How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Jimmy Zizmo's soul wasn't at rest. After death, the souls of the Orthodox do not wing their way directly to heaven. They prefer to linger on earth and annoy the living. (2.3.7)
Since Jimmy Zizmo didn't actually die, we see no evidence of his soul annoying the living. However, he sticks around in a different form to annoy the living in his own way... by starting a religious movement. So maybe there's some truth in this quote after all.
Quote #2
The 'prophet' as he came to be known, confided his teachings to a recitation of his experiences in foreign lands, admonitions against certain foods, and suggestions for improving listeners' physical health. (2.3.152)
This doesn't sound like much of a religion, until you start thinking of the Bible. How many ground rules does it lay for life? Only tons. And tons. Are you wearing a cotton/poly blend right now? Well... see you in hell, then.
Quote #3
"The Church doesn't want people not to think," Michael replied without taking offense. "The Church believes that thinking will take a person only so far. Where thinking ends, revelation begins." (2.5.102)
Do you think Michael has a point here? Perhaps critical thought and spiritual faith can co-exist, like chocolate and peanut butter.
Quote #4
"Yeah, sure," my father said when he got the letter. "St. Christopher to the rescue." (2.5.56)
Milton thinks that his mother's belief in saints is a crock of poo, but an event that can only be described as a deus ex machina ends up sparing him from battle. Could there be something in his mother's belief?
Quote #5
"They let you in for free. Then you gotta pay for the rest of your life." (3.1.21)
Milton's views on religion, especially Greek Orthodoxy, aren't exactly sunny. Does he have a point, or is his viewpoint a little skewed? Is dedication to religion the same as "paying" for it?
Quote #6
In order to be reborn, you have to be buried first, so under the water I went. (3.1.24)
Baptism as a symbol of rebirth is a recurring theme in Cal's life. Here, he's talking about a literal baptism, but near the end of the book he gets baptized again, in a way, in the strange underwater sex show that he becomes a part of.
Quote #7
"Fix that church, like you promised," said Tessie. (3.6.113)
Tessie constantly reminds Milton of his promise to fix the church in Greece, but he never does. Could his negligence have actually caused any of the bad things that happen to the Stephanides family, or is this belief a load of hooey?
Quote #8
"Why do you have to paint a church?" (3.8.37)
Ah, it seems that the family's religious beliefs (or at least the most superstitious ones) have been passed down from mother to father to daughter. Do you think Cal will ever get around to fixing that god darn church?
Quote #9
Was there really a God after all, and did He punish people on Earth? These Old World superstitions had been banished from my mother's conscious mind, but they still operated in her dreams. (4.1.199)
It's interesting how Tessie cannot forget her orthodox upbringing when she's sleeping. The harshest of her religious beliefs come out late at night. We must have gone to the Church of No Pants as a kid, because we keep having that dream…