Bible Quote by Bryce Courtenay
““all i know about the bible is that wherever it goes there's trouble. the only time i ever heard of it being useful was when a stretcher bearer i was with at the battle of dundee told me that he'd once gotten hit by a mauser bullet in the heart, only he was carrying a bible in his tunic pocket and the bible saved his life. he told me that ever since he'd always carried a bible into battle with him and he fled perfectly safe because god was in his breast pocket. we were out looking for a sergeant of the worcesters and three troopers who were wounded while out on a reconnaissance and were said to be holed up in a dry donga. in truth, i think my partner felt perfectly safe because the boer mausers were estimated by the british artillery to be accurate to eight hundred yards and we were at least twelve hundred yards from enemy lines. alas, nobody bothered to tell the boers about the shortcomings of their brand-new german rifle and the mauser bullet hit him straight between the eyes...which goes to prove, you can always depend on british army information not to be accurate, the boers to be deadly accurate, and the bible to be good for matters of the heart but hopeless for those of the head, and finally, that god is in nobody's pocket.””
About This Quote
Source Memoir: The Hired Hand, 2005
A soldier trusts a bible for protection, but real safety comes from understanding weapons and tactics, not superstition
In simple terms: Faith can’t replace practical knowledge in danger
Rely on skill, not symbols
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- battlefield
- personal safety
- military planning
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do symbols affect confidence in combat?
- When should superstition be set aside for facts?
Faith alone cannot protect against physical threats