In "The Age of Reason", Thomas Paine gives several examples of why he opposes Christianity. Before I started reading this essay, I was absolutely certain that I would not agree with every point Paine had to make and every opinion he expressed. It didn't take me long to realize that I had made the wrong assumption. There was more than one occasion while reading “The Age of Reason” where I found that I actually agreed with Paine's opinion/belief. This encouraged me to read “The Age of Reason” once again, but this time with an open mind. I decided that I would also note the similarities and differences between Paine's worldview and my own. I ran into my first disagreement with Paine a few sentences into reading it. Paine states: “All the national institutions of the churches. . .they seem to me nothing more than human inventions, set in motion to terrorize and enslave humanity and monopolize power and profit” (Timmerman and Hettinga 95). First of all, I disagree that churches are human inventions as Paine claims. I believe that the church is made up of the body of Christ and that Christ gave himself for the church. The church is structured to love, protect, serve, fellowship, and connect. After Paine expresses his feelings about the church, he soon begins to discuss his opinions on the word revelation. Paine states that “it is a contradiction in terms and ideas, to call revelation anything that comes to us second-hand, whether verbally or in writing (Timmerman and Hettinga 96). One example of revelation in the Bible that Paine gives is whenever Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God. Paine believes that the children of Israel had every right not to take these commandments seriously since only Moses receives them... halfway of paper... and cannot be fulfilled by man himself. Paine on the other hand believes that “there is no such thing as a miracle” (Timmerman and Hettinga 104). Paine says it is easier to believe that a man is telling a lie than to believe in a miracle. In a way, I agree that it is much easier to believe that a man is telling a lie than to believe in a miracle; however, I know what God is capable of doing and I know that He performs miracles every day. After reading “The Age of Reason,” I discovered that Paine simply rejected faith. He wanted proof before he believed anything. He used reasoning to shape his beliefs. While there are few opinions of Paine that I agree with, I disagree with his overall worldview. Paine would never accept the word of God; for him it was fallible. I fully accept God's word and strive to live my life according to what it says.