"They have been so nice, I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible."

Convicted murderer Eric Rudolph, sometimes called a "Christian terrorist" for his attacks on two abortion clinics, a gay nightclub, and the 1996 Summer Olympics, on "good people … mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul."

"I don't think that it's at all healthy for the work for me to think in [moral education] terms. So I don't. I never think in terms of What am I going to teach them? Or, What would it be good for them to find out here? Although, undeniably, morals are drawn."

J.K. Rowling, on her Harry Potter books

"Terrorism is irrational. There is no clash of civilizations, only small groups of fanatics. [So] the dialogue between religions which have Abraham as a father is important. We must ask God to reinforce this … and hope that it will be much stronger than violence."

Pope Benedict XVI responding to the July 7 London attacks.

"By the third time you have cancer, you begin to think about your mortality."

Former televangelist (with Jim Bakker)Tammy Faye Messner who is facing another battle with lung cancer.

Sources: USA Today, Time, Zenit, Associated Press



Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.

Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.

Tags:
Issue: