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Age of Reason Hardcover – May 1, 2010

4.6 out of 5 stars 1,860 ratings

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An Unabridged Edition (Parts I and II) From 'The Writings Of Thomas Paine, ' Edited By Moncure Conway With All Charts and Tables, Notes and Footnotes, To Include A Chronology Of Paine's Life - Political Philosophy - Religious Philosophy

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Merchant Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 180 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1603868054
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1603868051
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.56 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 1,860 ratings

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4.6 out of 5 stars
1,860 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book thought-provoking, particularly appreciating its interesting assessment of the Bible and providing a deeper glimpse into religion. Moreover, they consider it a must-read for Americans, praising its well-crafted arguments and eloquent style. Additionally, the book's humor and value for money receive positive feedback, with customers saying it's worth every penny. However, customers disagree on the book's approach to the Bible, with some appreciating its detailed critique while others criticize its focus on inconsistencies and contradictions.

167 customers mention "Thought provoking"157 positive10 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, providing an interesting assessment of the Bible and offering a deeper glimpse into religion.

"...You'll also get a more balanced view of deism than we usually get from Christians, who typically misrepresent it as a message of gloom and doom..." Read more

"...It has changed me,personally and deeply. I don't see how I ever really used to believe in the bible before...." Read more

"...Thomas Paine was such a brilliant man. He's one example of why so many people incorrectly believe we are a Christian nation when we are not...." Read more

"...In addition, he brings out some very interesting things about the historical aspects of the early Jewish religion as well as his take on their..." Read more

133 customers mention "Readability"130 positive3 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and engaging, describing it as a must-read for every American.

"...One of the best books I have ever read, and wish I would have read it alot sooner." Read more

"...This is absolutely the best book I have ever read. Thomas Paine absolutely destroyed the Bible...." Read more

"...those who are not afraid to learn about alternative beliefs, it is a great book and well deserving of the rating of five stars...." Read more

"...It makes for fascinating reading IF, that is, you don't have preconceived notions or might be afraid to read a real challenge to the concepts..." Read more

10 customers mention "Humor"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning that the style makes them chuckle at times.

"...It is actually quite humorous at times *..." Read more

"...His style makes me chuckle at times. What a great Patriot and scholar!" Read more

"...this book a real joy to read....I enjoyed this book very much..It makes you laugh and at the same time it makes you ponder and think...." Read more

"...This a very good read, very humorous. Think Bill Maher in the 18th Century." Read more

10 customers mention "Value for money"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth every penny, with one mentioning its historical significance.

"...This book is priceless and really turned me around. Thank you Thomas Paine!" Read more

"Good, affordable edition of a classic...." Read more

"...This book - along with several other notable like-offerings (e.g., Freethinkers by Susan Jacoby) - forms the basis for a good argument against the..." Read more

"...Worth every penny!" Read more

35 customers mention "Inconsistencies"12 positive23 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book's approach to the Bible, with some appreciating its detailed critique and factual accuracy, while others find it shows numerous inconsistencies and contradictions.

"...With no written description of God, and only the creation to go on, Paine was in the uncommon position of actually having to think for himself about..." Read more

"...This book is also a great counter-argument to the opinion that it was the intention of the founding fathers that this be a "christian" nation...." Read more

"...this book in such a way, as for it to be virtually impossible for anyone to refute his evidence and his proofs and whoever tries to refute it, they..." Read more

"...It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my own part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2008
    Given the vitriol with which Christians have denounced Thomas Paine for more than 200 years, one may be under the impression, as I was, that he was an atheist. He was generally denounced as such, and Theodore Roosevelt's reference to him as a "filthy little atheist" was not atypical. But upon actually reading this famous tome of his, I discovered he was in fact a devout man of God. It was only Christianity and other organized religions he had a problem with, and he explains why.

    Paine was a creationist who believed nature is God's primary revelation of himself to humankind. In this revelation are all the tools we need, to understand, to behave, to treat others with respect and kindness, to stand in awe of the creator and worship him. Thomas Paine did not appreciate anyone belittling God by suggesting he behaved as "revealed" in those old writings of men who did dastardly things and then justified their behaviors by claiming God told them to do it! Paine could see that the biblical God was created by men the same way they created all the other pagan gods of the day. (Christianity was not the first to have a virgin birth, resurrections and blood sacrifices.)

    With no written description of God, and only the creation to go on, Paine was in the uncommon position of actually having to think for himself about what God must be like, what he expects of us, how we should behave. Thinking is work, but like most work, it can be invigorating and rewarding--written descriptions are severely limiting, confined to the words used, while one's imagination is limitless. (Similarly, the more literally one takes something, the more limited its application.) Unfettered by the feeble, misguided words of the ancients, Paine loved observing and imagining what God must be like.

