A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
...It would be more consistent that we call [the Bible] the work of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thomas Paine critiques the moral implications of the Bible, suggesting it has led to human corruption rather than enlightenment.
In this quote, Thomas Paine expresses his strong skepticism towards the Bible, arguing that instead of being a divine source of guidance, it is a text that has contributed to the moral degradation of humanity. By calling it 'the work of a demon,' he signifies that he believes it is more harmful than helpful, serving to instill wickedness and brutality rather than promoting virtue and compassion. His perspective challenges traditional beliefs about the Bible's role in society and suggests a critical examination of religious texts and their impacts on human behavior.
Themes
BibleWickednessHumanityCorruptionMoralitySkepticism
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about the influence of religious texts on modern society.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes →That God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
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I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
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Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
Thomas PaineRead
The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
Thomas PaineRead
To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
Thomas PaineRead
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