Robert J. Sawyer

"Sagan may not have believed in the God of the Bible, but he at least allowed the possibility of a creator. Or did he? Carl was no more obliged to believe what he wrote in his sole work of fiction than George Lucas was required to believe in the Force."

"The Lord works in mysterious ways. Mrs. Lansbury had always said that. Everything happens for a purpose. Such bull. Such unmitigated crap. I felt my stomach knotting. Cancer didn’t happen for any purpose. It tore people apart; if a god did create life, then he’s a shoddy workman, churning out flawed, self-destructing products."

"Still, you must know that the fear of death is irrational; death comes to everyone."

"“And of me you ask which choice you should make?” said the translator’s voice. “Yes,” I said. There was the sound of rocks grinding, followed by a brief silence, and then: “The moral choice is obvious,” said the Wreed. “It always is.” “And?” I said. “What is the moral choice?” More sounds of rocks, then: “Morality cannot be handed down from an external source.” ... “It must come from within.” “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” The Wreed wavered and vanished."

"Must God be defined in a way that places him or her beyond the scope of science? I’d always believed that there was nothing beyond the scope of science. And I still believe that. Where do you draw the line? Right here. For me, the answer was right here. How do you define God? Like this. A God I could understand, at least potentially, was infinitely more interesting and relevant than one that defied comprehension."