There is no doubt the characters in this book are lost in a "biblical" sense. There is constant suffering, constant abuse of alcohol, and constant infidelity. There are examples of bootlegging liquor at Slade's, and of Willie's and Tommy's sexual escapades. To show this contrast even further Robert Penn Warren throws the relationship between Jack and the Young Attorney into the spotlight. Jack and he have never truly bonded, and even as grownups they still struggle to connect. Also at the end of the book Jack gives the Young Attorney reparations in a since for missing out on him for so long. He knows he has neglected him, just like the bible, but now as his life has peaked he is trying to make things right. Many people do this after youth, because the thought of eternal damnation scares them and they do what they can to make sure they are "forgiven". The bible is to show the atrophied moral fibers of the characters.
