sentences begin with "That"

[Maybo]

He admitted that, yes, he had been angry at the Lord. That he'd howled in anguish, that he'd screamed for an answer. That there was nothing in being a Man of God that insulated him from the tears and misery of never being able to hold his little girl again.

(Have a little faith by Mitch Albom)

1. Does the underlined sentence mean "He admitted that he'd howled in anguish. He admitted that he'd screamed for an answer"?
2. What does the bolded "That" refer to ? Does it refer to "there was nothing in being a Man of God"?

 

[emsr2d2]

He admitted that, yes, he had been angry at the Lord. That he'd howled in anguish, that he'd screamed for an answer. That there was nothing in being a Man of God that insulated him from the tears and misery of never being able to hold his little girl again.

(Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom)

1. Does the underlined sentence mean "He admitted that he'd howled in anguish. He admitted that he'd screamed for an answer"?
2. What does the bolded "That" refer to ? Does it refer to "there was nothing in being a Man of God"?

All the instances of "that" should be read as if they were directly after "he had been angry at the Lord".

He had been angry at the Lord that (because) he had howled in anguish and screamed for an answer. He had also been angry at the Lord that (about the fact that) being a Man of God didn't protect him from those tears and misery.

(Cross-posted)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

He admitted that, yes, (a) he had been angry at the Lord. That (b) he'd howled in anguish, that (c) he'd screamed for an answer. That (d) there was nothing in being a Man of God that insulated him from the tears and misery of never being able to hold his little girl again.

(Have a little faith by Mitch Albom)

1. Does the underlined sentence mean "He admitted that he'd howled in anguish. He admitted that he'd screamed for an answer"?

Yes.

2. What does the bolded "That" refer to ? Does it refer to "there was nothing in being a Man of God"?

Yes.

He admitted four things:

a. that he had been angry at the Lord.
b. that he had howled in anguish.
c. that he had screamed for an answer.
d. that there was nothing in being a Man of God that had insulated him . . . .

You might wonder why it's broken into three sentences. The writer used sentence fragments for dramatic effect.