Paine, Scriptura, and Authority: The Age of Reason and Religious and Political Idea

145 Pages·1994·32.658 MB·English

by  Edward H. Davidson, William J. Scheik

Paine,
Scripture,
and Authority
i
I
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James Gillray. "Fashion before Ease;-Or, A Good Constitution Sacrificed, for a
Fantastick Form." 2 January 1793.
[Gillray's anti-Republican caricature presents a drunk Tom Paine with a tape
inscribed Rights ofM an hanging from his pocket. He places his foot on the posterior
of a defenseless and "pained" Britannia in a French stay as she clings to an oak tree
for stability.]
Paine,
Scripture,
and Authority
The Age ofR eason
as Religious
and Political Idea
Edward H. Davidson
and William J. Scheick
Bethlehem: Lehigh University Press
London and Toronto: Associated University Presses
© 1994 by Associated University Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the
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Associated University Presses
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.038
1994
Associated University Presses
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Associated University Presses
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The paper used in this publication meets the requirements
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Davidson, Edward H. (Edward Hutchins)
Paine, Scripture, and authority : the Age ofreason as religious
and political idea / Edward H. Davidson and William J. Scheick
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN 0-934223-29-7 (alk. paper)
I. Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809. Age of reason. 2. Rationalism.
3. Bible-Inspiration-History of doctrines-18th century.
4. Bible-Evidences, authority, etc.-History of doctrines-18th
century. 5. Authority (Religion) -History of doctrines-18th
century. 6. Christianity and politics-History of doctrines-18th
century. 7. Radicalism-History-I 8th century. 8. Enlightenment.
I. Scheick, William J. IL Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809. Age of
reason. III. Title.
BL2740.D38 1994
211'.5--dc20 92-55135
CIP
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STA TES OF AMERICA
For Ann
and
For Catherine

Contents
Preface/ 9
Acknowledgments I 11
Textual Note/ 13
Introduction: "Wounds of Deadly Hate Have Pierced So Deep" 17
1. Young Paine and Biblical Authority 26
2. The Burke-Paine Controversy As Prelude 37
3. The Context of Paine's Biblical Leaming 54
4. Paine Reads the Bible 70
5. Paine Is Answered 88
Conclusion: "I Can Write a Better Book Myself' 98
Appendix 1. The Composition of The Age ofR eason 105
Appendix 2. A Representative Alphabetical List of
Contemporary Responses to The Age
ofR eason (1794-98) 108
Notes I 117
Works Cited I 132
Index I 141

Preface
For many years Paine's Age ofR eason has fascinated and disturbed me. I
first came upon it during my youth when I was a believer in the literal
truth of the Bible and when I accepted the teachings of the church in which
I had been reared. At that impressionable time of my youth I was not so
much shaken by Paine's argument as I was made aware of something
different from what I believed. I found that I could entertain another set of
ideas about religion from those in which I had been instructed. I thought it
then, and I think it still, an interesting and tantalizing book, more
problematic than its sharply satirical, commonsensical manner makes it
appear.
It was largely my memory of that first difficulty I experienced in my
youth and my inability to come to terms with it that persuaded me to
undertake a modest enterprise in treating Paine's book as I have come to
understand it long after that first impression has become only a memory. I
wanted to work out the background to and the logic of that book, and to
try to understand it in itself and in relation to the alternative mode of
political liberalism that has been concealed beneath its announced and
sustained purpose.
-E.H.D.
I first read The Age of Reason, or at least substantial parts of it, when I
was fifteen. I had received a dogmatic religious training throughout my
childhood, and I had developed feelings and thoughts against the grain of
that education. My questions were rebuffed rather than answered, and it
was no surprise that my curiosity was piqued by a magazine adver-
tisement proffering an inexpensive copy of The Age ofR eason for open-
minded readers. Paine's book arrived in a plain brown envelope, as the
advertisement had promised, and I furtively read it, or large parts of it, as
a bad, even dangerous, book.
9
10 PAINE, SCRIPTURE, AND AUTHORITY
That copy of Paine's work is now lost, nor can I recover much of my
initial response to it. Whatever of Paine's claims I may or may not have
appreciated, I did register his outrage against established religions and his
call for a personal emancipation from theological dogma. Paine's seeming-
ly authoritative voice, countering the authorities of dogma, appealed to me
at that time.
My return to The Age ofR eason thirty-five years later seems prompt-
ed by the question of Paine's authority as well as by the not-to-be-missed
opportun1ty to collaborate with my coauthor. But perhaps this scholarly
trek may instance once more how we retrack old trails more often than we
know or for more reasons than we understand- how (contrary to Paine's
belief) it is difficult after all for us to break at will with the past.
-W.J. S.