Synopsis
A deist polemic attacking organized religion and revealed scripture while affirming belief in one God known through reason and nature.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Public domainRevelation handed down through others is only hearsay to me; true religion is found in reason and the order of nature.
It subjects sacred texts to rational scrutiny, making individual reason the sole authority on belief.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Blaise Pascal, Pensées.
Reading note
Read it as Revolutionary-era polemic, distinguishing Paine's deism from the atheism critics ascribed to him.
Best paired with
Blaise Pascal, Pensées