"Putting then aside, as matter of distinct consideration, the outrage offered to the moral justice of God, by supposing him to make the innocent suffer for the guilty, and also the loose morality and low contrivance of supposing him to change himself into the shape of a man, in order to make an excuse to himself for not executing his supposed sentence upon Adam; putting, I say, those things aside as matter of distinct consideration, it is certain that what is called the christian system of faith, including in it the whimsical account of the creation—the strange story of Eve, the snake, and the apple—the amphibious idea of a man-god—the corporeal idea of the death of a god-—the mythological idea of a family of gods, and the christian system of arithmetic, that three are one, and one is three, are all irreconcilable, not only to the divine gift of reason, that God has given to man, but to the knowledge that man gains of the power and wisdom of God by the aid of the sciences, and by studying the structure of the universe that God has made." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
In this section of Mr. Paine's work, he writes several preseeding paragraphs inferring that true learning is not derived from the study of languages but science. He seems to build upon the fact the Greek culture thrived in the sciences and that they never ventured into the study of other languages. He then attempts to build the case it was the Christian system that promoted the study of languages to detour the learning of the sciences. He suggests the Christians did this because the Sciences were discovering truths about our world that were undermining the myth of Christianity. He then rambles back into his rant concerning the Genesis account and the foolishness of the incarnation of Christ. Why he felt it necessary to insert this odd reference that seems completely off-topic is quite strange. He apparently was truly disturbed by the Genesis account and takes every opportunity, or as here, creates an opportunity to impune it. His spiritual discernment of the text in question is set at zero, his understanding of substitutionary atonement is none existent.
He proceeds again contradicting himself and arguing against his previous statements. Here in the section, he states:
"Almost all the scientific learning that now exists, came to us from the Greeks, or the people who spoke the Greek language. It, therefore, became necessary to the people of other nations, . . . in order that the learning the Greeks had might be made known in those nations, by translating the Greek books of science and philosophy into the mother tongue of each nation." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
However, in a previous section he states:
". . . every man who knows anything of languages, knows that it is impossible to translate from one language into another, not only without losing a great part of the original but frequently of mistaking the sense; . . ." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
The reality and consistency of this work are left in question by his misrepresentation, contractions, and lack of knowledge concerning his subject.
"Later times have laid all the blame upon the Goths and Vandals, but, however unwilling the partizans of the Christian system may be to believe or to acknowledge it, it is nevertheless true, that the age of ignorance commenced with the Christian system." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
Mr. Paine continues writing as though his understanding of the world and its systems is commonly known by all but the Christians who refuse to acknowledge it. However, again we find things are not as Mr. Paine suggests. Alfred North Whitehead and J. Robert Oppenheimer, both renowned philosophers and scientists of our era and who are not Christians themselves, suggest modern science was born out of the Christian worldview. Whitehead said that Christianity is the "mother of science." Entomologist Stanley Beck, also not a Christian, acknowledged the foundational premises of science which the Judeo-Christian world view offers: "The first of the unprovable premises on which science has been based is the belief that the world is real and the human mind is capable of knowing its real nature. The second and best-known postulate underlying the structure of scientific knowledge is that of cause and effect. The third basic scientific premise is that nature is unified." In other words, the epistemological foundation of technology has been the Judeo-Christian worldview presented in the Bible. Among the early scientists of note who held the Biblical creationist worldview are Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), and Samuel Morse (1791-1872).
The reader, if he has any understanding of the Christian system at all by now has discovered this work has nothing to do with reason at all. It is filled with misconceptions along with the formation and use of false dichotomies set forth to make unsubstantiated arguments against the Christian faith. Not a single argument so far has any relevance or substance by which one can observe or test as true or false. It is no more than the age-old contradictions of the philosophies on Mars Hill cast in the face of the Apostle Paul.
Acts 17:16-34 ESV
(16) Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
(17) So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
(18) Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
(19) And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
(20) For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
(21) Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
(22) So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
(23) For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
(24) The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
(25) nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
(26) And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
(27) that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
(28) for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
(29) Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
(30) The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
(31) because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
(32) Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
(33) So Paul went out from their midst.
(34) But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
