“‘I think we keep saying things that we don’t really mean at all, Granny.’

‘Do we? And what sort of things, Adam?’

‘Like being damned. Do you believe in God, Granny?’

‘What a question!’ She snorted with great indignation. ‘In all my born days, Adam Cooper, I have never seen a boy like yourself for asking questions!’” 

Adam appreciates Granny’s willingness to talk to him, even if she scorns many of his beliefs. It is in dialogue with Granny that we see Adam’s critique of faith. Hypocrisy is his salient concern.

“The ground is dry as dust, and I will take the liberty of asking for a little rain. I know that Thou givest with one hand and Thou takest away with the other, but sometimes it seems to me to go beyond the bounds of reason. Amen!”

Moses says grace before dinner in an unorthodox fashion. He is willing to argue with God before the family, and even willing to accuse God of being unreasonable in character.

“My brothers and I were raised…as thoughtful and reasoning creatures, men who honor the written word, who respect intelligent writing, and who, like the ancient philosophers, look upon argumentation and disputation as avenues toward the deepest truth.” 

In Moses’s lecture to Adam he displays the pride of his educated ancestry, and also the exceedingly high ideals he is expecting Adam to adhere to. Notably absent from his list of virtues is the Bible, revelation, or any mention of faith.