
The weeks dragged on into months.  Nothing happened.  The ship kept on
its slow coast back to Earth.  Mission control kept on purring.
Andrea kept on preaching.  Her audience started listening.

Andrea: "They're historical documents, Marc.  Just because we believe
in Julius Caesar doesn't necessarily mean he said 'Now the die is
cast' as he crossed the Rubicon."

Mercuriou: Mercuriou studied her thoughtfully.  "So how can you say all this
stuff with such certainty?"

Andrea: "I hardly say anything with certainty.  A lot of these
churches say all kind of things with certainty.  All I'm sure of is
that Jesus rose from the dead."

Mercuriou: "Why do you believe that?"

Andrea: "Well, I could point to all those first century source texts
you've got there that claim it.  I could site plausible physical
evidence like the Shroud of Turin.  Yet the bottom line is that it's
just what I believe.  It's like asking why some people believe in
science.  They've got all kinds of reasons, but it's just what they
believe in."

Mercuriou: "Do you believe in science?"

Andrea: "Sure, I'm an astronaut!  I just don't believe in it as a
religion, that's all!  It's very useful, but it's got limits!  We can
look at those stars through telescopes, but we'll probably never know
about life out there unless we invent a warp drive.  We can dig
through fossils for centuries; we'll never know how life was formed
until we invent a time machine."

Mercuriou paused and thought for a while.

Mercuriou: "So since Jesus came back from the dead... I should read
what we know about him and pay attention?"

Andrea: "Exactly!"

Again Mercuriou thought for a while.

Mercuriou: "What should I read?"

Andrea: "Start with Matthew.  Just ignore the genealogy at the start
and focus on Jesus and his message."
