As hostess, Mrs. Thurlow didn't want to take sides, but she unconsciously turned to the bishop.
“Your Excellency, is your food all right? You haven't even touched it,” she said gently.
“The food is delicious as always, but my doctor wouldn't allow me to eat it all. And please, call me Father Murray. We're among friends,” he replied with a warm smile.
“Clever choice, Father Murray,” said the doctor, “we doctors are the ones everyone wants to talk to, but no one wants to listen to. ”
“Haha,” the Bishop laughed in agreement, “I can relate to that. It comes with the territory... After all, healing souls isn't so different from healing bodies. Both require patience, compassion, and skill."
The doctor put his pipe in his mouth and stared off into space, pretending to agree.
"Father Murray, if that is so , why is it that science and the Church get on so badly? I mean, when are we going to see science and the Church on the same page?" the senator asked.
"We most certainly are!" replied the bishop confidently, "The Church and science have a common goal: the good of mankind. It's just that we've taken different paths — science uses reason and observtion to achieve its goal, and we use God's Word."
"But don't you think the Bible somehow denies human evolution?" the senator asked. His question sounded more hostile than interested.
"I think it takes more than a simple reading to interpret the Bible correctly." His tone was firm.
"Are you suggesting I don't know what I'm talking about?" the senator said, leaning forward slightly.
"No. I'm saying that in order to discuss something meaningfully, you have to understand it deeply," the bishop replied, his voice calm but resolute.
Mrs. Thurlow looked at both of them in distress — in a matter of minutes, her table had turned into a battleground, and the bishop was left to defend himself. He kept a stiff upper lip under the spotlight, but she noticed he was trembling slightly. As a religious man in a time of unbelief, he was used to swallowing toads from time to time, but this one had caught him off guard.
* Pictures by Freepick
