Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious -- unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humor and religion seem to be at odds, suggesting that a person who truly understands humor may struggle to accept religious beliefs.
Mark Twain's quote suggests that an individual who possesses a significant awareness of humor and its often absurd nature might find it difficult to fully embrace religious faith. The implication is that recognizing life's ironies and contradictions often leads to questioning and skepticism towards traditional beliefs, as one might have to ignore their critical thinking to accept religious dogma.
Themes
HumorReligionPerceptionBeliefSkepticism
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on faith and humor, one could cite this quote to illustrate the conflict between serious belief and the acknowledgement of life's absurdities.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
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To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
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