Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: GoLightly
Could you splain why Paine, clearly a deist quoted extensively from the Old Testament in "Common Sense"?

If you would bother to read Paine you would understand why. May I suggest "Reason". If Deism had prophets, Paine would be to Deists as Jesus is to Christians. You say I do not understand Christianity, but you do not understand Deism.

"Except in the first article in the Christian creed, that of believing in God, there is not an article in it but fills the mind with doubt as to the truth of it, the instant man begins to think. Now every article in a creed that is necessary to the happiness and salvation of man, ought to be as evident to the reason and comprehension of man as the first article is, for God has not given us reason for the purpose of confounding us, but that we should use it for our own happiness and His glory"...Thomas Paine

According to Rev. Ashbel Green, a Presbyterian minister who was a close personal friend and advisor to President George Washington, "while Washington was very deferential to religion and its ceremonies, like nearly all the founders of the Republic, he was not a Christian, but a Deist."

I'll believe the words of the man who was there at the time, thank you.
...
68 posted on 06/03/2005 12:48:00 PM PDT by mugs99
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies ]


To: mugs99
If Deism had prophets, Paine would be to Deists as Jesus is to Christians.

Deists pray to Nature's god in the name of Paine? He died for them? LOL Muslim's think Jesus was a prophet. Christians don't.

You say I do not understand Christianity,

You clearly don't.

but you do not understand Deism.

I don't think you're um, enlightening me about it, if you're trying to tell me that Paine is a prophet of the erm, "faith". I'm tempted to ask you to try to untangle the mess you've made while trying to enlighten po ignorant me. I think your explanation would prolly be a real hoot. If you're gonna try anywayz though, feel free to talk down to me.

To answer my own question for you, the Lord tried to warn the Jews not to raise up kings over themselves. They didn't listen. The rest is history & God's warning was proven correct. Any Deist would agree, which is why Paine used it in his argument to toss out the monarchy.

I'm still waiting for that clause of the Constitution that forced all of the states to disestablish. Show me the rejected text the founders tried to include in the Constitution, which would have built a wall of separation.

69 posted on 06/03/2005 1:30:25 PM PDT by GoLightly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson