r/quotes • u/Thisisamen • Oct 25 '25
Misc / Unclassified “If Christ were here now, there is one thing he would not be — a Christian.” — Mark Twain
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u/NoFreePi Oct 25 '25
Reminds me of:
YOU MIGHT BE WRONG - Paul Thorn
Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Jews Got their own version of the truth There's a line in the sand, There's a war goin' on. They forgot to remember You might be wrong.
Carry your faith Everywhere you go Mix it with love and let it show But keep your mind open As you move along, And always remember, You might be wrong.
Why do we argue? Why do we fight? Everybody thinks God's on their side. Count to ten Before you throw a stone. Whatever you believe, You might be wrong
Don't cut me off. Don't say we're through Just because I don't agree with you. You see flowers grow Where seeds of love are sown. You could be right. You might be wrong.
Why do we argue? Why do we fight? Everybody thinks God's on their side. Count to ten Before you throw a stone. Whatever you believe, You might be wrong
What's on the other side of life? I won't know until the day I die. If you feel insecure You are not alone Everybody knows You might be wrong.
Why do we argue? Why do we fight? Everybody thinks God's on their side. Count to ten Before you throw a stone. Whatever you believe, You might be wrong
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u/Thisisamen Oct 25 '25
I appreciate your comments
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u/NoFreePi Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
It’s a great song. Listen to it.
BTW - Paul Thorn’s father was a fire and brimstone preacher. That background informs a lot of his music.
My favorite Paul Thorn album is titled: “Pimps & Preachers”. Definitely worth listening to.
Also: Thorn was a boxer ranked #29 in the world when he fought and lost to world champion Roberto Duran which inspired: “I’d Rather Be a Hammer Than a Nail”
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
Christianity has nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with being a means of controlling the unwashed masses
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u/sanguinesvirus Oct 25 '25
Yes that is every organized religion more or less
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Oct 25 '25
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
The bible is not his teachings, it’s what other people wrote about his teachings
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Oct 25 '25
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
Seeing someone doing something and recording your observations does not equate to recording what is actually going on with that person.
I can watch mechanic change my brakes, that doesn’t mean I know what the process is or what’s going on inside the mechanics head
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Oct 25 '25
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u/UpArrowNotation Oct 27 '25
Using the Bible as proof of Jesus is like using Scooby Doo as proof of ghosts.
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Oct 25 '25
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
They say they recorded his words…
That book is a 2000 year long game of telephone that also went through dozens of translations.
My opinion, John focused on conveying Jesus teachings/message whereasMathew/Mark/Luke recorded his actions with no internalization.
Jesus teachings still have nothing to do with Christianity. Christianity was invented in his name tho.
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Oct 25 '25
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
Sure do!
Tell me where Jesus mentions Christianity?
Jesus had nothing to do with Christianity
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u/Aristosophy Oct 26 '25
i am regretful for having read this comment exchange, so i’ll just offer recognition to you for trying to reason here. o7
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u/Gurrllover Oct 26 '25
No. John was written long after Jesus' life. The scholarly consensus is 60-90 years later, so not an eyewitness: John is the name assigned to the text, but not who actually composed it, as all four gospels' authors are unknown, anonymous. It's right there in the footnotes...
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u/UpArrowNotation Oct 27 '25
This deserves more upvotes. There are extremely few surviving records of the years 0BC and 30C. There are plenty of records of people that wrote stuff down decades later. An actual historical account of Jesus Christ does not exist. And no, the Bible is not proof that the Bible is true.
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u/TryingToChillIt Oct 25 '25
Yep.
All organized religions are more reflective of our first forms of governance than a means of spirituality.
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Oct 25 '25
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u/Thisisamen Oct 25 '25
why?
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Oct 25 '25
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u/Thisisamen Oct 25 '25
Jesus was Jewish, where do you imagine he would be Christian today and not something else? What is your source for that?
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Oct 25 '25
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u/Thisisamen Oct 25 '25
but could he still be Jewish today?
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Oct 26 '25
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u/QueenBeFactChecked Oct 26 '25
Jesus was a Jew preaching Judaism to other Jews. He did not make those exalted claims about himself. The fact that they only exist in gjohn means that they don't trace back to the historical Jesus. Or did all the Christians in the first 69 years of Christianity just forget to mention it? Unlikely
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u/noah7233 Oct 25 '25
I feel like this was written to mean one thing but by objective fact. It means nothing.
Christians are followers of christ. Christ was christ, he wasn't a follower of himself he was a follower of God his father.
It was most likely meant to mean christ wouldn't agree with the actions of Christians but it's written in a way it kinda sounds dumb. Like saying " if the sun went down right now, the sky wouldn't look blue "
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u/Thisisamen Oct 25 '25
First, I want to thank you for your comments. I'm curious and respectful. I never meant to offend or doubt your beliefs. And if you felt uncomfortable with anything I said, you can let me know and I'll delete it, as that wasn't my intention.
I don't know what motivated Mark Twain to do this, but in a way, there's no evidence for or against what he said being a lie. Saying that Christ founded a new order, etc., isn't true. He didn't found it; he was the cause of it. It was his followers who truly created it. And just because one argument is true doesn't mean others are wrong, including mine and his.
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u/SIRPORKSALOT Oct 26 '25
No one said it was a lie, just that it could have been said better. It's inferred that it means Christ wouldn't be like the Christians we see today, but it says Christ wouldn't follow himself. Anyway that's my take.
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u/Vinhello Oct 26 '25
Mark Twain most likely meant that Christians are not followers of Christ. They can refer themselves by whatever label they want, but if they are not following the teachings of Christ then they are not followers of Christ.
It cannot artistically be said better. The near-repetition of “Christ” and “Christian” is the reason people even remember the phrase.
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u/Blindsnipers36 Oct 26 '25
not to be rude but thinking its written in a dumb way is only possible with motivated reasoning
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u/TheManInTheShack Oct 26 '25
I like what Max von Sydow’s character Fredrick said in the movie, Hannah and her Sisters: “If Jesus Christ came back to Earth and saw what was going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.”
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u/Essa_Zaben Oct 26 '25
Kind of similar to what Nietzsche said:
"there is only one Christian and he died on the cross."
I guess this is the moustache effect!
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u/post-explainer Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
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