An idealist, a radical, and a master rhetorician, Thomas Paine wrote and
lived with a keen sense of urgency and excitement. In The Age of Reason,
Thomas Paine declares that all religious traditions are ultimately
established for the dependence of mankind. He openly criticizes the
Bible and many of the fallacies contained within, as well as providing a
shrewd analysis of Christianity and how it developed from its pagan
ancestry-arguments many critics claim carry weight today. Paine
alienated many of his countrymen with his incendiary viewpoints. Forced
to leave America for England, Paine eventually returned to the United
States in 1802, though he remained all but ostracized. He died in
poverty seven years later in 1809. AUTHOR BIO: Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
was an Anglo-American political theorist and writer born in Norfolk,
England. In 1774, Paine emigrated to America, bearing letters of
introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Soon thereafter, he became involved
in the clashes between England and the American colonies and published
the enormously successful pamphlet Common Sense in 1776, which was
widely distributed and contributed to the patriot cause throughout the
American Revolution.
