10 books
—
1 voter
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Bible According to Mark Twain” as Want to Read:
The Bible According to Mark Twain
by
In this brilliant and hilarious compilation of essays, letters, diaries, and excerpts--some never before published--Mark Twain takes on Heaven and Hell, sinners and saints and showcases his own unique approach to the Holy Scriptures including
*ADAM AND EVE'S DIVERGENT ACCOUNTS OF THEIR DOMESTIC TROUBLES
*SATAN'S TAKE ON OUR CONCEPT OF THE AFTERLIFE
*METHUSELAH'S DISCUSSION OF ...more
*ADAM AND EVE'S DIVERGENT ACCOUNTS OF THEIR DOMESTIC TROUBLES
*SATAN'S TAKE ON OUR CONCEPT OF THE AFTERLIFE
*METHUSELAH'S DISCUSSION OF ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
December 6th 1996
by Simon Schuster
(first published 1995)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Bible According to Mark Twain,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Bible According to Mark Twain
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of The Bible According to Mark Twain
HILARIOUS. I can't say enough about Twain-- his insights are right on the money, and he dissects things in a way I personally had never thought about, but makes so much sense immidietly upon hearing them.
...more
I thought I might be a kangaroo, but it must be a new species because she keeps calling it Adam...
Hahahahahahaha.
Oh Samuel Clemens, where are you now? Your blasphemy is a gift to the world.
Hahahahahahaha.
Oh Samuel Clemens, where are you now? Your blasphemy is a gift to the world.
The Bible According to Mark Twain is collection of his writings on the Eden, and God’s flooding of the Earth and Heaven, written over a period of nearly 40 years. I must confess, for my sins, that this is the first Mark Twain I have ever read, save for his countless quotations and aphorisms which litter books and websites of an atheistic bent.
The book is composed of two principle sections, the first is Twain’s understanding and re-working of the Christian creation myth through fictionalised diar ...more
The book is composed of two principle sections, the first is Twain’s understanding and re-working of the Christian creation myth through fictionalised diar ...more
Mark Twain is still funny even after a century. But, like the reviews say serious thoughts are behind the satirical remarks. Sometimes sweet and sentimental, sometimes indignant and scornful, the book contains a lot of Twain's unfinished work.
From "Extracts from Adam's Diary," comes the tender quote, "...it is better to live outside the Garden with [Eve:] than inside it without her."
From "Eve's Diary," comes Adam's lament at the grave of Eve, "Wherever she was, there was Eden."
From "Captain Whe ...more
From "Extracts from Adam's Diary," comes the tender quote, "...it is better to live outside the Garden with [Eve:] than inside it without her."
From "Eve's Diary," comes Adam's lament at the grave of Eve, "Wherever she was, there was Eden."
From "Captain Whe ...more
I find it amusing that modern day atheists are so quick to claim certain personages to their own- like Twain, Jefferson, and Paine. The evidence to me from reading this shows that Twain might have been super-critical of the dominant US religion, but by no means is he claiming no God exists. Rather, he seems to be criticizing the inequities, the inconsistencies with reality, and the closeminded-ness of the typical believer of his time. For in one of the final entries of this well-addended book he
...more
Not only does Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) share my birthday, but we also share many an opinion. This satiric romp warms my heart. It really does.
I think that rather than the Biblical references, the real selling point of this book is it's collection of unpublished and obscure works by Mark Twain. It's a must have for any collector.
This is a collection of Mark Twain's satirical writings on the Bible. Some of them are unfinished and others are relatively unknown. They range from clever mockery (Letters From Earth) to romantic tragedy (The Diaries of Adam and Eve).
My one complaint about this book is that it tries to do too much. Mark Twai ...more
This is a collection of Mark Twain's satirical writings on the Bible. Some of them are unfinished and others are relatively unknown. They range from clever mockery (Letters From Earth) to romantic tragedy (The Diaries of Adam and Eve).
My one complaint about this book is that it tries to do too much. Mark Twai ...more
The Bible According to Mark Twain is a wordy spoof that takes the reader to the very roots of creation. I can well imagine this narrative wasn’t embraced by all who picked it up as it pokes Twain’s humorous literary finger at the Old Testament. I enjoyed it for what it was and leave the theological complaints to others. It isn’t his best work but it does bear his unmistakable brand of humor. I particularly enjoyed the Excerpts From Adam’s Dairy as it showed that particular part of Genesis in a n
...more
Very witty. If you like satire, this book is for you. Curious would probably be the best word to describe it.
This book is fascinating. If you like Twain you will love this book that Dr. McCullough has put together.
Interesting read. Makes good points regarding the foolishness of organized religion. Humans trying to justify their existence. Humans the most evil species on the planet. They over populate, use up all the resources and are in the process of destroying the planet. Most likely they will destroy themselves and the planet will recover. (Observations from an alien observer.)
I think Mark should have left the Bible to its original authors
There were some wonderfully witty and insightful moments sandwiched between some less than amusing pieces. Unfortunately, the witty came less often that I would have hoped.
Presents a different outlook!
These are some of Twain's best stories.
