What is The Age of Reason?
{{Italic title}} [[File:PaineAgeReason.png|thumb|alt=Title page from The Age of Reason|Title page from the first English edition of Part I]] '''''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology''''' is a book written by the [[British people|British]] and [[Americans|American]] political activist [[Thomas Paine]]. The book defends the philosophical position of [[deism]], follows in the tradition of 18th-century British deism, and challenges the official [[religion]] and the authority of the [[Bible]]. It was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807. ''The Age of Reason'' waas a best-seller in the United States, where it was the cause for a coming back of deism. However, it was not well received in Britain because the public there feared increased [[Radicalism (historical)#United Kingdom|political radicalism]] as a result of the [[French Revolution]]. ''The Age of Reason'' presents common deistic arguments; for example, it highlights what Paine saw as [[corruption]] of the [[Christianity|Christian Church]]. He prefers reason to [[revelation]], which leads him to reject [[miracle]]s and to view the Bible as an ordinary book, rather than a text given by [[God]]. He promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a [[creator god]]. {{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Reason, The}} [[Category:1794]] [[Category:1790s books]] [[Category:1800s books]]