118 quotes
It is the duty of every man, so far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error.
The universe is composed of matter, and, as a system, is sustained by motion.
Discourse to the Theophilanthropists (1798)
To God, and not to man, are all men to account for their belief.
Discourse to the Theophilanthropists (1798)
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.
Accustom a people to believe that priests or any other class of men can forgive sins, and you will have sins in abundance.
Worship and Church Bells (1797)
He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
The atheist who affects to reason, and the fanatic who rejects reason, plunge themselves alike into inextricable difficulties.
Discourse to the Theophilanthropists (1798)
It is from the Bible that man has learned cruelty, rapine, and murder; for the belief of a cruel God makes a cruel man.
Wisdom is not the purchase of a day, and it is no wonder that we should err at the first setting off.
We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in.
One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests.
Worship and Church Bells (1797)
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime.
The one is a half-rational of whom there is some hope, the other a visionary to whom we must be charitable.
Discourse to the Theophilanthropists (1798)
No nation ought to be without a debt. A national debt is a national bond; and when it bears no interest, is in no case a grievance.
Common Sense (1776)
Christian mythology is made up partly from the ancient mythology and partly from the Jewish traditions.
It is the value of the improvements only, and not the earth itself, that is individual property.
Agrarian Justice (1795)
Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
The Theophilanthropists believe in the existence of God, and the immortality of the soul.
Discourse to the Theophilanthropists (1798)
Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such contradictions and absurdities.
My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.