Challenging the Institution of Religion with the Satire of Mark Twain - Essay Example

Challenging the of Religion with the Satire of Mark Twain The Bible is one of the most revered pieces of literature in history and is looked at and studied as sacred material. The stigma that surrounds this in social and cultural teachings influences and alters the way that most look at The Bible, religion and personal associations with the literature. In Mark Twain’s satire about The Bible there is a challenge to readers of the work to look at the literature from a different perspective. The techniques that Twain uses are defined by changing the wording, plot line and the outcome of each of the stories. Writing and crafting the stories in a different manner leads the reader to look at the sacred and religious material in a different manner and changes the perspective about the work. Twain is able to challenge readers to look outside of cultural and social associations with The Bible and instead to see the way that institutionalized religion has used the literature to make individuals think in a certain way. The first way that Twain is able to challenge readers to look at The Bible as one that was considered sacred only for institutionalized religion is through the associations with the stories. When reading the original text of The Bible, there is an association with the stories as miracles that can’t be reproduced. Each of the stories comes from a perspective of ancient times and holds relevance only because of the ability to use an association that is outside of culture and literature. Twain takes this concept and changes it so that it sounds modern. The appeal, mystery and the sacredness is lost specifically because of the miracles and association with the material becomes based on culture. For instance, when speaking about nature, Twain takes The Bible story that creates the image of men and gods being grandose and showing that the actual representation is natural. “If I may use a figure, she has established the general intellectual level of the race at say, six feet. Take any billion men and stand them in a mass, and their head tops will make a floor – a floor as level as a table. The floor represents the intellectual altitude of the masses – and it never changes” (Twain, 273). References such as this take the exotic and the mystery of The Bible and challenges readers to think of the literature in a practical and scientific way. When it is explained in this manner, it loses the relevance to the sacred mysteries from the other writings and becomes a basic, scientific application. The second way in which Twain challenges readers is to question the validity of The Bible stories and the way that they are looked at with sacred relevance. An example that is used is the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. According to institutionalized religion, this was a mistake of man that caused him to see good and evil, as opposed to living only in good. Some religious institutions further this with the difference between man and woman and literal interpretations on Eve eating the fruit of good and evil. The sacred interpretations of the Genesis story have turned into a part of the institution of religion and have affected the way in which society and culture believe and think. Twain challenges these thoughts by stating that this was a mistake by the father and that the story was made up because there was not a way to undo the mistake. This is further challenged by Twain directly asking whether the passages are true when taken literally while reinterpreting the meaning into one that is overlooked in institutions. “His error was in supposing that the knowledge of the difference between good and evil was all that the fruit could confer. ‘Did it confer more than that?’ ‘Consider the passage which says man is prone to evil as the sparks to fly upward. Is that true? Is that really true of man?... ‘It is not true of the men of any other planet. It explains the mystery” (Twain, 310). This specific passage is one that refers to Genesis as not revealing the entire truth about good and evil that is accepted in society and culture. Furthermore, Twain is able to show that the religious institutions don’t have the truth or depth of understanding about good and evil and have covered up the mystery with misinterpretations. The same concept is not only applied to the Biblical stories, but also becomes relevant in the satirical passages about how communities have blindly accepted the culture, social standing and the Biblical culture that has been translated through different institutions. The challenge which Twain continues is one that forces the reader to ask why The Bible stories are interpreted the way that everyone reads them as well as how this relates specifically to the way in which many function. More specifically, Twain directly points out how the stories of both The Bible and of Christianity don’t hold power and often blind those in culture to what is occurring. “From the beginning of time, whenever a king has lain dangerously ill, the priesthood and some part of the nation have prayed in unison that the king be spared to his grieving and anxious people and in no instance was their prayer ever answered” (Twain, 17). Through passages like these, Twain is able to show how the institution of the Church and the claim to power is one that is irrelevant. The question that is a part of this is based on how individuals in culture can accept the church and The Bible as an ultimate authority when there is no direct relation to the powers that are associated with the concept of Christianity. The main point that Twain is trying to convey is to question Christianity, powers in which individuals rely on and the perspectives in which they hold in relation to God, spirituality and the church. Twain’s satire is one that blatantly shows that the powers which have interpreted The Bible have done so to leave those in society blind. Twain uses satire specifically to get readers to see outside of the perspective of Christianity as an institution. By doing this, he is not only challenging readers, but is also persuading individuals to see beyond the church. Instead of seeing demons, Satan and other evil deeds as a part of life, Twain questions if the reader really knows or understands true spirituality. Twain uses Satan as an example in Letters from the Earth to show that most who are interested in religion as an institution don’t understand the realities of spirit and the perspectives which are associated with this. Twain uses Satan as one visiting the earth and has him state: “The people are all insane, the other animals are all insane, the Earth is insane. Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm. Yet he blandly and in all sincerity calls himself the noblest work of God...” (213). Excerpts like this force the reader to look at a different perspective of how they act in culture and society as well as the relationships which have been created because of power structures such as religion and the church. Twain is then able to alter the power structure of the church to lose its relevance and to show those who believe blindly in The Bible that there is no relevance to the beliefs that they have lived their lives by sincerely. The tone that Twain uses is one that furthers the satire and demystifies the institution that created power over The Bible. The tone that is created is contemporary in nature and tells the stories like telling them to a child. The sarcasm furthers this with the belief that there is no importance around the institutions, religion or the way that many look at religion. Each of the stories are referred to with characters that are only another person and with language that is based on contemporary slang and approaches. By doing this, Twain is able to add into the challenges to readers where The Bible becomes irreverent. For instance, having tips to get to heaven, domestic troubles and dialogue between Adam and Eve and other popular cultural beliefs all attribute to the demystifying of the institution of religion. Instead of creating a sacred approach that most have toward Christianity and the church, there is an understanding that this is only another story and when read in a different manner, loses all significance in terms of spirituality and religion. The Bible then becomes one that only uses a specific type of language to create a sense of power over others. The concepts that Twain displays in his satirical works about The Bible are designated to challenge readers into a different approach about religion. The main question that Twain associates with his satirical works is based on the power of the church and how it has formed a stigma over religion, good and evil and living a virtuous life. Twain challenges the institution of religion and how many have lived a specific livelihood because of power structures and defined beliefs that were created for the use of power. By using satire, Twain is able to show a different perspective of The Bible and of Christianity and is able to challenge institutions of religion as well as how these have created the wrong types of associations with religion and the stories that are told about spirituality. Works Cited Twain, Mark. Howard Baetzhold, Joesph McCullough (ed). The Bible According to Mark Twain: Irreverent Writings on Eden, Heaven, and the Flood by America’s Master Satirist. New York: Touchstone, 1995. Read More

