"Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such contradictions and absurdities"
- Thomas Paine
About this Quote
In this quote, Thomas Paine, a popular Enlightenment thinker understood for his important views on organized faith, challenges the idea that the New Testament represents a coherent, divinely motivated body of spiritual reality. Paine's use of the word "blasphemy" is especially intriguing; typically, blasphemy describes showing disrespect or lack of reverence for God or spiritual things. By recommending that calling the New Testament an exposed religious beliefs is a species of blasphemy, Paine argues that it is, in fact, more disrespectful to ascribe divine origin to a text he perceives as flawed.
Paine highlights the "contradictions and absurdities" within the New Testament, showing that these disparities undermine its status as a reliable account of divine will. This review aligns with Paine's wider deist philosophy, which emphasizes reason, nature, and the rejection of supernatural discovery. For him, a really divine text would embody best logic and supreme ethical assistance, free from human mistake or contradiction. Therefore, he questions how a text that has internal inconsistencies could be genuinely considered a discovery from a foolproof deity.
By presenting this rhetorical concern, Paine invites his audience to re-examine their presumptions about the New Testament and spiritual teachings. His language suggests that holding the New Testament as an infallible discovery without seriously evaluating its content is intellectually irresponsible. Paine's argument obstacles believers to fix up faith with factor, a trademark of Enlightenment thinking. His review not only questions the credibility of the New Testament as a divine text but also requires a broader reevaluation of what should be thought about sacred or divine. In general, Paine encourages a shift from dogmatic approval of religious texts towards a more logical and empirical approach to comprehending faith and its claims.
This quote is written / told by Thomas Paine between January 29, 1737 and June 8, 1809. He was a famous Writer from England.
The author also have 55 other quotes.
"Well, I think any time you delve into this sort of religion, politics, as you well know, you're going to, you know, touch a few nerves. I wasn't - now - and this is the honest truth"
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite"