It is, I believe, impossible to find in any story upon record so many and such glaring absurdities, contradictions, and falsehoods, as are in the books [The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John]. They are more numerous and striking than I had any expectation of finding, when I began this examination,...

The Theological Works of Thomas Paine. [Containing the Age of Reason and Some Smaller Writings.] (ed. 1818)