great-uncle's old farm, where he finds the cabin has burned to the ground. Tarwater had assumed that his great-uncle had been burned up with it, but Buford, a black man who lived nearby, had actually rescued old Mason Tarwater's body from the house while Tarwater was drunk at the beginning of the novel, and gave the old man a proper Christian burial just as he had requested. Tarwater realizes that his great-uncle's two main requests (that he be given a proper burial and that Tarwater's nephew Bishop be baptized) have been realized, which convinces Tarwater that he can no longer run away from his calling to be a prophet. The story ends with Tarwater heading toward the city to fulfill his calling to "Go warn the children of God of the terrible speed of mercy." Title The novel's title is taken from a verse of the Douay Bible: There are various explanations of the meaning of this verse. The most accepted explanation is that violence constantly attacks God and heaven and that only those who are "violent with the love of God" can bear heaven away. This is seen when Tarwater drowns Bishop. He commits a violent act, but the "accidental" baptism is a powerful act of violent love for God—which bears away the crime of murder. Another possible meaning is that both secularism and fundamentalism (that is, the Protestant functioning outside of the Roman Catholic Church) are heresy, which blinds their adherents to God's truth. When God's grace comes into contact with an errant life, a violent revelation occurs. Falsehood and heresy are burnt off, and the sinner then sees the truth clearly. Those who suffer this spiritual violence bear the kingdom of God with them as they go through the world. Characters Francis Marion Tarwater: The protagonist of the story. Kidnapped by his great-uncle at a young age, he has been raised under the single-minded premise that his destiny is to become a prophet. At first greatly frustrated by the notion of being forced to subscribe to a pre-ordained fate, he vows to do anything he can to prevent it from happening. Francis does not fit the role of a hero, strictly speaking, but is the central figure in the novel. Rayber: The main antagonist of the story. He is a staunchly anti-religious schoolteacher and lives a secular lifestyle. He is the uncle of Tarwater and the father