Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Thomas Paine
Katja
ENGL 48A
Journal# 6, Thomas Paine
October 18, 2006
"As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of atheism; a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God." (721)
This quote is from Paine's The Age of Reason. An inflammatory statement to be sure, Paine does not shy away from telling the story the way he sees fit. Paine, a natural skeptic, obviously took his faith quite seriously. He took the time to think deeply about its impact on him and the world around him. In the above argument, Paine single-handedly dismisses 1,700 years of Christan doctrine in one fell swoop.
Quite the antithesis to say, islam, where no image of God exists, Paine calls Christianity a form of "man-ism" (721). Idolatry was, as the reader may recall, the point of contention in Exodus when the Israelites were revering the Golden Calf during Moses's stay on Mount Sinai. This situation got them into hot water with God who had commanded them to have no other gods than him. According to Wikipedia, the islamic version of this story calls on the faithful to shy away from imitations of religion, and instead focus on letting spirituality manifest internally. Paine seems to be of the opinion that the Christianity of his contemporaries was no better than that hedonistic variety seen in the Bible, what with its ostentatious flamboyance and people cults.
In what would turn out to be a truly American way, Paine professes the need for a "natural philosophy, embracing the whole circle of science" (721). His stance shifts the focus away from person-oriented ardor and replaces it with a more ethereal sort of spirituality aimed at studying the "works of God" (721) as opposed to God himself. Paine calls this phenomenon the "true theology" (721).
Paine's church-bashing ideas were certainly controversial in the 18th century; perhaps because they were so modern. It seems as though his thoughts on faith would easily find a place in today's go-go society. Contemporary junior executives and soccer moms would probably be able to relate to Paine's broad and unfettered application of spiritual well-being.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_calf
http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Tafsir/Tafsir%287-152%29.html
ENGL 48A
Journal# 6, Thomas Paine
October 18, 2006
"As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of atheism; a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God." (721)
This quote is from Paine's The Age of Reason. An inflammatory statement to be sure, Paine does not shy away from telling the story the way he sees fit. Paine, a natural skeptic, obviously took his faith quite seriously. He took the time to think deeply about its impact on him and the world around him. In the above argument, Paine single-handedly dismisses 1,700 years of Christan doctrine in one fell swoop.
Quite the antithesis to say, islam, where no image of God exists, Paine calls Christianity a form of "man-ism" (721). Idolatry was, as the reader may recall, the point of contention in Exodus when the Israelites were revering the Golden Calf during Moses's stay on Mount Sinai. This situation got them into hot water with God who had commanded them to have no other gods than him. According to Wikipedia, the islamic version of this story calls on the faithful to shy away from imitations of religion, and instead focus on letting spirituality manifest internally. Paine seems to be of the opinion that the Christianity of his contemporaries was no better than that hedonistic variety seen in the Bible, what with its ostentatious flamboyance and people cults.
In what would turn out to be a truly American way, Paine professes the need for a "natural philosophy, embracing the whole circle of science" (721). His stance shifts the focus away from person-oriented ardor and replaces it with a more ethereal sort of spirituality aimed at studying the "works of God" (721) as opposed to God himself. Paine calls this phenomenon the "true theology" (721).
Paine's church-bashing ideas were certainly controversial in the 18th century; perhaps because they were so modern. It seems as though his thoughts on faith would easily find a place in today's go-go society. Contemporary junior executives and soccer moms would probably be able to relate to Paine's broad and unfettered application of spiritual well-being.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_calf
http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Tafsir/Tafsir%287-152%29.html
# posted by Katja @ 10:16 PM 
