of
inanimate matter, is a text as well for devotion as for philosophy--for
gratitude, as for human improvement. It will perhaps be said, that if
such a revolution in the system of religion takes place, every preacher
ought to be a philosopher. Most certainly, and every house of devotion a
school of science.

It has been by wandering from the immutable laws of science, and the
light of reason, and setting up an invented thing called "revealed
religion," that so many wild and blasphemous conceits have been formed
of the Almighty. The Jews have made him the assassin of the human
species, to make room for the religion of the Jews. The Christians have
made him the murderer of himself, and the founder of a new religion
to supersede and expel the Jewish religion. And to find pretence and
admission for these things, they must have supposed his power or his
wisdom imperfect, or his will changeable; and the changeableness of the
will is the imperfection of the judgement. The philosopher knows that
the laws of the Creator have never changed, with respect either to the
principles of science, or the properties of matter. Why then is it to be
supposed they have changed with respect to man?

I here close the subject. I have shown in all the foregoing parts of
this work that the Bible and Testament are impositions and forgeries;
and I leave the evidence I have produced in proof of it to be refuted,
if any one can do it; and I leave the ideas that are suggested in the
conclusion of the work to rest on the mind of the reader; certain as
I am that when opinions are free, either in matters of govemment or
religion, truth will finally and powerfully prevail.

END OF PART II

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Writings of Thomas Paine, Volume
IV., by Thomas Paine

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE ***

***** This file should be named 3743.txt or 3743.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/4/3743/

Produced by Norman M. Wolcott

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms o