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Thomas Paine Revelations Analysis

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I had my doubts about Paine's work at first, believing he was going to be highly disagreeable after reading that he believed in a single God, yet denounced the three major religions monotheistic religions, but I found myself agreeing with many of his points. While I do think he undermines the importance of faith when regarding any religion, I find that his position on “Revelations” is undoubtedly correct. Many of my concerns about the religious organizations of the world were voiced well within his worldview, despite being a bit more overbloated. I do believe at times that what we perceive as the truth now has been distorted in a way throughout tides of history, as well as the individuality and personability of revelation, but I find that his …show more content…

Paine is right when he says the revelation may only come to those who receive it directly, as the rest does become word of mouth. As information continually spreads farther and farther from its source, it will inevitably grow less accurate and more personalized by the informer. Jesus never wrote a word of the bible or his story; and so the telling is done within the 4 gospels, each evidently the slightest bit different than the others. To those that hear the revelation someone has been given, the decision to accept or deny it is entirely up to them. To accept salvation and to have a revelation regarding it are not equal factors, however; it only means you believe the revelation of another. This fact certainly makes knowing who has truly had a revelation and who is only trying to manipulate you harder, and the church has had multiple instances of the …show more content…

In one way, I do agree with him. How can an almighty, all good God scorn murder and yet annoint a man willing to butcher women and children alike? In this period, they weren't fighting enemy foreigners; they were willing to do these monstrosities to those who were their own people. Usurpering the throne can be found as righteous? Unlikely. There were a lot of people who seemed to have 'revelations' in the old testament, both within judaistic principle and outside of it. In modern times, we would find these acts completely barbaric and inexcusable, so what excuses it in that time period? I do not agree that this is the fault of any religious institution or even of false revelation. There is a simple fact about many humans-- we desire power. Even in today's world, people are willing to kill to both secure and obtain power. It does not require a catalyst, though they may have them, the base root of man is to further themselves. It is entirely unsuprising that kings were willing to do whatever it takes to sustain themselves, and they most certainly would want to claim God was on their side in doing

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