--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember when I heard the words…" description: "\"I remember when I heard the words \"Biblical criticism\" in my town, it was with disdain: \"Biblical criticism? How dare you?\".\" — Elie Wiesel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/elie-wiesel-341_biblical_i-remember-when-i-heard-the-words-biblic_438374.png" --- # I remember when I heard the words "Biblical criticism" in… ![“I remember when I heard the words "Biblical criticism" in my town, it was with disdain: "Biblical criticism? How dare you?".” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/elie-wiesel-341_biblical_i-remember-when-i-heard-the-words-biblic_438374.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/elie-wiesel-341_biblical_i-remember-when-i-heard-the-words-biblic_438374.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/elie-wiesel-341_biblical_i-remember-when-i-heard-the-words-biblic_438374.png) > “I remember when I heard the words "Biblical criticism" in my town, it was with disdain: "Biblical criticism? How dare you?".” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes community hostility toward questioning sacred texts, highlighting fear of challenging tradition. **In simple terms:** People react with hostility when sacred ideas are questioned. Key Takeaway Respect dialogue, avoid contempt. Themes faith tradition intellectual freedom Mood defensive curious Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - religious education - academic seminars - public debates Key Concepts theology cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster respectful critique of belief? - What benefits arise from open theological discussion? A Different Perspective Criticism can be dismissed without thoughtful engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical/) [Biblical Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical-criticism-1807124/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-town-3849904/) [Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dare/) [Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain/) [Disdain Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain-biblical-3849903/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember when](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-when/) [Town Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/town-disdain-3849905/) [Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns/) ## Related quotes > [ I became one of \[Moses Mendelssohn\] defenders. But then I heard the words "Biblical criticism" again. And, of course, afterward, I studied it more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-became-one-of-moses-mendelssohn-defenders-but-then-i-heard-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [There is not one particular moment that can account for the shift from the social issue concerns of 19th-century evangelicals into the state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/there-is-not-one-particular-moment-that-can-account-for-the-shift/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [“My generation was born into a world where those with a heart as well as a brain couldn’t find any support. The destructive work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/my-generation-was-born-into-a-world-where-those-with-a-heart-as-well/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Conservative New Testament studies could also provide an intellectually satisfying alternative to German biblical criticism and to the liberal theology that accompanied it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gresham-machen/conservative-new-testament-studies-could-also-provide-an/) [John Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gresham-machen/) > [ “\[His research into biblical criticism had lead him to the conclusion that most of what was contained in traditional religion simply wasn't true\] Was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/his-research-into-biblical-criticism-had-lead-him-to-the-conclusion/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [It seems I have a hard time being attracted to someone unless I respect what they do on some level. Otherwise, I would feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/it-seems-i-have-a-hard-time-being-attracted-to-someone-unless-i/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/marriage-is-a-reflection-of-your-life-in-general-how-you-treat-people/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [In each human heart terror survives The ravin it has gorged: the loftiest fear All that they would disdain to think were true: Hypocrisy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/in-each-human-heart-terror-survives-the-ravin-it-has-gorged-the/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-36-disdain-things-you-cannot-have-ignoring-them-is-the-best/) [The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [If you increase the number of rockets you build and you buy, then it's the scale of the economy, the price is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/if-you-increase-the-number-of-rockets-you-build-and-you-buy-then-it-s/) [Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Biblical quotes > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [“Richard Dawkins regards faith as an evil to be eliminated; he takes all religious faith to be blind faith. (Dawkins says) ‘Scientific belief is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/richard-dawkins-regards-faith-as-an-evil-to-be-eliminated-he-takes/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Even Superman's name reflects his creators' biblical knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/even-superman-s-name-reflects-his-creators-biblical-knowledge/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [“And I pray mark how he begins: he sets not up trophies to himself, but triumphs in his God-- "I will love thee, O…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/and-i-pray-mark-how-he-begins-he-sets-not-up-trophies-to-himself-but/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Scripture is not inerrant; believers are called to interpret biblical texts in light of tradition and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/scripture-is-not-inerrant-believers-are-called-to-interpret-biblical/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“The Bible isn’t a list of requirements; rather, it’s a list of results after experiencing God’s love. Following God isn’t an action but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-haas/the-bible-isn-t-a-list-of-requirements-rather-it-s-a-list-of-results/) [Peter Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-haas/) > [I portray myself as wicked, hoping I will not be regarded as wicked. But I may be wicked in the biblical sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-portray-myself-as-wicked-hoping-i-will-not-be-regarded-as-wicked/) [Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/) > [ \[John Calvin's\] treatment of the person and work of Christ, of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, of prayer and liturgy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/john-calvin-s-treatment-of-the-person-and-work-of-christ-of-the-holy/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Mother's Day is among the most appropriate to reflect on the true meaning of love. -I Corinthians 13:4-7](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/mother-s-day-is-among-the-most-appropriate-to-reflect-on-the-true/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [ The words 'God is love' conclude a biblical warning, not a warm and fuzzy slogan. 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I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/i-want-you-to-just-let-a-wave-of-intolerance-wash-over-you-i-want-you/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) [Browse all 714 Biblical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember when I heard the words \"Biblical criticism\" in my town, it was with disdain: \"Biblical criticism? 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