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"I have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I have never disputed, being conscious that I am no Christian, except mere infant baptism makes me one; and as to being a Deist, I know not, strictly speaking, whether I am one or not." - Reason, the Only Oracle of Man, 1784, preface
"... The doctrine of the Trinity is destitute of foundation, and tends manifestly to superstition and idolatry." - ibid., p. 124
"That Jesus Christ was not a god is evident from his own words, where, speaking on the day of judgment, he says, 'Of that day and hour, knoweth no man, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son.' This is giving up all pretension to divinity, acknowledging in the most explicit manner that he did not know all things." - ibid., p. 125
"There is not any thing, which has contributed so much to delude mankind in religious matters, as mistaken apprehension concerning supernatural inspiration or revelation." - ibid., p. 200
"In those parts of the world where learning and science has prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue." - ibid., p. 265
"They are blind with respect to their own superstition, yet they can perceive and despise it in others. Protestants very readily discern and expose the weak side of popery, and papists are as ready and acute in discovering the errors of heretics." - ibid., p. 337
Footnote: Abraham Lincoln reportedly told a story about Allen's stay in England. The American visited the home of a Briton who scornfully kept a painting of George Washington in his water closet. The host asked Allen what he thought of the gesture. Allen replied that it was quite appropriate, because "nothing could make an Englishman sh*t like the sight of George Washington."
(Haught is editor emeritus of West Virginia's largest newspaper, The Charleston Gazette-Mail. This is a chapter from his 1996 book, 2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People With the Courage to Doubt, Prometheus Books, all rights reserved.)
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