hentz, J. M. (2010). The Real Thomas Paine. Mexico: Inverse.

Lucci, D. (2008). Scripture and Deism. Bern: Peter Lang.

Paine, T. (2006). The American Crisis. Fairford: Echo Library.

Paine, T. (2008). The Age of Reason. Sioux Falls: NuVision Publications.

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