Deists therefore typically viewed themselves as intellectual liberators. By convincing people that they required a priest's help to overcome their innate sinfulness, deists argued, religious leaders had enslaved the human population. The worst of the doctrines was original sin. Most deists argued that priests had deliberately corrupted Christianity for their own gain by promoting the acceptance of miracles, unnecessary rituals, and illogical and dangerous doctrines (accusations typically referred to as " priestcraft"). According to those writers, revelation could reinforce the evidence for God's existence already apparent in the natural world but more often led to superstition among the masses. Moreover, many found the Christian revelations in particular to be contradictory and irreconcilable. While some deists accepted revelation, most argued that revelation's restriction to small groups or even a single person limited its explanatory power. They, therefore, distinguished between "revealed religions", which they rejected, such as Christianity, and "natural religion", a set of universal beliefs derived from the natural world that demonstrated God's existence (and so they were not atheists). Religion had to be "simple, apparent, ordinary, and universal" if it was to be the logical product of a benevolent God. Deists also rejected the claim that there was only one revealed religious truth or "one true faith". They held that God does not repeatedly alter his plan by suspending natural laws to intervene (miraculously) in human affairs. Along these lines, deistic writings insisted that God, as the first cause or prime mover, had created and designed the universe with natural laws as part of his plan. Because miracles had to be observed to be validated, deists rejected the accounts laid out in the Bible of God's miracles and argued that such evidence was neither sufficient nor necessary to prove the existence of God. This belief in natural law drove their skepticism of miracles. Without a concept of natural law, the deists argued, explanations of the workings of nature would descend into irrationality. Deists embraced a Newtonian worldview and believed that all things in the universe, even God, must obey the laws of nature.
They also demanded that debate rest on reason and rationality. Saying that early Christianity was founded on freedom of conscience, they demanded religious toleration and an end to religious persecution. The most important position that united the early deists was their call for "free rational inquiry" into all subjects, especially religion. Those deists, while maintaining individual positions, still shared several sets of assumptions and arguments that Paine articulated in The Age of Reason. Paine's book followed in the tradition of early 18th-century British deism. Historical context Intellectual context: 18th-century British deism 1.2 Political context: French Revolution.1.1 Intellectual context: 18th-century British deism.
The age of reason free#
Nevertheless, Paine's work inspired and guided many free thinkers. Fearing the spread of what it viewed as potentially-revolutionary ideas, the British government prosecuted printers and booksellers who tried to publish and distribute it. Originally distributed as unbound pamphlets, the book was also cheap, putting it within the reach of a large number of buyers. Most of Paine's arguments had long been available to the educated elite, but by presenting them in an engaging and irreverent style, he made deism appealing and accessible to the masses. In The Age of Reason, he promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a creator-god. Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as an ordinary piece of literature, rather than a divinely-inspired text. The Age of Reason presents common deistic arguments for example, it highlights what Paine saw as corruption of the Christian Church and criticizes its efforts to acquire political power. British audiences, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French Revolution, received it with more hostility. It was a best-seller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. It was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807.
It follows in the tradition of 18th-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible. The Age of Reason Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. Several early copies of The Age of Reason
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