How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Here's the book… Just read it out as well as you can, and we'll do whatever the book says. (1.6.12.43)
Without a minister, it's up to the Norwegian settlers to perform their own christenings and religious ceremonies. All they really know how to do is read the holy books they've brought with them, so they just choose the best reader and plunge onward.
Quote #5
God Almighty might have waited awhile longer, until they had seen how their luck would go out here and what sort of a boy Permand would turn out to be. (2.1.6.19)
When we gets trapped in a snowstorm, Per Hansa gets annoyed with God for killing him before he has a chance to see what kind of boy his baby son will grow up to be. He doesn't think for a second that this could all be his fault, since it was his choice to go on a crazy mission for firewood in the middle of winter.
Quote #6
Ah, well, God Almighty had spared her again; He must have some reason for it… Now she could repent of her sins before He took her… He had been merciful enough to give her time for that… But sitting here in this mood, she found it impossible to repent. (2.1.9.31)
When Beret survives a difficult childbirth, she figures that God has some special reason for sparing her life. From this point on, Beret will become way more religious than she used to be. But that also means she'll constantly worry about how much she's sinned and whether she's going to hell.