Not many people are aware that Mark Twain wrote a very accurate historical novel about Joan of Arc. It seems incongruous that the author who wrote A Pen Warmed Up in Hell should also write a very sympathetic novel about her life. Joan of Arc, who, at the age of seventeen was made the Commander in Chief of the French army in spite of her lack of military knowledge and her illiteracy, was very clear that it was God who was providing her with guidance in her efforts to drive England from France. Twain calls her “the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced”. [1]
In one scene, Twain describes the reaction of villagers when the war passes through their village and leaves behind awful destruction. Twain notes a common trait of humanity when he says: ”. . .words will answer as long as it is a person’s neighbor who is in trouble, but when that person gets into trouble himself, it is time that the King rise up and do something.” [2]
Twain and the villagers are just stating what we all know—that deeds are more important than words. So why in our Christian faith do we say that words are more important? If all we have to do to be saved is to say we believe in Jesus and his death for our sins, are we not saying that our words are more important than our deeds?
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[1] Mark Twain. Joan of Arc. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1899, p. 452.
[2] Twain, p. 64.
