Surprising myself I sprang quickly to Christianity's defence by countering, 'Look, Hon, let's face it, in most of recorded history, religion has given men and women universal direction, promises of forgiveness of sins and an afterlife. Those are huge inducements to believe, let's face it.'

Whose side was I on, I wondered. So did Mark.

'Hey, hang on, sweetheart, ' Mark frowned at me in surprise, 'but isn't that direction, as you put it, innate now in humans anyway? It's right there in the frontal lobes of our brains from birth, surely? And tell me, what's the value of promises based on pure conjecture? What's the point in having life's anchor of hope set in sand?' Mark demanded, still frowning, leaning back and lifting his chair's two front legs off the floor as he clasped his hands behind his head. 'And we've just decided we've been taking the Bible too literally, haven't we?'

Indeed we had. My shoulders slumped.

This parable reconciles Christianity's Bible with the notion that evolution is God's plan, despite which the world as it presently exists could end in our lifetimes.