Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society. – Thomas Paine
Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such contradictions and absurdities. – Thomas Paine
The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion. – Thomas Paine
It is not a God, just and good, but a devil, under the name of God, that the Bible describes. – Thomas Paine
I never appreciated positive heroes in literature. They are almost always cliches, copies of copies, until the model is exhausted. I prefer perplexity, doubt, uncertainty, not just because it provides a more productive literary raw material, but because that is the way we humans really are. – Jose Saramago