Our desires cannot be, and were never meant to be, satisfied by earthly pleasures alone.

Manz, formerly one of Zwingli's closest allies, held that there was no biblical warrant for infant baptism. Refusing to recant his views, he was tied up and drowned in the River Limmat.

The most radical question which anyone can be asked is not how much their possessions cost, but whether they have found something of value - that is, something that makes living worthwhile.

We must not think that religious concerns swamped all other social activities. They simply provided a focal point for them.

Suffering does not call into question the "big picture" of the Christian faith. It reminds us that we do not see the whole picture, and are thus unable to fit all of the pieces neatly into place.

At Oxford University, the certainties of my atheist faith (and atheism is a faith) began to crumble

The true believer is not someone who disengages from this world in order to focus on heaven, but rather the one who tries to make this world more like heaven.