"Fundamentalists are panicked by the apparent disintegration of the family, the disappearance of certainty and the decay of morality. Fear leads them to ask, if we cannot trust the Bible, what can we trust?"
- Garrett Hardin
About this Quote
This quote by Garrett Hardin talks to the worry and panic that fundamentalists feel in the face of the altering world. They are stressed over the breakdown of the traditional family structure, the lack of certainty worldwide, and the decline of morality. This worry leads them to ask a fundamental concern: if we can not trust the Bible, what can we rely on? This speaks with the idea that fundamentalists rely greatly on the Bible for assistance and structure, and without it, they feel lost and unpredictable. This quote highlights the significance of the Bible to fundamentalists and the worry they feel when it is questioned or challenged.
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land"
"Every nut who kills people has a Bible lying around. If you're looking for violent rape imagery, the Bible's right there in your hotel room. If you just want to look up ways to screw people up, there it is, and you're justified because God told you to"
"Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness"
"A book is sent out into the world, and there is no way of fully anticipating the responses it will elicit. Consider the responses called forth by the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare - let alone contemporary poetry or a modern novel"