Some religious institutions further this with the difference between man and woman and literal interpretations on Eve eating the fruit of good and evil. The sacred interpretations of the Genesis story have turned into a part of the institution of religion and have affected the way in which society and culture believe and think. Twain challenges these thoughts by stating that this was a mistake by the father and that the story was made up because there was not a way to undo the mistake. This is further challenged by Twain directly asking whether the passages are true when taken literally while reinterpreting the meaning into one that is overlooked in institutions.

“His error was in supposing that the knowledge of the difference between good and evil was all that the fruit could confer. ‘Did it confer more than that?’ ‘Consider the passage which says man is prone to evil as the sparks to fly upward. Is that true? Is that really true of man?. ‘It is not true of the men of any other planet. It explains the mystery” (Twain, 310). This specific passage is one that refers to Genesis as not revealing the entire truth about good and evil that is accepted in society and culture.

Furthermore, Twain is able to show that the religious institutions don’t have the truth or depth of understanding about good and evil and have covered up the mystery with misinterpretations. The same concept is not only applied to the Biblical stories, but also becomes relevant in the satirical passages about how communities have blindly accepted the culture, social standing and the Biblical culture that has been translated through different institutions. The challenge which Twain continues is one that forces the reader to ask why The Bible stories are interpreted the way that everyone reads them as well as how this relates specifically to the way in which many function.

More specifically, Twain directly points out how the stories of both The Bible and of Christianity don’t hold power and often blind those in culture to what is occurring. “From the beginning of time, whenever a king has lain dangerously ill, the priesthood and some part of the nation have prayed in unison that the king be spared to his grieving and anxious people and in no instance was their prayer ever answered” (Twain, 17). Through passages like these, Twain is able to show how the institution of the Church and the claim to power is one that is irrelevant.

The question that is a part of this is based on how individuals in culture can accept the church and The Bible as an ultimate authority when there is no direct relation to the powers that are associated with the concept of Christianity. The main point that Twain is trying to convey is to question Christianity, powers in which individuals rely on and the perspectives in which they hold in relation to God, spirituality and the church. Twain’s satire is one that blatantly shows that the powers which have interpreted The Bible have done so to leave those in society blind.

Twain uses satire specifically to get readers to see outside of the perspective of Christianity as an institution. By doing this, he is not only challenging readers, but is also persuading individuals to see beyond the church. Instead of seeing demons, Satan and other evil deeds as a part of life, Twain questions if the reader really knows or understands true spirituality. Twain uses Satan as an example in Letters from the Earth to show that most who are interested in religion as an institution don’t understand the realities of spirit and the perspectives which are associated with this.

Twain uses Satan as one visiting the earth and has him state: “The people are all insane, the other animals are all insane, the Earth is insane. Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm.

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