"Even the church has to have its outhouse, just as it has to have a back door as well as a front door, a basement as well as a steeple. Because man is always going to be man and there's no true road without sides to it."
In this passage, Hickman provides an account of humanity, suggesting that there will always be a dark side. He compares this to a church, which has an "outhouse," a comparison that suggests the extremes of morality in society. Here, he provides a realistic explanation of humanity's behavior, saying that there will always be the presence of bad people.
"Yes, to come upon the proving ground of the human condition. Vanity dropped like soiled underwear. Pride stripped off like a pair of duckings that've been working all week in the mud. Feet dragging with the gravity of the trial ahead. Legs limp as a pair of worn-out galluses. With eyes dim as a flickering lamp wick!"
Hickman uses a number of similes in this passage, to describe what will happen when humanity meets Jesus. He is a preacher, and therefore his job is to make the teachings of the bible relatable and vivid to his audience. As such, Ellison shows that a key aspect of being a preacher is the ability to tell a story and use powerful imagery.
"Because that's what ignorance is."
This quote is the explanation Hickman gives for naming his adoptive son "Bliss." He therefore named his son after the popular saying "ignorance is bliss," symbolizing the ignorance of Bliss about his background, and his later ignorance regarding his racist views.
