A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of equality and compassion towards others as key principles of religious duty.
In this quote, Thomas Paine articulates a belief in the inherent equality of all individuals, asserting that true religious obligations involve actions grounded in justice, kindness, and the pursuit of happiness for others. He suggests that instead of mere rituals or dogma, the essence of religion should focus on moral principles that uplift and support fellow human beings, highlighting an ethical approach to spirituality that prioritizes social justice and compassion.
Themes
EqualityJusticeMercyHappinessReligionCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about social justice and equality at a community rally.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes βThat God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
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I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
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Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
Thomas PaineRead
The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
Thomas PaineRead
To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
Thomas PaineRead
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