American Literature

Paines The age of reason explores the true and fabulous theology. Paine has given an account of ordinary deistic opinions. For instance he discounts the doctrines held by Puritans and the Pilgrims and criticizes their efforts to gain political power (Amazon.com). Paine rejects revelations and instead advocates for reason. Consequently, he denounces miracles and views the Bible as a common piece of literature instead of a divinely inspired book as held by the puritans and the pilgrims (Amazon.com).  Consequently Paine has articulated his position and defended natural religion as the true religion hence disputing the unwavering belief of the puritans that God is the creator.
His work condemned institutionalized religion and challenged the authenticity of the Biblical teachings.  This position received backing of British radicals and encouraged the British deists of the 18th century (Gambel, 89). Although these deists believed in their individual positions they continued to share ideas and arguments expressed by Paine in the age of reason. Initially they were united under the auspices of a universal call for free rational inquiry into every subject including religion in contrast to the Puritanism teachings which emphasized in the teachings of the Bible (Gambel, 93). Paine argued that Christianity had been founded on the freedom of conscience and called for religious toleration and termination of religious persecution. He proposed that religious debate should be executed with rationality and reason and acknowledged the principle of a Newtonian world which supposed that everything in the universe including God must obey the laws of nature(Scheick and Edward, 145).

In contrast the pilgrims and puritans firmly believe that God is the creator of the universe and he has dominion over all the forces which hold the universe. They disregard scientific laws and understood that God drew mens souls to salvation. According to the puritans, religious services consisted of Bible teachings, whereas Paine believed that the services be stripped of prayer books, rituals, creeds, altars, candles, incenses etc.,. (Scheick and Edward, 150).

Paine argued that without the natural law, all explanations intending to justify how nature operates are invalid. Consequently, this belief in natural law inclined deists to rebuff miraculous happenings. Since miracles are authenticated on observation, deists discarded the procedures outlined in the Bible as insufficient to justify the existence of God. Accordingly, Paine held that God as the causative agent, applied natural laws when designing the universe. Consequently, Paine unswervingly did not believe that God altered natural laws at will nor can he intrude in human affairs. He further denounced the assertion that only a single religious faith exists and volunteered that religion can only be perceptible, plain, regular and widespread for example natural religion and Christianity.
While Paine accepted revelation, he also argued that revelations limitations to small groups or even to individuals restricted its explanatory power (Amazon.com). Besides he deduced that majority of Christian revelations were conflicting and incompatible. He also affirmed that priests intentionally tainted Christianity for their own benefits as they endorsed miraculous happenings, useless rituals and unreasonable doctrines. By convincing the masses to seek priestly cleansing so as to conquer their instinctive sinfulness, Paine argued that that Puritans had enslaved the human populace. Consequently, Paine regarded his doctrines as intellectual liberators (Amazon.com).

Paine has attacked the Puritans and the Pilgrims indirectly by attacking the religious institutions they steadfastly hold to. He has accused priests for their dissatisfaction for wealth and power and the churchs resistance to scientific investigations. He has regarded the history of Christianity as one of coercion and dishonesty (Scheick and Edward, 125). He has condemned the tyrannical deeds of the teachings of the pilgrims and the puritans. He stated that the Christian theory was a reflection of the idolatries held by ancient Mythologists for the purposes of power and revenue (Gimbel, 87). He further maintained that the church was a corrupt institution which doesnt act in the best interests of the people thus demanding radical reforms to the church.

Through his teachings Paine influenced the 19th century Romantics and freethinkers. Through his influence and passion for free thinking, Paine immensely contributed to a world of freedom. This necessitated Thomas Jefferson to endorse him as the forgotten founding father of America for he preached that all men, women and children should be granted the rights to enjoy religious and civil rights in addition to the integration of politics and religion.

Ideological values based on universal truths, for example the power of the pen sanctioned with the understanding that an army of principles can penetrate where an army of solders cannot (Gregory, 49). This belief motivated the 19th century romantics to champion for their rights regardless of the ideologies of the government. His assertion that every person of learning is ultimately his own teacher persuaded men of limited education to embrace generous passions in their hearts to pursue learning so that they could discover numerous hidden truths intrinsically held by the laws of nature (Gregory p. 50).

In conclusion, his ridicule of the British Monarch and demanded a democratic system of government chosen by the people. This precipitated civil disobedience in the 19th century and many nations throughout the world called for an end to colonization and fought to liberate themselves from the oppression and tyranny of the colonizers and elected their own legitimate governments.