--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those three means are Mystery, Miracle…" description: "\"“Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy. The first two are incompatible with true religion, and the third ought always to be suspected. A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/thomas-paine-267_prophecy_those-three-means-are-mystery-miracle-an_1854885.png" --- # Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy. The… ![“Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy. The first two are incompatible with true religion, and the third ought always to be suspected. As mystery answered all general purposes, miracle followed as an occasional auxiliary. The former served to bewilder the mind, the latter to puzzle…” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/thomas-paine-267_prophecy_those-three-means-are-mystery-miracle-an_1854885.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/thomas-paine-267_prophecy_those-three-means-are-mystery-miracle-an_1854885.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/thomas-paine-267_prophecy_those-three-means-are-mystery-miracle-an_1854885.png) > ““Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy. The first two are incompatible with true religion, and the third ought always to be suspected. As mystery answered all general purposes, miracle followed as an occasional auxiliary. The former served to bewilder the mind, the latter to puzzle the senses. The one was the lingo, the other the legerdemain. As Mystery and Miracle took charge of the past and the present, Prophecy took charge of the future, and rounded the tenses of faith.”” [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. Mystery and miracle distract from rational faith; prophecy, as future‑oriented belief, should be scrutinized. **In simple terms:** Question supernatural claims; focus on reason. Key Takeaway Apply critical thinking to spiritual claims. Themes skepticism faith reason Mood analytical critical Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - religious debate - education - public policy - personal belief systems Key Concepts epistemology critical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate useful metaphor from harmful superstition? - What role should prophecy play in modern belief? A Different Perspective May dismiss meaningful symbolic aspects of faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Means Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-mystery-2459158/) [Miracle Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle-prophecy-2459159/) [Mystery Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-miracle-2459160/) [Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophecy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Tenses Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenses-faith-2459161/) [True religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-religion/) ## Related quotes > [What the word God means is the mystery really. It's the mystery that we face as humans the mystery of existence, of suffering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/what-the-word-god-means-is-the-mystery-really-it-s-the-mystery-that/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I see that the life of this place is always emerging beyond expectation or prediction or typicality, that it is unique, given to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-see-that-the-life-of-this-place-is-always-emerging-beyond/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. We know more than we can say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-we-have-more-than-we-can-know/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [One of the most exiting things about being pregnant is that I just am accepting the complete unknown; it's a complete mystery and miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-portman/one-of-the-most-exiting-things-about-being-pregnant-is-that-i-just-am/) [Natalie Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-portman/) > [The intellectual part of religion is a private affair between every man and his Maker, and in which no third party has any right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-intellectual-part-of-religion-is-a-private-affair-between-every/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The New Testament, they tell us, is founded upon the prophecies of the Old; if so, it must follow the fate of its foundation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-new-testament-they-tell-us-is-founded-upon-the-prophecies-of-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The New Testament rests itself for credulity and testimony on what are called prophecies in the Old Testament, of the person called Jesus Christ;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-new-testament-rests-itself-for-credulity-and-testimony-on-what/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [I've never understood how God could expect His creatures to pick the one true religion by faith-it strikes me as a sloppy way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-ve-never-understood-how-god-could-expect-his-creatures-to-pick-the/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Religion is not a book, it is not an institution, and it is not even a person. True Religion is realization of the self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/religion-is-not-a-book-it-is-not-an-institution-and-it-is-not-even-a/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“If the older churches often found themselves unable to cope with growth and mobility, the newer sects—especially the Separates and the Baptists—did not. 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God specializes in "impossible" things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-eugene-simcox/we-need-never-refrain-from-asking-anything-of-god-simply-on-the/) [Carroll Eugene Simcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-eugene-simcox/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [True Religion has always been about being bold and staying real, and I felt dat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sexyy-red/true-religion-has-always-been-about-being-bold-and-staying-real-and-i/) [Sexyy Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sexyy-red/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. 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Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/suspicion-is-the-companion-of-mean-souls-and-the-bane-of-all-good/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? 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 Prophecy quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [When the government pays, health care's lack of affordability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 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For in the word one can find a light which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/among-all-the-valuable-things-of-this-world-the-word-is-the-most/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We were young, and we had no need for prophecies. Just living was itself an act of prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/we-were-young-and-we-had-no-need-for-prophecies-just-living-was/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [PROPHECY, n. The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/prophecy-n-the-art-and-practice-of-selling-one-s-credibility-for/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [It is not till it is discovered that high individual incomes will not purchase the mass of mankind immunity from cholera, typhus, and ignorance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-tawney/it-is-not-till-it-is-discovered-that-high-individual-incomes-will-not/) [R. H. Tawney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-tawney/) > [“Oh, one more thing,' Thor calls out. 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