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Age of Reason (version 2)

Public domain audiobook

Age of Reason (version 2)

by Thomas Paine

English· 11:36:40· 48 chapters
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a pamphlet, written by a British and American revolutionary Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason challenges institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of Christianity. Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival.



Part 1 was written sometime in 1793, and attacks the concepts of divine revelation and inspiration. He urged his readers to employ reason over revelation. Part 2 was written either during or shortly after his confinement in a French prison in 1794. In Part 2, Paine attacks the reliability of the Bible and points out numerous absurdities and contradictions. Part 3 was written in the United States sometime around 1800 but he delayed publication until 1807 for fears of violent backlash. Part 3 is an examination and rejection of the claims of prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Although these arguments were commonly known amongst the educated elite, Paine wrote in simple and irreverent prose that was easily accessible to a mass audience. Paine argued against religion as it is revealed in the Bible, but he argued just as strongly for a Deistic religion and a Creator of Reason.



This LibriVox recording of The Age of Reason is taken from Richard Carlile’s anthology of Paine’s writings, published in 1818. Carlile charged one shilling and sixpence for the work, and the first run of 1,000 copies sold out in a month. He immediately published a second edition of 3,000 copies. In 1819, Carlile was found guilty of blasphemy and seditious libel and sentenced to three years in Dorchester Gaol with a fine of £1,500. The prosecutions surrounding the printing of The Age of Reason in Britain continued for thirty years after its initial release and encompassed numerous publishers as well as over a hundred booksellers. (Summary by JoeD and Wikipedia)
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Chapters

  1. Chapter 1

    Part First, Section 1

    09:15
  2. Chapter 2

    Part First, Section 2

    10:01
  3. Chapter 3

    Part First, Section 3

    09:26
  4. Chapter 4

    Part First, Section 4

    10:58
  5. Chapter 5

    Part First, Section 5

    11:59
  6. Chapter 6

    Part First, Section 6

    09:57
  7. Chapter 7

    Part First, Section 7

    11:33
  8. Chapter 8

    Part First, Section 8

    13:04
  9. Chapter 9

    Part First, Section 9

    08:31
  10. Chapter 10

    Part First, Section 10

    12:15
  11. Chapter 11

    Part First, Section 11

    12:51
  12. Chapter 12

    Part First, Section 12

    13:20
  13. Chapter 13

    Part First, Section 13

    12:52
  14. Chapter 14

    Part First, Section 14

    13:36
  15. Chapter 15

    Part First, Section 15

    09:17
  16. Chapter 16

    Part Second, Preface

    09:55
  17. Chapter 17

    Part Second, Section 1

    11:57
  18. Chapter 18

    Part Second, Section 2

    15:08
  19. Chapter 19

    Part Second, Section 3

    14:24
  20. Chapter 20

    Part Second, Section 4

    15:42
  21. Chapter 21

    Part Second, Section 5

    22:03
  22. Chapter 22

    Part Second, Section 6

    12:46
  23. Chapter 23

    Part Second, Section 7

    21:17
  24. Chapter 24

    Part Second, Section 8

    13:54
  25. Chapter 25

    Part Second, Section 9

    15:23
  26. Chapter 26

    Part Second, Section 10

    17:44
  27. Chapter 27

    Part Second, Section 11

    13:43
  28. Chapter 28

    Part Second, Section 12

    17:08
  29. Chapter 29

    Part Second, Section 13

    17:11
  30. Chapter 30

    Part Second, Section 14

    17:20
  31. Chapter 31

    Part Second, Section 15

    16:25
  32. Chapter 32

    Part Second, Section 16

    15:58
  33. Chapter 33

    Part Second, Section 17

    16:18
  34. Chapter 34

    Part Second, Section 18

    09:06
  35. Chapter 35

    Part Second, Section 19

    17:49
  36. Chapter 36

    Part Second, Section 20

    19:43
  37. Chapter 37

    Part Third, Preface and Introduction

    08:42
  38. Chapter 38

    Part Third, An Essay on Dreams

    22:30
  39. Chapter 39

    Part Third, Section 1

    24:20
  40. Chapter 40

    Part Third, Section 2

    19:40
  41. Chapter 41

    Part Third, Section 3

    19:27
  42. Chapter 42

    Part Third, Section 4

    19:00
  43. Chapter 43

    Part Third, Section 5

    14:28
  44. Chapter 44

    Part Third, Section 6

    15:00
  45. Chapter 45

    Part Third, Section 7

    23:05
  46. Chapter 46

    Part Third, Section

    20:22
  47. Chapter 47

    Part Third, Appendix - Contradictory Doctrines in the New Testament, Between Matthew And Mark

    05:09
  48. Chapter 48

    Part Third, Appendix - My Private Thoughts on a Future State

    05:08