At this point we know very little about what Paine believed, but we are beginning to see what he did not believe. Paine only mentions three books, really two, for the Christian embraces both the Old and New Testament as one book called the Holy Bible. This is not a discussion comparing the various schemes of world religions, therefore, we will only be examining Paine's disregard for the Bible.
"As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, offer some other observations on the word revelation. Revelation, when applied to religion, means something communicated immediately from God to man. No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication, if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
In response, we must again apply some reason and logic as well as a good definition.
Webster 1828
REVELA'TION, n. [L. revelatus, revelo. See Reveal.]
1. The act of disclosing or discovering to others what was before unknown to them; appropriately, the disclosure or communication of truth to men by God himself, or by his authorized agents, the prophets and apostles.
How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words. Eph 3. 2 Cor 12.
2. That which is revealed; appropriately, the sacred truths which God has communicated to man for his instruction and direction. The revelations of God are contained in the Old and New Testament.
3. The Apocalypse; the last book of the sacred canon, containing the prophecies of St. John.
Let's apply a little logic to Paine's affixing of right ideas to words, "But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only." - Thomas Paine.
Using his reasoning, hypothetically speaking, if I'm walking down the road and find a strange plant, very green, and having three leaves and it seems to be growing on a vine. I examine it closely and discover that this plant causes a very serious rash on every part of the skin it touches. Now that is a revelation to me (one I "sorely" intend to remember), but according to Paine, if I warn you about its characteristics', you are not obliged to believe it because you did not experience it personally. Even if you do believe me, according to Paine, it is not a revelation, but only hearsay. This contradicts reason and again applies new definitions to words in an attempt to add credence to his ideas, he seems to apply this technique often.
According to Paine's reasoning, all the discoveries of Albert Einstein are now only hearsay, and we are not obliged to believe them because we did not discover them personally. Once truth is revealed, it remains truth as long as that truth is with us. Only if we lose that revelation is it necessary to rediscover it.
Paine says in his reasoning that he allows for such a revelation of God, if God so pleases to give one. God has shown great mercy in giving such a revelation, but it was not good enough for Mr. Paine, unless God gave it to him personally. Then Paine demands that having done so, he Paine is not responsibility to tell anyone of the such revelation that God gave, for if he did it would only be hearsay. Paine's reasoning demands of God, that He (God) must give his revelation personally to each and every human being over and over again till the end of time, and that each one has no responsibility to warn anyone else for in doing so they would be spreading hearsay. Theologians who gave their lives studying this revelation would be only spreading hearsay to reveal their discoveries. Any common man when taking the time to consider the ramblings presented in "The Age of Reason" can see the absolute nonsense of his reasoning and utter lack of logic.
"When also I am told that a woman called the Virgin Mary, said, or gave out, that she was with child without any cohabitation with a man, and that her betrothed husband, Joseph, said that an angel told him so, I have a right to believe them or not; such a circumstance required a much stronger evidence than their bare word for it; but we have not even this for neither Joseph nor Mary wrote any such matter themselves; it is only reported by others that they said so it is hearsay upon hearsay, and I do not choose to rest my belief upon such evidence." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
Paine in his attempt to push his reason into reality here pulls a story out of the Gospel narrative and attempts to close the reader's mind to an examination of the sacred text. He could certainly choose not to believe the text, however, he must do so while staring the weight of history in the face.
This is not just an isolated story told by someone, it is attached to ancient documents of which there are thousands of copies in various languages and cultures. The event itself was afore told by even older writers of the Old Testament in the Prophecies concerning the Christ. The account of the Christ, his birth, death, burial, and resurrection is the central theme in the revelation given in the sacred Scriptures. We have 66 books written by over 40 authors over the period of 1,500 years from different aspects of life all speaking the same theme. The weight of these things of course does not necessitate one must believe it, but if you reject it, at least be honest about what you are rejecting.
Isaiah 7:14 ESV
(14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Immanuel meaning God with us)
In the 3rd century BC, the ancient Hebrew writings of the Old Testament were translated into the Greek language. This translation is called the Septuagint and contains the above passage from Isaiah 7:14.
διὰ τοῦτο δώσει κύριος αὐτὸς ὑμῖν σημεῖον ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Εμμανουηλ.
The Septuagint was in use 200+ years before Christ came and became the book that early Christians used and studied before they received the New Testament writings. Having received the New Testament writings, they were combined into the Old and New Testaments to form the Bible as we have now. The quotations in the New Testament that you find from the Old Testament quotes were from the Septuagint, which includes Isaiah 7:14.
Paine's assertion that this Gospel narrative was just conjured up in men's minds from the heathen mythology either demonstrates ignorance of the Christian faith or his total disregard for the truth available to him. In either case, his work is discredited, for one should not attempt to write upon a subject of which he knows nothing about and then must be true to what he does understand. Paine in his work "The Age of Reason" does neither.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
Joh 1:8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
Joh 1:9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
1Jn 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
According to Paine, if God is going to reveal himself to man and offer him redemption through His Son Jesus Christ, he cannot do so in real time and as a historical event. It must not be recorded in history, but be a real event in time every time for every human being who will ever live for that person to be obligated to believe it. That notion itself is utter foolishness and are we to be at the mercy of Mr. Paine and his dictating to God how God must work out the redemption of His own creation!
"It is, however, not difficult to account for the credit that was given to the story of Jesus Christ being the son of God. He was born when the heathen mythology had still some fashion and repute in the world, and that mythology had prepared the people for the belief of such a story." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
"It is curious to observe how the theory of what is called the Christian church sprung out of the tail of the heathen mythology." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
Here, Paine presents an absolute false dichotomy, for to the learned, the Gospel light is blindingly unlike any other descriptive revelation of God that is offered to man.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ESV
(1) Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
(2) and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
(3) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
(4) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
(5) and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
(6) Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
(7) Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
(8) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
There is absolutely no resemblance to any other form of religion or mythology that has ever been offered by the minds of men to be compared to the sacred text of the Old or New Testaments. This only requires one to do some work in examining and comparing the writings. There is only one conclusion one can honestly come to, there is nothing like the Scriptures in content or validity. When presenting his objection, Paine of necessity should have been honest about what he was objecting. It is obvious from the work Paine has little understanding about the things of which he is writing. The result of "The Age of Reason" is to lead people into foolishness and the utter disregard of the truth.
[A response to many of my comments from an agnostic point of view can be found at the following link: Gene's response ]
David is a friend of mine. We first met online years ago and at the time we were both Christians. Although, he was much more devoted, committed and involved in the Christian faith than I. I eventually came to my senses and realized Christianity, like all religions, is nothing more than an adult fairy tale. There has not been one religious writing or book that has been proven to be the “Word of God.” To my knowledge, a God hasn’t written any essays, commentary, or books.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading his blog about Thomas Paine’s “The Age of Reason,” I climbed down from the rafters of my home and sent David a text about his blog. I told David I will respond to his blog but that it may take some time because there is so much to respond to.
I especially rocketed out of my chair when I read his final comment, “The result of “The Age of Reason” is to lead people into foolishness and the utter disregard of the truth.” There is so much wrong with that statement, I must respond.
Check back in a week or two and see my response.