# Mark Twain and the Christian Right. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 29, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657 "2020-05-29T10:57:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/21 "2020-05-31T14:09:59Z")
Naita, I was reading, and smilin’ with, Al capp when he was making fun of politicians. I had lost interest by Vietnam. Al was no longer funny, to me. In fact (don’t have a cite) our involvement in Vietnam probably marked the start of his slide toward irrelevance. I was hoping for the naming of contemporary funnypersons, influenced by and cracking wise on the conditions that prevail today. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/22 "2020-05-31T14:12:53Z")
Shootballs, I conflated Naita with Bryan, my apologies to both; it was my brain skipping a cog, nothing personal intended (insert smirkies galore). Dan ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/23 "2020-05-31T14:26:55Z")
Dang, ran afoul of the five-minute edit limit. I’m slow on the keyboard, but now I’m getting a complex. I meant to add: And Bryan, if Al seemed to be going after non-humerous lefties, it may have been because they were lefties, rather than their funny quotient. Part of a humorist’s job description is to exaggerate, you know? I say that today’s liberal comedians have it hard; how could you exaggerate today’s newsfeeds? You just repeat them, and you can hold the smirkies. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/24 "2020-05-31T14:42:54Z")
> [@Dandan](#): > > And Bryan, if Al seemed to be going after non-humerous lefties, it may have been because they were lefties, rather than their funny quotient. The only reason I brought it up is that I remember Capp specifically calling his targets humorless in the book’s introduction, though I don’t know where my copy is and I can’t get you a specific quote at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/25 "2020-05-31T14:54:02Z")
Nevermind, Bryan - I find Al a perfectly believable source for what Al believed. As I recall, his humor was built on a pretty rough parodying of rubes, hicks, and hillbillies, stuff that would be considered very non-PC today, not least by the targets themselves. I, myself, no longer consider yahoos laughable. Dan ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/26 "2020-05-31T19:18:19Z")
Forgive me, please, if I’m missing the obvious, but what is the debate here? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/27 "2020-05-31T20:26:10Z")
Twain was very good at spotting the hypocrisy and illogic in other people’s beliefs. That doesn’t mean that he had a consistent set of beliefs of his own. Seeing the inconsistencies in some well-known religion/philosophy/science/whatever is fine, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have your own carefully thought out religion/philosophy/science/whatever. Twain is a great writer, but it’s hard to put together a single set of beliefs from his writings. Here’s some links to some comments on and collections of his writings about religion et al.: > **[New film on Mark Twain highlights his religious doubts](https://www.sltrib.com/religion/global/2017/10/16/new-film-on-mark-twain-highlights-his-religious-doubts/)** > > Mark Twain, aka Samuel Clemens, didn’t have much of anything good to say about religion, at least the organized kind. > **[Mark Twain Had Choice Words to Say on Religion](https://www.thoughtco.com/religion-quotes-by-mark-twain-2832666)** > > Mark Twain had strong opinions on religion, as seen in these quotes. He points out the flaws in conventional religion, traditions, and dogma. > **[What are the political views and Religious Beliefs of Mark Twain? - Hollowverse](https://hollowverse.com/mark-twain)** > > Religion: Twain was raised a Presbyterian. He was probably what would be considered a deist in reality, though many contend he was an atheist. Political views: Twain was a liberal in his time, and might still be considered a liberal today. > **[Quotes on Religion from Mark Twain](http://formerfundy.blogspot.com/2010/02/quotes-on-religion-from-mark-twain.html)** > > Mark Twain (aka, Samuel Clemens, 1835-1910) was an American classic. Most people know him for his novels, such as, The Adventures of Tom Sa... > **[Mark Twain](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mark_Twain)** > > Samuel Langhorne Clemens, commonly known as Mark Twain (1835–1910), was an American author and satirist. He was also best buds with notorious inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla for a number of years; being an avid science enthusiast himself, Twain... [http://www.stjoan-center.com/twain/atheists.html](http://www.stjoan-center.com/twain/atheists.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/28 "2020-05-31T21:28:28Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > …the left is notoriously Humorless and Politically Correct. Either you’ve mixed up the Left and the Right, or our assessments are colored by our politically positions. Nel, I was replying to Mel (17), with a challenge to name some intentionally funny conservatives. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657/29 "2020-05-31T22:23:51Z")
Wendell, thanks for the links. Dan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-twain-and-the-christian-right/854657.md?page=1)