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Mark Twain was a practicing Presbyterian, but a series of personal tragedies in his life, namely the deaths of his son, wife, and two of his daughters, would result in his later works being particularly anti-religious. His books ''Letters from the Earth'' and ''The Mysterious Stranger'', both of which Twain was afraid to publish during his lifetime, contained numerous attacks on [[Christianity]]. Some of his quotes on the subject are listed below.

Mark Twain was a practicing Presbyterian, but a series of personal tragedies in his life, namely the deaths of his son, wife, and two of his daughters, would result in his later works being particularly anti-religious. His books ''Letters from the Earth'' and ''The Mysterious Stranger'', both of which Twain was afraid to publish during his lifetime, contained numerous attacks on [[Christianity]]. Some of his quotes on the subject are listed below.

   

   

"Faith is believing something you know ain't so." [''Following the Equator'']

*"Faith is believing something you know ain't so." [''Following the Equator'']

"'In God We Trust.' I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true."

*"'In God We Trust.' I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true."

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

*"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

"Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of."

*"Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of."

"There is no other life; life itself is only a vision and a dream for nothing exists but space and you. If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad." [Mark Twain in Eruption]

*"There is no other life; life itself is only a vision and a dream for nothing exists but space and you. If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad." [''Mark Twain in Eruption'']

"Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere. It makes Nero an angel of light and leading by contrast" [Reflections on Religion, 1906]

*"Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere. It makes Nero an angel of light and leading by contrast"<ref>[http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/104213.html?content_source=&category_id=32&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=most_viewed&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=2&sub_type=blogs&town_id= "Reflections on Religion"] Full text online</ref>

==The pen name "Mark Twain"==

==The pen name "Mark Twain"==