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Randall Balmer

AUTHOR PROFILE

Randall Balmer

Randall Balmer is described in biographical records as an American historian of religion (born 1954). The selections gathered here touch on apostasy, secularism (worldliness). This profile brings the attributed quotations together with their available source information.

FEATURED QUOTE
“Underlying this insistence on individual interpretation, is the assumption . . . that the plainest, most evident reading of the text is the proper one. Everyone becomes his or her own theologian. There is no longer any need to consult Augustine or Thomas Aquinas or Martin Luther about their understanding of various passages when you yourself are the final arbiter of what is the correct reading. This tendency, together with the absence of any authority structure within Protestantism, has created a kind of theological free-for-all, as various individuals or groups insist that their reading of the Bible is the only possible interpretation.”
— Randall Balmer

Biography at a glance

  • Profile: American historian of religion
  • Life: born 1954
  • Quotes in this collection: 1

Life and work

Biographical records connect Randall Balmer with Princeton University and Herbert Hoover High School. This collection includes one quotation credited to Randall Balmer. Each quotation page preserves its own citation, when supplied, so readers can follow the passage back to its stated context.

Reading the quotations

The selections gathered here touch on apostasy, secularism (worldliness). These topic links make it easier to compare these words with other voices in the LDS Flow library. Citations are shown on the individual quotation pages where the source collection provided them.

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Sources and further reading

Quotes by Randall Balmer

1 quote

“Underlying this insistence on individual interpretation, is the assumption . . . that the plainest, most evident reading of the text is the proper one. Everyone becomes his or her own theologian. There is no longer any need to consult Augustine or Thomas Aquinas or Martin Luther about their understanding of various passages when you yourself are the final arbiter of what is the correct reading. This tendency, together with the absence of any authority structure within Protestantism, has created a kind of theological free-for-all, as various individuals or groups insist that their reading of the Bible is the only possible interpretation.”

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, 3rd ed.

— Randall Balmer

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