Wednesday, April 06, 2005

What Makes a Good Christian?

More from page 81 of my copy of Melville's Moby Dick:

"...for I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations, never mind how comical, and could not find it in my heart ot undervalue even a congregation of ants worshipping a toad-stool; or those other creatures in certain parts of our earth, who with a degree of footmanism quite unprecedented in other planets, bow down before the torso of a deceased landed proprietor merely on account of the inordinate possessions yet owned and rented in his name.

I say, we good Presbyterian Christians should be charitable in these things, and not fancy ourselves so vastly superior to other mortals, pagans and what not, because of their half-crazy conceits on these subjects...

...let him be, I say: And Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly in need of mending."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Timely, and funny.

Also, inordinately wicked of you to point out Christian shortcomings. But not to worry, most of them don't read.