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Cancer Quote by Mark A. Noll

“But in their defense of the supernatural, fundamentalists and their evangelical heirs resemble some cancer patients. In facing a drastic disease, they are willing to undertake a drastic remedy. The treatment of fundamentalism may be said to have succeeded; the patient survived. But at least for…” quote by Mark A. Noll
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““But in their defense of the supernatural, fundamentalists and their evangelical heirs resemble some cancer patients. In facing a drastic disease, they are willing to undertake a drastic remedy. The treatment of fundamentalism may be said to have succeeded; the patient survived. But at least for the life of the mind, what survived was a patient horribly disfigured by the cure itself.””

Mark A. Noll

About This Quote

Source Book: The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark A. Noll, 1994

Fundamentalist belief can become distorted when extreme measures meant to cure it end up damaging rational thought.

In simple terms: Extreme cures can scar the mind.

Key Takeaway

Beware of over‑correcting ideas.

Themes

religion intellectual integrity critical thinking

Mood

critical skeptical

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

  • academic debate
  • public policy
  • personal belief revision

Key Concepts

cognitive distortion dogmatism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can we protect reason while respecting faith?
  • What limits should we set on corrective measures?
A Different Perspective

The analogy may oversimplify complex theological issues.

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