So we’re, like: saving the world

Nazareth, pretty much exactly 2,000 years ago. This is where Emmanuel and his friends grow up: the Jewess Ruth; Amon from Babylon; and Titus, who was born in Rome. Together they re-enact the traditional stories that are designed to explain the world and the divine order: Moses parts the Red Sea, Noah builds the Ark. But if everything is intended by God, why then are there so many problems? Why can Rome wallow in luxury and exploit its provinces and the environment? And why, despite that, everyone wants to do as the Romans do? The adults offer no useful answers. But the children dig deeper and find out that, firstly, old scrolls name Emmanuel as redeemer and saviour of the world. And secondly: perhaps those Bible stories are less about divine intervention and more about what humans can achieve if they trust and act decisively, even in a hopeless situation?