Man is a religious animal
“Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the true religion, several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his (neighbors) throat if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven” Mark Twain
I suspect that most people when asked about Mark Twain have a certain respect for him since he is undoubtedly one of our greatest American authors, yet not many know that he made this statement. Here’s another from Twain, “If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be—a Christian”. If you’ve never heard these quotes before, then you may be experiencing awkwardness right now. It’s like leaning back on a chair to the point of flux, between falling on your ass or recuperating. You love the man but didn’t know he was anti religious. My question to you is, why does it matter? Some will respond that there is a cultural war going on, a fight for the very soul of our country and, like it or not we must choose a side. Others like myself, understand that it really doesn’t matter cause, “who cares what Twain thinks.”
I used to find it entertaining to go on to the web and research this religious cultural war but I’ve grown weary of it. Same old accusations from the atheist about our God condoning (commanding) genocide in the Old Testament and pitching fire and brimstone in the New. Religionist taunt the atheists with wanting morality without grounds for morality and warnings that Hell is waiting for them whether they believe in it or not. Both sides perceive themselves as right and that’s all they care about and in the meantime, time is running out for the race of men. Can you feel it?
My flesh tells me to leave the mad men to their folly and let the whole world go up in flames Armageddon style for it will happen sooner or later. The Spirit however has called me to preach of the Common Ground. I’m not doing it for myself cause I know that this won’t win me any popularity contest with either side of the cultural war. I can honestly say however that I am not doing it cause I love my human brethren either since I have met very few people worth the price. I do it because I believe that the Holy Spirit is seeking those that want to be peacemakers in a time of war. He is searching for those who want to stand up for righteousness without falling into the trap of self righteousness. He is trying to recruit those who know that the answer is within each of us, and if we would only stop trying to corner the market on goodness, we might see the answer in others as well.
Be fore warned , I am not your daddy’s preacher. I will use colorful language at times for emphasis.
“Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer” Twain
The Common Ground is found on my pages and I will be adding to it a few pages at a time.