He's laugh-out-loud irrevrent. ...more
He's laugh-out-loud irrevrent. ...more
THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO MARK TWAIN provides the reader with a reassuringly consistent picture of Samuel Clemens' view, not necessarily of God or of Heaven or of angels (if one believes in the existence of such things), but of such parts of the Christian Bible that he views as thoroughly ridiculous if applied literally. The concept of human souls reaching Heaven in their former mortal forms and haplessly flapping their non-aerodynamic bodies about on thoroughly inadequate wings comes in for quite
...more
The subtitle to this volume is an apt description of this collection. This is a collection of interesting and insightful writing on topics relating to Christian faith and belief. Twain, a Presbyterian, provides satire in the first two sections, and a critical analysis of some Christian doctrine in the third section, "Letters from the Earth." The fourth section is a rather lengthy Appendix, followed by a detailed Notes section and Works Cited, that provides even further writings pertaining to the
...more
Letters from the Earth is a brief, witty, and remarkable funny series of reports from Satan about certain behaviors of man (and God) that he has been observing over time. Because it isn’t very long, it is generally published together with other short, irreverent writings from Twain (often including the equally hilarious Diaries of Adam and Eve). The version I own is part of a book entitled The Bible According To Mark Twain, edited by Howard G. Baetzhold and Joseph B. McCullough. I cannot recomme
...more
I can see why many parts of this book were previously unpublished. I found some of it amusing, as to Mark Twain's Outlook, very modern but clearly not his best writing. Many of the writings lacked Twain's customary wit.
...more
Engaging dialogue throughout the book, it feels like you conversing with Twain directly. I enjoyed his witty humor immensely.
OK, but not as good as I had hoped.
Not that good. If you Ate going to read it, I suggest reading only The Letters from Earth section.
Too much interruptions in the story by the editor
This is for yet another book that I proofread this year that has yet to make it's way onto Goodreads. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
...more
Through diligent editing, Baetzhold and McCullough have forged Twain’s ancillary work on religion and theology into a (more or less) organized narrative. By structuring these pieces into the three parts of Eden/Flood, Heaven, and Satan’s letters, they have also codified Twain’s evolving taste in how exactly to tackle religion – from humor to satire to outspoken antagonism. The inclusion of a substantial (100+ page) section of editorial notes and letters from the author shows both an intellectual
...more
It's Mark Twain. At some points side-splittingly funny, at other points caustically bitter, sometimes prudish, sometimes ribald, and always filled with crystalline insight. Never a man to suffer fools or foolishness in any sense, much less gladly, Twain takes on Christians and Christianity with brutal doses of logic and realism. He exposes the God of the Bible for what he is: a genocidal lunatic who makes Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin look like a pair of rank amateurs. He asks how anyone could
...more
If Mark Twain believed in God, it was not the God of the Bible or the God preached from the pulpit, but a God big enough to have created the universe that modern science was revealing at the turn of the Twentieth Century. The biblical God was petty, jealous, and did not deserve the praise heaped upon him. The modern God, on the other hand, was too big to care about, let alone meddle in, life on our tiny dust speck of a planet.
Parts of this collection will be familiar to people who have read Lett ...more
Parts of this collection will be familiar to people who have read Lett ...more
This book, containing as it does, a variety of Mark Twain's writings about a variety of Biblical subjects over many years of time, is difficult to rate as a whole.
Personally, I found his Adam and Eve stories not more than mildly interesting. His tale of Captain Stormfield's visit to Heaven was much more engaging, perhaps because it read almost like science fiction and it threw in some interesting takes on old ideas.
Mr. Twain's last work, Letters from the Earth, was of an entirely different chara ...more
Personally, I found his Adam and Eve stories not more than mildly interesting. His tale of Captain Stormfield's visit to Heaven was much more engaging, perhaps because it read almost like science fiction and it threw in some interesting takes on old ideas.
Mr. Twain's last work, Letters from the Earth, was of an entirely different chara ...more
Excellent satire on several aspects of the Bible and Christianity (but mainly the Creation myth and the afterlife). The works seem (to me, at least) almost to be organized from the most innocuous (those that merely create amusing/charming stories based around events from the Bible) to the more acerbic and harsh critiques against Christianity. "Letters from the Earth" has to be the most vicious (and, at times, hilarious) satire of mainline Christianity that I've read. It had me grinning from ear
...more
I got this book primarily for the "Letters from the Earth," so the four stars go for that. The book as a whole gets three. The rest of the book was made up of stories that had mostly been printed elsewhere. I was surprised and a little disappointed that the scope of the book was limited to Twain's feelings on The Fall and Heaven. It is apparent from some of the appendices that his religious opinions ranged wider than that, so I'm not sure why they weren't included. The "Letters" were great thoug
...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also work ...more
Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also work ...more
News & Interviews
Sally Thorne, author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine, explores what it means to take risks for love, and for yourself, in her newest...
103 likes · 11 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Each of you, for himself or herself, by himself or herself, and on his or her own responsibility, must speak. It is a solemn and weighty responsibility and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government or politician. Each must decide for himself or herself alone what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man, to decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor. It is traitorous both against yourself and your country.
Let men label you as they may, if you alone of all the nation decide one way, and that way be the right way by your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country, hold up your head for you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
—
53 likes
More quotes…
Let men label you as they may, if you alone of all the nation decide one way, and that way be the right way by your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country, hold up your head for you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
