Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like, such as reading to your little boy, or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song, or putting on his shoes, keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending; it says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that this is so

Nick Cave, musician, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 14 August

Tech companies simply cannot be trusted to make those necessary changes to the algorithms that inspire bile and hate because, in the world made by Milton Friedman, only profits count. Never have we needed a rediscovery of the social purpose of the company as much as we do now

Simon Burton-Jones, Bishop of Tonbridge, X/Twitter, 18 August

Where technological solutions fail us, perhaps the answer is to encourage a change in user behaviour. I’ve been fascinated to discover that all three of my children (late teens, early twenties) have recently deleted some social media accounts — in part because of frustrations over adverts, but also because they realised for themselves (without any persuasion from their parents) that their use of such platforms was affecting their mental health

Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester, article on the Church of England website, 16 August

The New Things enterprise [News, 16 August] is a centrally led project that is splicing evangelical Christianity with management theory to create something entirely new. When asked, the Church (sic) leadership says it is wholeheartedly committed to parish churches and the ministry of priests. But as the Bible says, “by their fruit will you know them”

Giles Fraser, priest and writer, UnHerd, 16 August

Unless we have robust conversation about what prisons are for, we will continue to perpetuate a situation of overcrowded prisons; fail to reduce reoffending; and fail to build stronger communities. Unless we look at big picture and change the narrative, we are failing everyone

Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop to HM Prisons, X/Twitter, 18 August

I don’t care if the raves raise thousands of pounds for the upkeep of this historic building [Canterbury Cathedral]; what’s the National Lottery for? I’d rather the rain came in through the roof than the cathedral be profaned. And I can with absolute confidence say that this would be the view of its founder

Melanie McDonagh, The Spectator website, 16 August

There are many books that describe the negative side of faith, perhaps because it is easier than trying to describe a transformative encounter with God. . . Perhaps it’s because literature trades in what is effable or describable in words, while God remains, in most ways, ineffable: a wild, elusive, and mostly invisible presence that can’t even be named

Rhidian Brook, Thought for the Day, Radio 4, 16 August

We invite readers’ contributions. Quotations have to be from the past few days (or quoted therein), and we need author, source, and date. Please send promptly to: quotes@churchtimes.co.uk