You wouldn’t like him. Major fanatic. Confuses migraine headaches with God. - James Morrow

I wish more English teachers helped their students engage the classics at the level of raw delight, instead of putting them on the scent of symbols. A novel is not a cryptogram.

When an upright citizen hears his neighbor has met with an earthquake or a hurricane, he doesn't stop to ask, 'Is there a hidden harmony here?' He rolls up his sleeves and tries to help."
"Exactly." With an athleticism that defied his years, Noah regained his feet and climbed onto the long, taut mooring line. "If I learned one thing from the Deluge, Your Grace, it is this: a man who seals up his ark for the sake of a greater good is a man who has ceded his soul to chaos." Slowly, cautiously, he tightrope-walked toward the rudderless vessel. "The hidden harmony defense is pornography, Bishop Augustine—pornography for priests!

You're not very religious, are you?" said Irene.
"I'm more into gravity.