“She wanted to confess and be forgiven. She wanted her soul to be clean, but it was impossible. To be forgiven, she would have to repent. Repent, as in resolve not to sin again. Fred prayed every da...”

“He told himself he would pretend nothing was wrong, but he couldnt fool himself. He could forgive himself for having done something wrong, even something so immoral, so reckless. Harder to live wit...”

“How often in our lives have we withheld the truth from someone were supposed to love? We justify it by telling ourselves were doing them some kindness, when in reality, were just being selfish. We ...”

“Starla, when you work in a restaurant, its not called pie with ice cream on top. Its called pie a la mode. Try saying it one time.A-la-mo, she pronounced.Theres a good girl, Darius said, grinning. ...”

“Not only have we not done the good things that God really wants us to do, but in fact, weve done just the opposite. Weve all done a lot of sinful things that were not very proud of. The good news i...”

“The sun, the moon, the ocean these were all the children of Ouranos and Gaia. They had hundreds more, and they were the grandparents of the gods and of human beings. Ouranos didnt make any of this ...”

“There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began. The Word did not come into being, but it was. It d...”

“The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to gratify it.”

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. ...”

“But Viv, if I've learned anything at all in the last eight years of my life? It's that people just like to tell themselves stories about where they came from. They can't help themselves. They don't...”

“The only un-distractable, un-destructable, "thing", yet also the foundation of all pure creation, is "nothing.”

“New Rule: You don't have to teach both sides of a debate if one side is a load of crap. President Bush recently suggested that public schools should teach "intelligent design" alongside the theory ...”

“I had always heard rumors of her, Nanook thought, she who can control the wind, the water, the earth, and fire ... she who can talk to time. But those were old myths of a woman who lived many thous...”