    Those of us conditioned to getting our description of God through written material might at first think Paine to be at a great disadvantage. How silly, we are tempted to think, to imagine our understanding of God could be complete merely by looking around us. How could we possibly figure out that God wants us to have slaves, keep the Ten Commandments, offer sacrifices, flatter him more on Sunday (or is it Saturday?) and burn witches--all merely by observing nature? Then it dawns on us, and wow! If we believe God is good, then without these writings our imagination about his goodness is limitless. Throughout our lives, no matter how much we mature and grow in understanding, at any given moment we push the limits of God's goodness to the extremes of our imagination--never fully comprehending it, only approaching it. We are filled with awe and we are drawn to emulate that goodness. How silly all this stuff about a touchy biblical god who throws his weight around killing people at the drop of a pin if they don't offer the right sacrifice begins to look!

    Thus Thomas Paine was offended by the pettiness and absurdities of man-made religion. By observing God directly, he did not find himself in the awkward position of having to create excuses for God's supposed evil behaviors, his weird pagan-like fascination with blood sacrifices, his horrible temper or his morbid fascination with punishment--like stoning unruly kids to death, striking people dead for small infractions and imposing the death the penalty for every human being's mistakes, misdeeds or mere failures to flatter him (to say nothing of torturing them to death by endless fire). Paine wasn't saddled with the burden of explaining why the deity he worships doesn't want women in pulpits or gays in love. He's not stuck with having to defend fantastic promises that are (let's be honest) never kept, and prophecies never really fulfilled. Ironically, the only thing he ever had to defend was God's reputation--which Bible writers had dragged through the mud by attributing their own wicked pursuits to God.

    Paine's respect and adoration for God was pure, unadulterated by human contraption. In other words, he worshipped God without all the baggage. And all the while, Christians called him an atheist for not helping them carry theirs.

    It's worth noting that Thomas Paine's contemplation of God was not some kind of nebulous feel-good meditation. He was moved to action. In addition to defending God's reputation, Paine personally worked to end slavery, particularly with his 1775 essay, "African Slavery in America." That makes Paine a better person than the biblical God, and not by a little; I mean, God isn't even neutral on slavery, he encourages it (emphatically and repeatedly, according to the Bible). And, of course, while Paine worked to end slavery, his biggest obstacle was Christians who defended the practice on clear biblical grounds. They got their understanding of God through a written description, while Paine got an entirely different understanding of God merely by contemplating God's real revelation, the creation.

    Would Paine still believe in God today? Who knows? When he died, Charles Darwin was but four months old. In that day, there simply was no plausible explanation for the origin of species.* Nearly everyone, including Paine, chalked it all up to God--the source of all things existing. Things of mystery have always been affairs of the gods.

    *(It is a common misconception among Christians that evolution attempts to explain the origin of life, but it does not.)

    But for the fact that Paine was not an atheist, one might consider The Age of Reason a foreshadowing of today's popular works by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and others. They and Paine all easily demonstrate how the writings that eventually got voted into the canon that is our present-day Bible could not possibly be a revelation from God. But unlike the others, Paine's purpose was to defend God's reputation, not doubt his existence.

    This book affords an additional plus. We get a fascinating glimpse of Paine's life and times in the 18th century, 200+ years ago. I was especially interested in his arrest over the nature of his writings. And while this review is a mere overview, Paine's meticulous tribute to "the age of reason" is a thing of real substance--you'll find detailed arguments not routinely employed by today's writers. You'll also get a more balanced view of deism than we usually get from Christians, who typically misrepresent it as a message of gloom and doom (God created us and then just "abandoned" us). The founding fathers of the United States were more deist than anything else, and thus not Christian, contrary to popular belief.
    24 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2010
    I read this book and am reviewing it as a former christian. I left the church and the christian religion many years ago,thank goodness! I now call myself a deist and belief wise, deism is what I now see is the only true path for myself and I am just now getting around to have read the book. I would have still ended up leaving the religion anyway, whether I read the book or not,It was just basically a question of when I would eventually leave the religion. But after having read the book now, it has only more deeply confirmed for me and convinced me that I made the right decision for myself by earlier leaving the church and the religion.

    I think every Christian should read this book. It should be required reading especially for fundamentalists and evangelicals. But be forewarned, this book isn't for the faint or weak of heart and not for those who don't like to have their personal Christian beliefs and faith challenged, which is exactly what this book will do. It will not only challenge your faith and your personal belief in the bible and Christianity in general, it will also quite possibly destroy it for you as well.

