# VIII: Of the New Testament explained — The Age of Reason

> Chapter companion for The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.

## What happens

Paine critiques the New Testament, arguing that Jesus Christ did not found a new religion but called for moral virtues and belief in one God. He questions the authenticity of the Gospels and epistles, dismissing them as anecdotal and possibly forged. He attacks the doctrine of redemption as a fabrication based on pecuniary justice, not moral justice, and argues that it undermines reason and leads to superstitious practices.

## Themes in this chapter

### Critique of Organized Religion

Paine attacks the church's fabrication of doctrines like redemption and purgatory for financial gain.

### Reason vs. Revelation

Paine argues that revelation cannot apply to anecdotal accounts and that reason is the true gift from God.

### Critique of Biblical Inerrancy

Paine questions the authenticity and consistency of the New Testament writings, suggesting they are forged.

## Character check-ins

### Thomas Paine

Author and critic, presents his deist arguments against Christian theology.

### Jesus Christ

Portrayed as a Jewish moral teacher who did not intend to establish a new religion or be crucified.

### Paul

Criticized as a 'manufacturer of quibbles' for his theological interpretations.

### Moses

Mentioned as a founder of a religious system, contrasted with Jesus.

### Muhammad

Mentioned as a founder of a religious system, contrasted with Jesus.

### Judas

Noted for betraying Jesus due to his concealment and lack of public recognition.

## Key lines

> If Jesus Christ was the being which those mythologists tell us he was, and that he came into this world to suffer, which is a word they sometimes use instead of 'to die,' the only real suffering he could have endured would have been to live.

If Jesus were divine as claimed, his true suffering was living on Earth, not dying.

_Paine uses irony to highlight the absurdity of the Christian narrative of suffering._

> The probability, therefore, is, that the whole theory or doctrine of what is called the redemption (which is said to have been accomplished by the act of one person in the room of another) was originally fabricated on purpose to bring forward and build all those secondary and pecuniary redemptions upon.

The doctrine of redemption was likely invented to justify the church's sale of pardons and indulgences.

_Paine argues that redemption theory is a financial scheme rather than a spiritual truth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-i-viii-of-the-new-testament
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_age_of_reason_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters