How Common Sense drew on The Gospels
A documented line of influence: Thomas Paine demonstrably engaged Matthew’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
Relevance
6/10
On Common Sense’s page
- Paine builds part of his case by wresting The Gospels away from the monarchists, quoting Matthew's "render unto Caesar" and arguing it gives kings no sanction
- The verse had long been a prop for royal authority — knowing that history shows you exactly what Paine is overturning
- A pamphlet for independence, leaning on a Gospel verse to deny the divine right of kings
On The Gospels’s page
- Paine seized on the Gospel line every royalist loved — "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21) — and turned it against the crown
- His argument: the Jews of that moment had no king and answered to Rome, so the verse can't be read as a blessing on monarchy
- A scriptural commonplace, repurposed into revolutionary ammunition