    Thomas Paine, an idealist,a radical and a master rhetorician, was definitely a man with a self appointed mission with this book, He so completely and so totally destroys the bible and decimates and obliterates it like no one I have ever seen before. He is completely thorough in his devastation and destruction of the bible. He holds no punches.Nothing in the bible escapes his visciousness. He attacks the bible from within, using only the bible to prove the absurdities and contradictions and fallacies and falicious lies contained within it. He uses the bible as proof to disprove itself. He is relentless and ruthful in his attack and he doesn't let up for a single moment.

    From the very start, he comes out swinging, in his examination of the old testament.Methodically and systemically, book by book,chapter by chapter and verse by verse, he rips out the internal guts of the bible,and he lays it out in the open,and exposes it for all to see it for what it is. He metaphorically swings the bible like an axe with deadly accuracy,precision and aim, when he is done, and the smoke and the dust cloud settles, the bible lay heaped and crumpled up,mortally wounded in the corner,just a shell of a book,all that is left of it.

    Thomas Paine, makes you definitely stop and think as you read it. As you read his book, I highly suggest opening your bible and lay them side by side, and you can follow along,step by step, and virtually walk with him down the bloody path of annihlation and destruction which he will leave in his wake. It's easy to see, he was way ahead of his time when he wrote this book. He was centuries ahead in terms of thinking,when he wrote this book, and it's easy to see why alot of people in his time didn't want to accept his ideaology. I can easily imagine he made alot of enemies for himself when he wrote this. Alot of people must have absolutely hated him after he wrote it, and it's easy to see the controvercial firestorm he set off when he opened this can of worms. He was too radical for his time and people weren't ready for the book or for his particular way of thinking.People couldn't easily accept him or his book at that time.

    Even though this book was first published in 1795, it almost seems as if he were writing it for our modern times. This book really speaks so much to our present modern day world and our society today and it's just as true and applicable today,as it was back in his time. Most christians probably have never ever read the bible through completely from cover to cover, while other christians mostly believe the bible only because they are told to believe it by family, and friends,associates ect.....Most American Christians don't even really know what's even in the bible

    The really amazing thing about his book....It cannot be refuted. no way. not even. I don't care who it is, I don't care what kind of education or theology degree a person has, you will find what Thomas Paine says about the bible is true, check it for yourself.open your bible and read the bible along with his book,side by side and follow along with him. You will find what he says is sincere,honest and straight forward. He has no reason to lie, but unfortunately the bible as well as the church has very good reasons to lie to society and to impose this book and their beliefs on the rest of the world.

    Any Pastor,Preacher,Bishop, clergyman, probably even the POPE himself would be definitely hardpressed and mentally challenged to even try to refute this book. Thomas Paine wrote this book in such a way, as for it to be virtually impossible for anyone to refute his evidence and his proofs and whoever tries to refute it, they will have their work cut out for them. This is the book your church and your Preacher or your Pastor doesn't want you to read.

    I for one am so glad I bought it and read it. It has changed me,personally and deeply. I don't see how I ever really used to believe in the bible before. I believe in God, very much, of course, don't get me wrong. I believe in God, I just don't believe in the bible,or in Christianity as an organized religion and I can now begin to see how the world and how our society would be alot better off without both the Bible and organized religion.

    Buy the book. Read it. face your fear and challenge your personal beliefs and faith if your strong enough and if your not afraid. Open your eyes!....see the truth!...be changed. Personally, I don't see how a person could buy this book and read it and not be a changed person by the time they are done reading it. Thomas Paine did a great service for both his society and ours when he wrote this book. This book will always be in my personal library of books. When your done reading the book, start from page 1 and read it again.

    One of the best books I have ever read, and wish I would have read it alot sooner.
    49 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • David Murphy
    5.0 out of 5 stars its even better the second time at 37 yrs of age
    Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Read it first when i was 15, its even better the second time at 37 yrs of age. Everyone should read this book
  • Herbert Rolle
    5.0 out of 5 stars lesenswert
    Reviewed in Germany on May 30, 2025
    Ein Gruß der Aufklärung in unsere Welt des aufkeimenden Aberglaubens
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  • Emmanuel Ben-Edigbe
    5.0 out of 5 stars On time
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2025
    Great book 📖👍 and delivery was on time.
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars How the bible has been used as the opium of the world
    Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I find it realistic in explaining the ways the bible fails on explaining the existence of God without denying the existence of God and without fighting with any religion.
  • Chalapathy V Dhanwada
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
    Reviewed in India on May 25, 2018
    As can be expected, applying reason and logic to matters of faith and belief yields a bumper crop of points to argue about. But the argument is important because it concerns what affects us all. It is well done in this book. What puzzled me though is the author's assertions on the existence of a deistic almighty, as if the awesome creation we behold is sufficient proof to support it.