"If man has in fact committed cosmic treason against God, what reason could we possibly have that God should provide any way of redemption?  In light of the universal rebellion against God, the issue is not why is there only one way, but why is there any way at all?"    –R.C. Sproul, Reason to Believe

"Socrates mastered the art of dying; Christ overcame death as "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26).  There is a real difference between the two things; the one is within the scope of human possibilities, the other means resurrection.  It's not from the art of dying, but from the resurrection of Christ, that a new and purifying wind can blow through our present world. To live in the light of the resurrection that is what Easter means."
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Martyred Christian