'It makes a great difference to the look of a novel whether its author believes that the world came late into being and continues to come by a creative act of God, or whether he believes that the world and ourselves are the product of a cosmic accident. It makes a great difference to his novel whether he believes that we are created in God's image, or whether he believes we create God in our own. It makes a great difference whether he believes our wills are free, or bound like those of the other animals.'
Flannery O'Connor, 'Novelist and Believer' in Mystery & Manners, p.156.
