Let me begin by apologizing for the lack of substance in the following post. Mr. Paine's logic and reasoning were so absurd it should not be necessary to critique them. However, the following chapters were in his work, so as useless at the time was, it was necessary to work through them.
In chapter 14 Mr. Paine gives a primitive description of the Universe with the knowledge that would have been available to him in his time and commits on the benefits of this world to man and attributes it all the God's creation."Having thus endeavored to convey, in a familiar and easy manner, some idea of the structure of the universe, I return to explain what I before alluded to, namely, the great benefits arising to man in consequence of the Creator having made a plurality of worlds, such as our system is, consisting of a central Sun and six worlds, besides satellites, in preference to that of creating one world only of a vast extent." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
In chapter 15 he continues to commit upon the plurality of worlds in the creation and the wonder and awe it should give us of the creator. It appears Mr. Paine is content to believe in a god and speak of his glories as long as it is one of his own understanding and not the Christian God.
"As therefore the Creator made nothing in vain, so also must it be believed that he organized the structure of the universe in the most advantageous manner for the benefit of man; and as we see, and from experience feel, the benefits we derive from the structure of the universe, formed as it is, which benefits we should not have had the opportunity of enjoying if the structure, so far as relates to our system, had been a solitary globe, we can discover at least one reason why a plurality of worlds has been made, and that reason calls forth the devotional gratitude of man, as well as his admiration." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
He then makes reference to inhabitants of other worlds gaining and benefiting from the same creation. It appears he believed there was life on the other planets observing our world as we observed theirs. It is unclear where he got this idea from, I did a quick search and could not find anywhere where this was a popular view.
"Neither does the knowledge stop here. The system of worlds next to us exhibits, in its revolutions, the same principles and school of science, to the inhabitants of their system, as our system does to us, and in like manner throughout the immensity of space." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
In chapter 16 Mr. Paine levels the accusation that this knowledge of the universe renders the Christian faith irrelevant. However, he offers no explanation or reason for this. A vague allusion to the Christian system holding to only one world without any explanation of what he means by that statement.
"But such is the strange construction of the Christian system of faith, that every evidence the heavens affords to man, either directly contradicts it or renders it absurd." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
In chapter 17, he suggests there are three means by which people are deceived into believing a religion.
"Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
Beginning with Mystery, Mr. Paine launches into an illogical form of reasoning attempting to separate truth from mystery. Saying truth can never be shrouded in mystery, of which at this point we are assuming he is still speaking of the Christian system. He then attempts to suggest there is no mystery in God as he understands him. Is it not a strange form of reason that accounts all of Creation to a god and yet finds no mystery in that? All of his reasoning at this point is truly the mystery, for no reasonable or logical understanding can be arrived from them. Every truth is a mystery to us until it is discovered.
"The God in whom we believe is a God of moral truth, and not a God of mystery or obscurity. Mystery is the antagonist of truth. It is a fog of human invention that obscures truth, and represents it in distortion. Truth never envelops itself in mystery; and the mystery in which it is at any time enveloped, is the work of its antagonist, and never of itself. Religion, therefore, being the belief of a God, and the practice of moral truth, cannot have connection with mystery. The belief of a God, so far from having anything of mystery in it, is of all beliefs the most easy, because it arises to us, as is before observed, out of necessity." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
Moving next to Miracles, he again launches in absurd reasonings about everything being a miracle, making comparisons with elephants and mites suggesting one is as big a miracle as the other. His complete discourse on miracles appears nothing but foolish musing of a mind that has no reference upon which to begin. I digress to comment further and just leave you to read it yourself if you are doubtful.
"The story of the whale swallowing Jonah, though a whale is large enough to do it, borders greatly on the marvellous; but it would have approached nearer to the idea of a miracle, if Jonah had swallowed the whale. In this, which may serve for all cases of miracles, the matter would decide itself as before stated, namely, Is it more probable that a man should have swallowed a whale, or told a lie? But suppose that Jonah had really swallowed the whale, and gone with it in his belly to Nineveh, and to convince the people that it was true have cast it up in their sight, of the full length and size of a whale, would they not have believed him to have been the devil instead of a prophet? or if the whale had carried Jonah to Nineveh, and cast him up in the same public manner, would they not have believed the whale to have been the devil, and Jonah one of his imps?" - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
When he then moves on to Prophecy he reverts back to his previous arguments that the meaning of the word prophecy had been deceptively changed to mislead us. He then continues on with illogical reasons that leave you with nothing of substance.
"Everything unintelligible was prophetical, and everything insignificant was typical. A blunder would have served for a prophecy; and a dish-clout for a type." - Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason)
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