“One of the many burdens of the person professing Christianity has always been the odium likely to be heaped upon him by fellow Christians quick to smell out, denounce and punish fraud, hypocrisy and general unworthiness among those who assert the faith. In ruder days, disputes about what constituted a fully qualified Christian often led to sordid quarrels in which the disputants tortured, burned and hanged each other in the conviction that torture, burning and hanging were Christian things to do…”

American journalist and writer

Russell Baker was an American journalist, columnist, narrator, and writer, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning satire and autobiographical prose. He was a columnist for The New York Times for 36 years and hosted eleven seasons of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre. He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary and later for his autobiography Growing Up (1982). His work is marked by gentle humor and a self-critical tone, often bringing a light touch to serious or painful events and trends.