Competing at State!

Last weekend my brother and I had the opportunity to compete at a state piano competition. Read more about the experience here!

Thomas Paine

I enjoy studying American history. It’s amazing to see God’s hand through the harsh first winter the Pilgrims endured to the miraculous victory of the Revolutionary War. It’s encouraging to discover and study the godly men and women that lived during the birth of our nation, to read about the Great Awakenings, to hear how God blessed our nation as we followed Him. But even though our nation was developed on Christian principles, everyone was not a Christian. Some were influenced by worldly philosophies.

This year in World Views of the Western World, my brother and I listened to a variety of tapes about the American Revolution and the French Revolution. It was interesting to learn about the underlying ideologies and foundations of the contrasting revolutions, as well as the worldviews of the people who influenced or were a part of these radically opposing ideologies.

One person we studied was Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine is generally remembered as the author of Common Sense. As an American who lived in the late 1700s, it was fascinating to learn what he really believed. Paine was the author of Rights of Man. In our tape by Knowledge Products, they conveyed that, “Paine believed the French Revolution was based on the same principles as the American Revolution: natural rights, an implied ‘social contract’, and the right of revolution against oppressive governments. Paine…sees the government as the primary threat to social order. He has little regard for traditional institutions, if those institutions are oppressive and unjust.” This statement already should give you some clear ideas of what Paine believed. To claim the French Revolution was based on the same principles of the American Revolution is ludicrous. The humanistic concepts and ideals of French Revolution are a direct contrast from the biblical principles of the American Revolution. While the French Revolution built their ideas on the prior Enlightenment, the men of the American Revolution formed their beliefs upon the Reformation.

Because we know that Paine claimed the American and French Revolutions to be similar, we can already tell that his understanding of their principles is off, so we can rightfully assume we will find other flaws in his thinking. And thus is true, for Paine asserted that man will always pursue peace, whether there is government or not. This assertion reveals his belief that man is naturally good. Because if he truly believed man was evil, he would understand that there is nothing inside us that would pursue peace on our own. We are selfish. We want what’s best for us. If there was no government, there would be complete chaos as people would do what they considered best and good. Because of his presupposition of the goodness of man, he believed that revolutions were good. In his understanding, social order improves in revolutions when the government is destroyed. Chaos? Not according to Paine! People will be doing good and that leads to a “great” society. Because Paine did not grasp the importance of law or government, he believed that it is also wise to reject the past laws and bindings of the last generations, and instead to come up with new ideas. Forget the older, the wiser, the law—let’s come up with new things for our present generation! This is dangerous, and yet our culture has sadly imitated these same ideals by finding the wisdom in the youth.

I hope you were encouraged and inspired to truly study history from a biblical perspective. It’s so much more interesting that way! :) It’s so important to be able to discern and recognize faulty thinkers, philosophers and anyone else who is influencing others. We must take the ideas from any person to Scripture and make sure they are lining up with what God’s Word teaches.