What are the motifs in Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh?

Religious cruelty is a recurring idea in the story. On the night before his death, Palinor questions why the people who are most passionate about religion are the cruelest. This question is illustrated also, when Amara encounters the image of the crucified Christ in the abbey chapel and runs from the image of a bloody and tortured man. Christians, on the other hand, view the crucifix only as an act of love. In a religion that supposedly is based on love, some of its staunchest practitioners find ways to justify the most murderous behavior.