How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #7
The vicar frowned. Something about this young man set the hairs on the back of his neck prickling, and his first impulse was to turn him straight back out into the rain. The muscles in his arms tensed. (30.27)
Bernard's spider sense is tingling. He may be able to sense the presence of God in some way, but it's definitely not a good feeling. (We'd advise running.)
Quote #8
It is he, not Bob, who cares for this world. Bob is not, and never has been, fit to rule. He is a cog. A boob. A cur. He is no God. If there even is such a thing as God, thinks Mr. B. If there is such a being, it cannot be Bob. (44.14)
When even extraterrestrial, almost-omnipotent, immortal beings aren't sure if there's a God, the rest of us are definitely going to have a hard time figuring it out.
Quote #9
He [Mr. B] hesitates, and all at once a realization explodes in his brain like a bomb. He groans, gripping the desk to avoid falling. Why has he never seen it before? The obviousness of it. With purest clarity he realizes that Bob is not the God to whom the multitudes direct their entreaties. […] If there is such a being, it is not the indifferent, underage parent of this world, the thoughtless creator. It is the other, the one who has struggled day after day to make things better, to answer a few prayers, right a few wrongs, who has suffered along with his planet and tried to fix things, in however small a manner, to change a detail here and there for the good of humankind, for the creatures, for all who suffer and long for a better life. No. Bob is not God. He is. (44.19)
After hundreds of pages of wondering what his role is on Earth, Mr. B finally gets it in this quote, with just four chapters to go. Is he right? Is he God? Is Bob? Are they both? Or is there actually no God at all?