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.
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
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.
There are #errors in his thinking too: He valued reason too highly and was overly proud of his intellect. There are limits to our understanding, to what science can answer. Beyond reason lies #faith but reason will take you to the doors of it.