Story of Deism

The Age of Reason went to prison with its author.

Paine was writing it in Paris as the Terror closed on him. The standard account has him handing the finished first part to Joel Barlow on the way to the Luxembourg prison in December 1793.

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Where it is toldPaine's own account, and his biographers

Who appearsThomas Paine, Joel Barlow

What it teachesWhat the book cost the man who wrote it

Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

Paine wrote the first part of The Age of Reason in Paris in 1793 as the Revolution turned on its own, and was arrested that December, having opposed the execution of the king. The standard account, which comes from Paine, has him completing the manuscript and passing it to the American poet Joel Barlow on the way to the Luxembourg prison. He spent about ten months there, came close to execution, and wrote the second part after his release. The book was intended to save religion from atheism as the churches collapsed, which is not how it was received by anyone.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas

Job, and the answer that is not one. Judaism Read it in full →

The ninth Guru's stand. Sikhism Read it in full →

S Satan, as a figure of speech. The Satanic Temple · figure Meet them →

The fire, and then the exile. Hinduism Read it in full →

No one made this, and no one is running it. Buddhism · core tenet Go deeper →

The Tirthankaras cannot help you. Jainism · core tenet Go deeper →

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