“I don’t know,” Abby answered honestly. “I’m not exactly an expert on religions. But what Jesus taught about forgiveness was backed up by what he did on the cross. God tells us to forgive because he is forgiving, which he showed by sending Jesus to die for our sins.”

“And why would that enable us to be forgiven?”

“Because Jesus paid the price for our sins.”

“The price of…”

“Death. The wages of sin is death, the Bible says. Someone had to pay that price. That’s what Jesus did. He paid the price, so if we put our trust in him and believe that he died for us and rose from the dead, he will forgive us, and we can live forever in heaven with him.”

Abby breathed deeply. She had been speaking rapidly, as if she didn’t want anyone to sidetrack her while she was delivering the meat of her message.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Billups turned to Senator Benjamin Claymore of Virginia. “Ben, what do you make of that?”

The senator leaned back against his chair. “Very heartfelt. Very sincere, young lady. But—not to impugn your beliefs, of course—it seems to me that the kind of forgiveness you attribute to Jesus, I mean the people-to-people kind, we achieve in our secular society very nicely.”

Sara Raynes, his partner and a professor of literature, agreed. “I understand what Abby’s saying—most societies go through periods when people stop shooting one another over differences and, instead, embrace the more positive aspects of religious expression. It sounds as if, for this tribal society, those beliefs have served quite well. In our society, of course, we have advanced beyond the need for such beliefs. We’re a peaceful society without them.”

The conversation wasn’t developing at all as Abby had anticipated. “But it’s not just about a peaceful society. It’s about being at peace with God. That’s something that only Jesus can bring—because of his death on the cross.”

Ms. Raynes set her fork next to her plate. “It seems ghastly to believe in a God that would require anyone to die just because they didn’t keep certain rules. What kind of a God would do that?”

“I tend to agree.” Everyone turned toward Secretary Billups. “No offense to you, Ms. Caldwell. Such a God does seem to be related more to the revenge killings that your tribe rejected than the forgiveness that Jesus taught.”

“To be honest,” Ms. Raynes interjected, “the whole idea of forgiveness with God doesn’t make sense to me. Even if there were a God, what would he or she have to forgive? Frankly, if there were a God, I think he or she is the one who would need to ask forgiveness for leaving us in such an unenlightened state for so long.”

The others laughed. Abby glanced at Sabin. At least he had refrained.