Herdeiro da tradição de Hume, Espinosa, Voltaire e do deísmo inglês do início do século XVIII, Paine apresenta a sua DEFESA DO DEÍSMO numa linguagem simples, acessível e irreverente que retirou o "deism out of the hands of the aristocracy and intellectuals and [brought] it to the people."
Excerts from THE AGE OF REASON (Follow the LINK):
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy."
