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Thomas Paine
Born: January 29, 1737 - Thetford, Norfolk, England
Died: June 8, 1809 - New York City, New York
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Famous For:
During
the American Revolutionary War, Paine wrote pamphlets entitled The
American Crisis. It is said George Washington impressed enough
to have the pamphlets read to the troops hoping they would also be
inspired enough to endure. This included the famous
phrase: "These are the times that try men's souls...."
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Humanist Idea:
Some would
say with a mother who was a member of the Church of England and a
father who was a Quaker, it is no wonder Paine advocated a liberal
world view. He had no use for royalty and viewed government as
a "necessary evil." He was an outspoken critic
of organized religion. His pamphlet, Age of Reason
(1794) was written while he was in prison and thought he would soon
be put to death. It is his assault against organized
religion.
"The opinions I have advanced....are
the effect of the most clear and long-established conviction that
the Bible and the Testament are impositions upon the world, that the
fall of man, the account of Jesus Christ being the Son of God, and
of his dying to appease the wrath of God, and of salvation by that
strange means, are all fabulous inventions, dishonorable to the
wisdom and power of the Almighty; that the only true religion is Deism,
by which I then meant and mean now, the belief of one God, and an
imitation of his moral character, or the practice of what we moral
virtues--and that is upon this only (so far as religion is
concerned) that I rested all my hopes of happiness." (Age
of Reason - 1794)
The story goes that when he was in prison,
having been sentenced to death, a prison guard went around marking
the cell doors with chalk for those to be put to death.
Paine's cell door was open because a physician was treating
him. The physician left closing the cell door behind
him. The chalk mark ended up on the inside. Paine was
thus spared because there was no chalk mark on the outside of his
cell.
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| Deism
- the belief in a God or First Cause based on reason rather
than faith, distinguishing it from theism. Deism is usually
synonymous with "natural religion" in 18th century
Enlightenment writings. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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Noted Sayings:
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer
soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the
love and thanks of man and woman."
(The American Crisis no. 1 (December 23, 1776))
"‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he
whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will
pursue his principles unto death."
(The American Crisis no. 1 (December 23, 1776))
"My country is the
world and my religion is to do good." (The Rights of Many Pt II (1792), ch 5)
"When authors and critics talk of the sublime, they see not
how nearly it borders on the ridiculous."
(The Age of Reason
(1793), Pt II, Note.)
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