RELIGION WITHOUT RELATIONSHIP (7 OF 7)
Scripture: Nehemiah 13:23-31
This content is part of a series.
Title: Religion Without Relationship (7 of 7)
Series: Pulling Together With a Purpose
Author: Donald Cantrell
Text: Nehemiah 13:23-31
I - One's Harmful Regression & Plummet
II - One's Heartfelt Regrets & Practices
III - One's Honest Request & Prayer
This sermon contains a fully alliterated outline, with subpoints.
Lowering One's Standards Is Costly
Mark Twain was not a Christian, nor did he claim to be when he began courting Olivia Langdon. Back in his day, a man typically had to get permission from a woman's parents before marrying her. Mark Twain had a problem, however. Olivia Langdon came from a professing Christian family that would not allow their daughter to marry an unbeliever. To overcome this obstacle, Twain took on the guise of a spiritual seeker who needed the support and prayers of Olivia's family in order to clean up his life.
Twain, influenced by Olivia's prodding, presumably converted. Twain wrote to his mother after his engagement to Olivia: "My prophecy was correct....[Livy] said she never could or would love me-but she set herself the task of making a Christian of me. I said she would succeed, but that in the meantime she would unwittingly dig a matrimonial pit and end by tumbling in it-and lo! the prophecy is fulfilled."
Olivia's family was convinced Twain was a Christian and permitted the marriage. But was Twain's conversion an illusion? One scholar insists that Twain "was a man in love, wooing a woman he hoped to marry. His 'religious' feelings at that time, expressed in love letters to Olivia, disappeared as soon as the nuptials were over" (www.yorku.ca/twainweb/filelist/skeptic.html).
After their wedding, Twain ridiculed Olivia's beliefs and devotion. Soon Olivia's optimism began to wane, and her fervent faith cooled. Eventually she forsook her religion altogether, and a deep sorrow deluged Olivia's life. Mark Twain loved her and never meant to hurt her, but he had broken her spirit. He said, "Livy, ...
Series: Pulling Together With a Purpose
Author: Donald Cantrell
Text: Nehemiah 13:23-31
I - One's Harmful Regression & Plummet
II - One's Heartfelt Regrets & Practices
III - One's Honest Request & Prayer
This sermon contains a fully alliterated outline, with subpoints.
Lowering One's Standards Is Costly
Mark Twain was not a Christian, nor did he claim to be when he began courting Olivia Langdon. Back in his day, a man typically had to get permission from a woman's parents before marrying her. Mark Twain had a problem, however. Olivia Langdon came from a professing Christian family that would not allow their daughter to marry an unbeliever. To overcome this obstacle, Twain took on the guise of a spiritual seeker who needed the support and prayers of Olivia's family in order to clean up his life.
Twain, influenced by Olivia's prodding, presumably converted. Twain wrote to his mother after his engagement to Olivia: "My prophecy was correct....[Livy] said she never could or would love me-but she set herself the task of making a Christian of me. I said she would succeed, but that in the meantime she would unwittingly dig a matrimonial pit and end by tumbling in it-and lo! the prophecy is fulfilled."
Olivia's family was convinced Twain was a Christian and permitted the marriage. But was Twain's conversion an illusion? One scholar insists that Twain "was a man in love, wooing a woman he hoped to marry. His 'religious' feelings at that time, expressed in love letters to Olivia, disappeared as soon as the nuptials were over" (www.yorku.ca/twainweb/filelist/skeptic.html).
After their wedding, Twain ridiculed Olivia's beliefs and devotion. Soon Olivia's optimism began to wane, and her fervent faith cooled. Eventually she forsook her religion altogether, and a deep sorrow deluged Olivia's life. Mark Twain loved her and never meant to hurt her, but he had broken her spirit. He said, "Livy, ...
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