--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I disbelieve all holy men and holy books." description: "\"I disbelieve all holy men and holy books.\" — Thomas Paine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png" --- # I disbelieve all holy men and holy books. ![“I disbelieve all holy men and holy books.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png) > “I disbelieve all holy men and holy books.” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skepticism toward religious authority and sacred texts, urging independent thought. **In simple terms:** Question religious authority. Key Takeaway Think critically about spiritual claims. Themes skepticism religion independence critical thinking Mood critical provocative Type philosophical political When to use this quote - debates - personal belief formation - education - public discourse Key Concepts atheism secularism philosophical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What role should faith play in public life? - How to balance respect with critique? A Different Perspective May alienate believers; can be perceived as disrespectful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-books/) [Holy man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [If ancient tales say true, nor wrong these holy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/if-ancient-tales-say-true-nor-wrong-these-holy-men/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [...the holy men sat in an atmosphere reeking of antiquity, so thick with the dust of ages that you can't see through it -nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-bell/the-holy-men-sat-in-an-atmosphere-reeking-of-antiquity-so-thick-with/) [Gertrude Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-bell/) > [The museums of medieval Europe, from Holland to Tuscany, are crammed with instruments and devices upon which the holy men labored devoutly, in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-museums-of-medieval-europe-from-holland-to-tuscany-are-crammed/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I trust you as holy men trust God; you could do nought that was not pure and loving, though the deed might pierce me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-trust-you-as-holy-men-trust-god-you-could-do-nought-that-was-not/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The rabbis paled. I’d managed to terrify holy men. Maybe I could beat up a nun for an encore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-rabbis-paled-i-d-managed-to-terrify-holy-men-maybe-i-could-beat/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Had but my deeds been like my words, ah, then I had been numbered too with holy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/had-but-my-deeds-been-like-my-words-ah-then-i-had-been-numbered-too/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The holy men and women, whose lives are told throughout this book, witness to the fact that the word of God is alive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-binz/the-holy-men-and-women-whose-lives-are-told-throughout-this-book/) Stephen J. Binz > [How those holy men of old could storm the battlements above! When there was no way to look but up, they lifted up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-lockyer/how-those-holy-men-of-old-could-storm-the-battlements-above-when/) [Herbert Lockyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-lockyer/) > [Hence that dread and amazement with which as Scripture uniformly relates holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/hence-that-dread-and-amazement-with-which-as-scripture-uniformly/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Every religion ... has rituals, practices, holy writings or traditions, etc. Nothing like that has ever developed from Atheism. There are no holy men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrel-ray/every-religion-has-rituals-practices-holy-writings-or-traditions-etc/) [Darrel Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrel-ray/) > [I do not believe in the creed professed by any church that I know of. 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Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I disbelieve all holy men and holy books.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Paine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/thomas-paine-267_book_i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books_2679182.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I disbelieve all holy men and holy books.” — Thomas Paine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Paine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I disbelieve all holy men and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-disbelieve-all-holy-men-and-holy-books/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```