Not to this day though

Stubbs is making a horrible comedy blunder–he’s trying to play Fleece into a fool, but he’s underestimating his mark’s intelligence.

I feel you Fleece.

The Cook has to born again to learn how to cook a proper whale steak? Stubb’s Christianity is pretty self-serving.

So much for saving shark souls.

(That’s a brick wall)

As Stubbs says, this is indeed an elegant encapsulation of fundamental Christian beliefs. Fleece begins the sermon by explaining why God gave us free will:

You is sharks, sartin; but if you gobern de shark in you, why den you be angel; for all angel is not'ing more dan de shark well goberned.

In other words, we are inherently sinful creatures, but ignoring our base impulses bring us closer to god.

The middle of the speech sounds more like a defense of property vis capitalism than christianity – “dat whale belon to some one else.” But, “render unto caesar” and all that.

Fleece ends on an undeniably Christian note by instructing the Sharks to be charitable.

A dig at Fleece’s dialect.

Of course Stubb doesn’t give a shit about foul language. He’s taking the piss out of the cook.

A deeper reading might be that this is an example of how authority uses social norms to maintain power, rather than to ensure peace and further the common good.