The Age of Reason / Edition 1

The Age of Reason / Edition 1

by Thomas Paine
ISBN-10:
0879752734
ISBN-13:
9780879752736
Pub. Date:
01/01/1984
Publisher:
Prometheus Books
ISBN-10:
0879752734
ISBN-13:
9780879752736
Pub. Date:
01/01/1984
Publisher:
Prometheus Books
The Age of Reason / Edition 1

The Age of Reason / Edition 1

by Thomas Paine
$19.99 Current price is , Original price is $19.99. You
$19.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores
  • SHIP THIS ITEM

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Please check back later for updated availability.


Overview

"Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst," declared Thomas Paine, adding, "every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we live in; but this attempts to stride beyond the grave, and seeks to pursue us into eternity." Paine's years of study and reflection on the role of religion in society culminated with his final work, The Age of Reason. This coolly reasoned polemic influenced religious thinking throughout the world at the dawn of the nineteenth century, and its resonance remains undiminished by time. The selfsame humanist and egalitarian views that made Paine a popular figure of the American Revolution brought him into frequent conflict with political authorities. Parts of The Age of Reason were written in a French jail, where Paine was confined for his opposition to the execution of Louis XVI. An attack on revealed religion from the deist point of view -- embodied by Paine's credo, "I believe in one God, and no more" -- this work undertakes a hitherto unheard-of approach to Bible study. Its critical and objective examination of Old and New Testaments cites numerous contradictions as evidence against literal interpretations of the text. Well articulated and eminently readable, The Age of Reason is a classic of free thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780879752736
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publication date: 01/01/1984
Series: Great Books in Philosophy
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 194
Sales rank: 316,968
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

THOMAS PAINE was born in Thetford, England, on January 29, 1737. He was forced to leave school early to enter his father's trade of stay-making; but Paine rejected this and, following unsatisfying attempts at several other professions, he emigrated to the American colonies, arriving in Philadelphia in November 1774. On Benjamin Franklin's recommendation, Paine was hired for six months as managing editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine, to which he contributed various poems and essays.

During this time of growing dissent within the colonies, Paine first called for a reconciliation with England; however, after the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, he became a tireless propagandist for separation and, in January 1776, published his pamphlet Common Sense. This work, which was first published anonymously, and his American Crisis exercised a profound influ-ence on public opinion and morale.

Following the War of Independence Paine returned to England where he was welcomed as a celebrity; the accolades soon ceased, however, with the publication of the Rights of Man (1791), a defense of the French Revolution meant to be a reply to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. Forced to leave England due to the public outcry his book had occasioned, Paine traveled to France, where he was granted citizenship. However, after he spoke out in defense of the deposed king Louis XVI, Paine was im-prisoned in 1793 and nearly executed. While in prison, Paine began composing his statement of religious belief, The Age of Reason. Although pilloried as a declaration of atheism, The Age of Reason actually espoused deism: Paine rejected the inerrancy of the Bible and disputed revelation. The God who had created the universe had given humankind the gift of reason which it would apply to the management of its own affairs and the discovery of the physical universe.

Paine returned to the United States in 1802; while welcomed by President Thomas Jefferson, the former champion of liberty was ostracized by many as that "outrageous blasphemer." Never-theless, the influence of The Age of Reason began to grow as the nineteenth century progressed and freethought challenged out-dated religious beliefs.

Thomas Paine died in New York City on June 8, 1809.

Table of Contents

Part I.
Title-Page to the Original Paris Editionv
Dedicationvii
Editor's Introduction1
Chapter I.The Author's Profession of Faith21
Chapter II.Of Missions and Revelations23
Chapter III.Concerning the Character of Jesus Christ, and His History26
Chapter IV.Of the Bases of Christianity28
Chapter V.Examination in Detail of the Preceding Bases30
Chapter VI.Of the True Theology31
Chapter VII.Examination of the Old Testament32
Chapter VIII.Of the New Testament38
Chapter IX.In What the True Revelation Consists45
Chapter X.Concerning God, and the Lights Cast on his Existence and Attributes by the Bible47
Chapter XI.Of the Theology of the Christians; and the True Theology50
Chapter XII.The Effects of Christianism on Education. Proposed Reforms55
Chapter XIII.Comparison of Christianism with the Religious Ideas Inspired by Nature62
Chapter XIV.System of the Universe68
Chapter XV.Advantages of the Existence of Many Worlds in Each Solar System72
Chapter XVI.Application of the Preceding to the System of the Christians73
Chapter XVII.Of the Means Employed in All Time, and Almost Universally, to Deceive the People75
Recapitulation83
Part II.
Preface85
Chapter I.The Old Testament89
Chapter II.The New Testament152
Chapter III.Conclusion183
Letters Concerning "The Age of Reason"196
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews