Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1794) http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0548.04
“
As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of atheism; a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God. It is a compound made up chiefly of man-ism with but little deism, and is as near to atheism as twilight is to darkness. It introduces between man and his Maker an opaque body, which it calls a redeemer[.]
— Thomas Paine
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of atheism; a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God. It is a compound made up chiefly of man-ism with but little deism, and is as near to atheism as twilight is to darkness. It introduces between man and his Maker an opaque body, which it calls a redeemer[.]" in the context of "Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1794) http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0548.04" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Jesus" (Quotes about Jesus: Sorted by historical period and date, with sections for quotes from major religious works., The Age of Enlightenment (Eighteenth Century))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 30, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BC - AD 30 / 33), also known as Jesus Christ, Yeshua, Yeshu, Jesu and Isa, is the central figure of Christianity, a philosopher and teacher. He is believed to have lived around modern Israel, around 1 AD, and to be the Messiah of ultimate salvation and the Son of God by followers of Christian traditions. Manichaeans, Gnostics, Muslims, Bahá'ís, and others have found prominent places for Jesus in their religions.
About Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BC - AD 30 / 33), also known as Jesus Christ, Yeshua, Yeshu, Jesu and Isa, is the central figure of Christianity, a philosopher and teacher. He is believed to have lived around modern Israel, around 1 AD, and to be the Messiah of ultimate salvation and the Son of God by followers of Christian traditions. Manichaeans, Gnostics, Muslims, Bahá'ís, and others have found prominent places for Jesus in their religions.
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