I've been reading #quotes by #ThomasPaine this morning. I don't recall why. Paine's writings are mixed on the topic of #religion, sometimes they have the appearance of christian language and at other times they are expressly atheist and even virulently anti-religious. This one struck me as having not aged particularly well.
Here are a few new favorite #quotes because I am a #teacher and I value #reason. #ThomasPaine
As a #Christian, I find this one of his more inflammatory #quotes. My response is simple:
What a person looks for in scripture is what they will find. Expect a vengeful God and find judgement. But isn't such a person admitting they don't measure up, that they see themselves as guilty before God?
Nobody needs to be fearful of meeting God. Anyone who reads scripture with a spirit of repentance will find a loving God ready to forgive. #ThomasPaine failed to understand this but nobody else has to.
@danielbsmith Distressingly, THIS vengeful god is the god many of our political leaders and neighbors are using to beat us over the head with. They deny the loving Jesus and invoke the jealous, punishing god.
@GeezerWench Only when it suits their purposes. They always promote forgiveness and love when they're caught with their own hands in the cookie jar. But for everyone else, it's the angry wrathful god trope to keep the populace in line. #Hypocrites
@danielbsmith Thanks for the share. So interesting! #ThomasPaine
@LPH6 Thank you kindly. I like getting my quotes from Goodreads since they link the quote to the original source document. There are just too many fakes out there otherwise.
@danielbsmith Paine was vehemently opposed to any religion based upon "revealed scripture". Sadly, he was also extremely antisemitic and reserved the worst of his vitriol for Jewish people, reasoning that the horribly violent Old Testament came from their traditions — which showed a profound lack of understanding of Judaism on his part.
@sanau Agreed, although I didn't know the extent of it until I read through some of his quotes today. There are some good things that he said but this part of his writings belong in the dustbin of history.
@sanau I should point out that exploring his quotes today was completely coincidental to recent events in Israel. I do not support the Palestinians in this attack on Israel just as I do not support Russia's attack on Ukraine. I pray that the Israelis are able to swiftly push the invaders back, rescue the hostages, and eliminate all who threaten the Jewish State.
@danielbsmith What worries me is that the powers that be in Israel see the existence of Palestinians as a threat to the Jewish State, and some have been talking about "elimination" (even a "final solution"). History sometimes repeats itself in unexpected ways. 😢
@sanau Do you see any other solutions? The Palestinians in Gaza will only be satisfied with one thing: the death of every Israeli and the elimination of the state of Israel.
How can Israel negotiate with that?
The Gazans have their autonomy. They even get their electricity and water from Israel. Live and let live is unacceptable to them. All of the sane Palestinians emigrated to Egypt. Only the die hard terrorists remain.
So what other options are left except a return to the status quo?
@danielbsmith There is never, ever a justification for genocide.
NEVER.
There is wisdom in his writings too. Some of the things he said are shockingly relevant in America's current highly polarized political environment. Donald #Trump must never be President again and he must be held accountable for his crimes. #politics #quotes #ThomasPaine