ABSTRACT
Though of Quaker background, Thomas Paine {1737-1809) claimed that he was never orthodox and was early revolted by the cruelty of the idea of Christ's sacrifice to bring about mankind's redemption. In his political writings Paine set out to demystify the structure and claims of anciens régimes; so also in The Age of Reason he turned his corrosive scepticism on the Bible as the source of revealed religion. He was, however, a deist, not an atheist and believed the mark of the Creator was in nature rather than the revealed word. Christ exemplified and preached an admirable morality but no more than some other non-transcendental historical figures. After his return to the United States in 1802, Paine mixed with rationalist groups and gave his ideas on religion a continued life in the New World.
