Of The Books of the New Testament Address to the Believers in the Book Called the Scriptures

 The New Testament contains twenty-seven books, of which four are called Gospels; one called the Acts of the Apostles; fourteen called the Epistles of Paul; one of James; two of Peter; three of John; one of Jude; one called the Revelation. None of those books have the appearance of being written by the persons whose names they bear, neither do we know who the authors were. They come to us on no other authority than the Church of Rome, which the Protestant Priests, especially those of New England, call the Whore of Babylon. This church,...

Read More

Thomas Paine on the Meaning of the Word Religion

OF THE WORD "RELIGION," AND OTHER WORDS OF UNCERTAIN SIGNIFICATION The word religion is a word of forced application when used with respect to the worship of God. The root of the word is the Latin verb ligo, comes religo, to tie or bind over again, to make more fast - from religo, comes the substantive religo, which, with the addition of n makes the English substantive religion. The French use the word properly: when a woman enters a convent she is called a novitiate, that is, she is tied or bound by that oath to the performance...

Read More