Michael Arditti

“For myself I couldn't care less, but I have a lover. Not a partner, Susannah, or a friend or a significant euphemism, but the love of my life. And he believes. And I've watched him tie himself in knots, as he struggles to find a place for himself in texts that were written thousands of years ago, with the deliberate aim of excluding him.”

“But you must still know to respect other people's faith.''Why? We don't respect any other delusion. We lock up people who believe they're Christ, yet we're supposed to humour those who believe in him.''By definition, faith is irrational: a belief you hold against the normal rules of evidence.''In which case I believe in Jedi”

“All religions are beautiful in the story, as you say. It's when they're put into practice that they grow ugly.”

“I hope that I state your case fairly: One of my great fears is misrepresenting you, even to myself, now that you are not here to set me right. The truth is that you did not believe in idealism. All love was suspect; even a saint's was just differed self-interest. And it was impossible to argue without sounding either sentimental or naive. Cynicism has all the smart words on it's side; idealism uses a nursery school dictionary. And you studied early to disguise your childhood pain. But it is not universal.”

“Cynicism has all the smart words on it's side; idealism uses a nursery school dictionary.”