--from Flannery O'Connor's short story "The River"
I've written about how Flannery O'Connor has affected my Christianity. People have asked me to try to explain the influence. But it's art, you know, so it's hard to explain.
An example, though, is this line from the "The River." Believe Jesus or the devil, testify to one or the other. For a progressive Christian like me, lines like that just interrupt you in Flannery O'Connor.
In the stories and novels of Flannery O'Connor crazed, wild-eyed, back woods prophets rage at you, but you cannot dismiss them because in O'Connor's world these prophets are telling you the truth.
