"Whence arose all the horrid assassinations of whole nations of men, women, and infants, with which the Bible is filled; and the bloody persecutions, and tortures unto death, and religious wars, that since that time have laid Europe in blood and ashes; whence arose they, but from this impious thing called religion, and this monstrous belief that God has spoken to man?
Thomas Paine,
Thomas Paine was an unbeliever. So what? Unbelievers can do good, too.
I also have to agree with him that religious wars have death and destruction. On the other hand, he didn’t live to see far more deadly modern wars fought over essentially atheistic political ideologies.
Finally, I heartily disagree it’s “monstrous” to believe God has spoken to man. In fact, I think it’s monstrous to believe in a world without the hope of God. If this (world) is all there is, God help us!