But how were alcoholics, agnostics, atheists, and those of faith long ago destroyed

 

But how were alcoholics, agnostics, atheists, and those of faith long ago destroyed—how were such people to find confidence in a God they thought nonexistent?... Provided that their personal hopelessness was great enough, an appeal to any higher power at all would bring results. They only needed to cry out in the dark for whomever or whatever might be there. No faith would be required.