“If the rock band U2 had been born in Orange County, California, would they have become just another church worship band?”

“If chance be the Father of all flesh, Disaster is his rainbow in the sky, And when you hear State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten! Troops on Rampage! Whites go Looting! Bomb Blasts School! It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.”

“A corollary of this has been that Christians have thought that they should only create art with a Pollyanna quality to it: paintings of birds and kittens, movies that extol family life and end happily, songs that are positive and uplifting – in short, works of art that show a world that is almost unfallen where no one experiences conflict and where sin is naughty rather than wicked.”

“We believe that religions are basically the same…they only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.”

“The arts can sharpen the vision, quicken the intellect, preserve the memory, activate the conscience, enhance the understanding and refresh the language.”

“I've been with Mr. Locke for several hundred years now." He tossed her a wink. "I should hope in that time he would share with me his undead state. Had he not, I would have been rather perplexed as I celebrated 100 years of age and still looked 45.”

“If there is no laughter, Jesus has gone somewhere else. If there is no joy and freedom, it is not a church: it is simply a crowd of melancholy people basking in a religious neurosis. If there is no celebration, there is no real worship.”