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Cedric, Sr. / Cedric Gilliam
Bishop Long is the head of Scripture Cathedral, the Pentecostal church that Barbara and Cedric belong to. He is a central figure in their lives, as they attend services at the church twice a week at minimum, until Cedric leaves for college. He is a complicated figure in the story, because he seems to prey on the poor and downtrodden, preaching that they should literally give their last precious dollar to Scripture Cathedral, with the vague promise that it will return to them tenfold; in contrast to his parishioners, who are mired in poverty, Bishop Long himself lives in a nice house in the suburbs and owns two Cadillacs. He provides necessary moral support to the Jennings while Cedric is young, but Cedric begins to outgrow the church after his first year at Brown and respectfully asks for Long’s permission to leave the church. While Bishop Long’s brand of religion—focused on complete and total faith in God to solve all of one’s problems—is no longer relevant to Cedric’s life, Bishop Long’s teachings on faith and morality are still a central part of the boy’s consciousness.
Bishop Long Quotes in A Hope in the Unseen
The A Hope in the Unseen quotes below are all either spoken by Bishop Long or refer to Bishop Long. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“Faith is taking the last $10 from your checking account and saying, ‘God, I give this to you, because I have nothing but faith, I live on faith, and I know in my heart that you’ll bring it back to me in ways too grand and too many for me to even imagine.’”
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Chapter 3
Quotes
“You’re low, you’re tired, you’re fighting, you’re waiting for your vision to become reality—you feel you can’t wait anymore! […] Say ‘I’ll be fine tonight ‘cause Jesus is with me.’ SAY IT! SAY IT!”
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Chapter 6
Quotes
The problem stems from a conundrum he’s thought through a thousand times. Worldly success—the kind of genuine, respect-in-the-community, house-in-the-suburbs achievement that he finds among his neighbors in Mitchelville—has never fit well inside the doors of Scripture. And going to college is a first step on that path away from here.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
Cedric, ushered here mostly by adrenaline and faith, realizes he’s now facing a living, breathing, credentialed counterpart to his revered Bishop. Nothing theoretical about it. Around here, nothing is exempt from dissembling questions and critical examination—not even religion itself. He can see Bishop’s one eye, looking through him, and hear the words, “The only true answers lie with God.”
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Chapter
Quotes
“I still believe in God, that Jesus is my personal savior, and my friend, and my guide, but I just don’t feel as tied to the church so much anymore. I like coming and all, but, at the same time, I feel like I’m ready to venture out.”
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Bishop Long Quotes in A Hope in the Unseen
The A Hope in the Unseen quotes below are all either spoken by Bishop Long or refer to Bishop Long. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“Faith is taking the last $10 from your checking account and saying, ‘God, I give this to you, because I have nothing but faith, I live on faith, and I know in my heart that you’ll bring it back to me in ways too grand and too many for me to even imagine.’”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3
Quotes
“You’re low, you’re tired, you’re fighting, you’re waiting for your vision to become reality—you feel you can’t wait anymore! […] Say ‘I’ll be fine tonight ‘cause Jesus is with me.’ SAY IT! SAY IT!”
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Chapter 6
Quotes
The problem stems from a conundrum he’s thought through a thousand times. Worldly success—the kind of genuine, respect-in-the-community, house-in-the-suburbs achievement that he finds among his neighbors in Mitchelville—has never fit well inside the doors of Scripture. And going to college is a first step on that path away from here.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
Cedric, ushered here mostly by adrenaline and faith, realizes he’s now facing a living, breathing, credentialed counterpart to his revered Bishop. Nothing theoretical about it. Around here, nothing is exempt from dissembling questions and critical examination—not even religion itself. He can see Bishop’s one eye, looking through him, and hear the words, “The only true answers lie with God.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter
Quotes
“I still believe in God, that Jesus is my personal savior, and my friend, and my guide, but I just don’t feel as tied to the church so much anymore. I like coming and all, but, at the same time, I feel like I’m ready to venture out.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
