Abby continued, “…a person who would lead civilized people back to the Stone Age. Maybe, after listening to me, you’ll choose to fund Bryson Nichols’s utopian vision and all peoples of the earth will be blessed.” She paused before adding, “Or so he claims.”

I heard whispers behind me. Witnesses before Congress rarely made such pointed comments.

“The people I’ve lived with in the jungle don’t have all your technological advances. Their lives are simple. They get diseases, and they die young, and their lives are difficult. But they have joy.

“They didn’t always. When my parents first moved to the jungle, the Inisi tribe was ruled by fear and revenge killings and clan wars. Life was not only hard; it was dreadful. No one smiled or laughed. As I grew up, that changed, because my parents brought them a new way to see the world—a way that offended them, initially. But they saw in our imperfect lives that Jesus was real. We showed them what it meant to love as Jesus loved, to forgive as Jesus forgave, to value human life as God does, to serve one another as Jesus came to serve us, and to enjoy God and his creation in a way that enriches life.

“The wars stopped. The killings stopped. Husbands started loving their wives instead of beating them. The children learned to laugh and play. For the first time, the Inisi experienced true life.”

I looked around the room. Abby had the audience’s complete attention.

Alistair informed me that my car had arrived. I ran outside and hopped in the car while remaining in the VR hearings room.

Abby glanced at her notes. “How we view reality may be the most important thing about us. It governs our actions, our attitudes, our dreams. America has chosen to embrace a universe without God. Here, ultimate reality is just physical matter. We are all just collections of atoms given certain forms as a result of time and chance.

“Existence has no real meaning. Life has no purpose. It’s not surprising that Americans spend so much time seeking stimulation for their brains and bodies since that becomes the ultimate goal in such a universe. And I’m truly amazed at the wonders you’ve invented in pursuit of this goal.

“What I haven’t found here, however, are people with deep inner joy. I miss that about the Inisi. Though materially the Inisi couldn’t be poorer, in spirit they couldn’t be richer.”

A few spectators nodded in agreement.

“What if reality is different than you have believed? What if ultimate reality is a Creator who designed us with a human spirit, who wants to join himself to that spirit, who wants to infuse us with his very own life? And what if our spirit can’t find fulfillment or peace or true purpose except by being joined to the One who made it?”