- White says he needs to go and offers to pay Black three thousand bucks. Black refuses.
- White asks Black if he really believes God intended this to happen.
- Black explains that for someone who really believes, you reach "the well of belief" and don't have to look further—your faith is (more or less) confirmed—but the unbeliever has to get up and try to unravel the world with his or her own intellect, figuring out what's really real or not.
- White asks Black if he believes in the literal truth of the Bible, and Black says probably not, noting that he doesn't believe in original sin. Instead, he thinks people start off basically good, and evil comes to them from wanting things they're not supposed to have.
- Black says he (himself) might be a heretic, but not more than what a person ought to be. He also considers himself a questioner—someone who wants the truth—but not a doubter, a.k.a. someone who doesn't believe in the existence of truth.
- Answering more of White's questions, Black explains that he doesn't think someone even needs to read the Bible to be saved. It's a guide for the lost and sick at heart, so a person who is complete or sinless doesn't need it.