The Age of Reason · Chapter
XVII: Of the Means Employed in All Time, and Almost Universally, to Deceive the Peoples explained
Paine argues that mystery, miracle, and prophecy are the three principal means used throughout history to deceive people and impose false religions.
What happens
Paine argues that mystery, miracle, and prophecy are the three principal means used throughout history to deceive people and impose false religions. He contends that true religion, based on the belief in a God of moral truth and the practice of moral goodness, is free from mystery and accessible to all. Miracles are dismissed as improbable and unnecessary, serving only to obscure truth, while prophecies are seen as vague and unreliable, often manipulated by commentators. Paine concludes that these three elements belong to fabulous systems, not true religion.
Themes in this chapter
Reason vs. Revelation
Paine contrasts true religion based on reason and moral truth with the deceptive use of mystery, miracle, and prophecy in revealed religions.
Critique of Organized Religion
Paine argues that mystery, miracle, and prophecy are tools used by organized religions to impose upon and deceive people.
Science vs. Superstition
Paine uses natural examples (e.g., acorn growing into an oak) to show that true understanding comes from observation, not superstition or miracles.
Characters to notice
- Thomas Paine
Author and narrator; presents his critique of mystery, miracle, and prophecy as deceptive tools.
- Jesus Christ
Referenced in the context of the miracle of the devil taking him to a high mountain; Paine expresses respect for his moral character.
- Jonah
Mentioned in the story of the whale swallowing Jonah, used as an example to critique miracles.
- Satan
Referenced as the devil in the miracle of taking Jesus to a high mountain; Paine questions the credibility of such accounts.
Key passages
“Mystery is the antagonist of truth. It is a fog of human invention that obscures truth, and represents it in distortion.”
Mystery opposes truth by hiding it behind human-made confusion.
Paine asserts that mystery is used to obscure rather than reveal truth.
“Is it more probable that nature should go out of her course, or that a man should tell a lie?”
It is far more likely that a person is lying than that nature breaks its own laws.
Paine uses this reasoning to argue against belief in miracles.
“A prophet, therefore, is a character useless and unnecessary; and the safe side of the case is to guard against being imposed upon, by not giving credit to such relations.”
Prophets serve no real purpose, and it is safer to doubt their claims to avoid being deceived.
Paine dismisses prophecy as unreliable and potentially fraudulent.