Illogic Primer Quotes Clippings Books and Bibliography Paper Trails Links Film

Marlene Winell on Ambiguity

Leaving the Fold (Oakland, CA: New Harbinger, 1993), p. 54.

Intellectual ambiguity can be very uncomfortable. It is always easier to be sure of something. A religion that neatly provides all the answers saves you the frustration and anxiety that inevitably accompany a struggle with difficult questions. Fundamentalism is especially dogmatic and detailed in describing a grand scheme. The Bible is offered as the inerrant word of God, revealing the path of history, a plan of salvation, and predictions about the future. Reasons and justifications are given. And for questions that still remain, there is the ultimate comfort that comes with trusting that a benign father God had everything under control.