By: Thomas PAINE (1737 - 1809)
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of
True and Fabulous Theology is a pamphlet, written by a British and
American revolutionary Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason challenges
institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible,
the central sacred text of Christianity. Published in three parts in
1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in the United States, where it
caused a short-lived deistic revival.
Part 1 was written sometime in 1793, and attacks the concepts of divine
revelation and inspiration. He urged his readers to employ reason over
revelation. Part 2 was written either during or shortly after his
confinement in a French prison in 1794. In Part 2, Paine attacks the
reliability of the Bible and points out numerous absurdities and
contradictions. Part 3 was written in the United States sometime around
1800 but he delayed publication until 1807 for fears of violent
backlash. Part 3 is an examination and rejection of the claims of
prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Although these arguments were
commonly known amongst the educated elite, Paine wrote in simple and
irreverent prose that was easily accessible to a mass audience. Paine
argued against religion as it is revealed in the Bible, but he argued
just as strongly for a Deistic religion and a Creator of Reason.
This Librivox recording of The Age of Reason is taken from Richard
Carlile’s anthology of Paine’s writings, published in 1818. Carlile
charged one shilling and sixpence for the work, and the first run of
1,000 copies sold out in a month. He immediately published a second
edition of 3,000 copies. In 1819, Carlile was found guilty of blasphemy
and seditious libel and sentenced to three years in Dorchester Gaol with
a fine of £1,500. The prosecutions surrounding the printing of The Age
of Reason in Britain continued for thirty years after its initial
release and encompassed numerous publishers as well as over a hundred
booksellers. (Summary by JoeD and wikipedia)
Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Philosophy, Political Science
Language: English
Running Time: 11:36:40
Zip file size: 334.6MB
Catalog date: 2013-02-19
Read by: JoeD
Book Coordinator: JoeD
Meta Coordinator: Crln Yldz Ksr
Proof Listener: DaveC
0 comments:
Post a Comment