Once again we come face-to-face with Christless Christianity; only this time it's not merely exposed - it's exploited. The "king" and the "duke," who can be described as low-down, deceptive old cheats and liars, travel from town to town by means of Huck and Jim's raft (which they've commandeered) and proceed to use any method at all to acquire money. Well, the camp meeting "revival" service showed how dispicable they could be. Take a moment and ponder just how awful the camp meeting scene was. The entire affair was a mockery of what it proclaimed to be upholding. Christ was forgotten by the pastor, ignored by the people, and, to top it all off, all their "religion" was shamed by a scam. You know, I don't think Mark Twain was entirely telling the truth in his opening notice.... There are points to his story - important, pertinent points that get right to the heart of issues. Take this scene for example: he's making a point about the foolishness of emotional "religious" people who mindlessly succumb to lies. A great pastor once said (and I paraphrase) - If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything. What are these folks really standing for? Is there any depth, any foundation? ...Nope. Christ is not the basis for their "Christianity," nor is the Bible. So it's rather sad. But I think - not matter what Twain says! - there's a lesson we who are Christians can learn from that anecdote anyway. :)
~Huckleberry's Friend
No comments:
Post a Comment