This story explains how and why a boy is born into an earthly mother, then lives his adult life with a group of mates who love fishing, surfing, having barbeques, playing music, singing, drinking wine and enjoying life.

In the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice created Judas Iscariot singing (in the song called Superstar) that he didn’t understand why Jesus of Nazareth “let things get so out of hand”, or why God chose “Israel in 4 BC” and an era when “mass communication” was unheard of, for the life, the story and the lessons of Jesus. This song asks if it might it have been easier, better and more effective, to broadcast the Jesus message in more recent times.

I have tried to show in a hypothetical and somewhat sci-fi way, how the Jesus of Nazareth story could unfold today. The story is interlaced with the camaraderie which exists when there are good friends, regular barbecues and dinners, good music, food and wine, a bit of surfing, a bit of fishing…plus Faith, Grace, Insights and Leadership.

It is important to remember that this is a story; a story of friends travelling on a journey together, a sci-fi, historical and musically laced novel, which does not pretend to be an accurate account of any events, or to spring from divine inspiration.

Throughout this book I refer to various pieces of modern music, from a wide range of artists and groups of musicians.

I encourage you to view and/or listen to them all on YouTube or a CD or a DVD or some other medium, as this will improve your experience and your understanding of the story I have tried to tell.

The song Superstar I referred to above, might be a good place for you to start to experiment with these musical sources.

Many prominent scientists and astronomers believe that there is a God.

And anyway, if God did not exist and as the French writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire wrote, it would be necessary to invent Him (or Her) for there to be any order in society at all.

There are prominent evangelical, atheist scientists, who say that because they can find no physical evidence of God or Heaven, there cannot be a God or Heaven and an afterlife cannot exist. In days gone by, those people would have been the prominent and all-knowing scientists, when the generally held view was that the world is flat – they would have been the people who zealously prompted the view that the world is flat. These modern scientists have ignored the concept of probability.

The chances of me winning Lotto are 1 in 4 million to 5 million, or less.

The chance of nature occurring because of a random sequence of events cannot be calculated, so the chance that nature as we know it, exists solely because of a series of random coincidences, is improbable.

This is the reason for Faith.

These prominent evangelical, atheist scientists, do not contemplate the proposition that their so-called knowledge is limited or is based on the incomplete information which is available. They do not usually admit in public that there may be other important and as yet undiscovered information, which would lead to other answers and explanations. Their position is based on the proposition that their knowledge and understanding is perfect, which it clearly is not.

The boy is a people loving leader of this travelling rock band, who move around in a very large bus and teach wisdom to the masses in the countryside, in the city and to packed stadiums.

This story recasts the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the 20th and 21st centuries, in chapters described as steps.

The story begins with this extract from the first step:

STEP 1 – INTRODUCING YOU TO GOD IN HEAVEN

You are not the first or the only person who has ever wondered about GOD.

As you look and try to see what is happening, you are almost blinded by an incredibly brilliant, white light.

Before you know it, you come face to face with this sign over the entrance to a radiantly white building:

As you enter the building in front of you, you see a large, open meeting room.

There isn’t any glass in the windows, so you can hear and see everything very clearly – there are no secrets here.

GOD is sitting at the head of a rectangular table, with two women and two men seated on his right and two men and two women seated on his left.

GOD looks at the people seated on the right and on the left. The clothes that GOD and his companions are wearing would not look strange where you live. Someone else looking on through the space in the wall and standing next to you remarks:

“Isn’t this fascinating...I have been here before and I found out that everyone sees this happen through their own eyes, and through their own experience and their own reality. GOD and his helpers (GOD calls them his Angels) look and dress and talk like ordinary people from where you live. This scene looks just like something each person is used to seeing in their local earthly existence, wherever they come from...it really is quite clever”.

There is a hush, and then GOD says in an excited and enthusiastic tone, “As you all know, the social and spiritual development project on Earth has not been progressing as quickly as I hoped it would.

“So, I have decided to change my approach; Jesus, as you are my son, I am going to send you to make my expectations clear. These people have not listened to the prophets, so I'm sending my son to explain my wishes and expectations in more detail. Hopefully, they will listen to you, then the work and the project can progress.

“Jesus, you will go and live and teach amongst them.

“You will take and demonstrate and share our Holy Spirit and by demonstration and by action, you will teach them and show them how life is supposed to be lived.

“People have to learn to forget the destructive, never ending revenge of the eye for an eye mentality.

“People must also learn to leave behind their spite and their overriding importance of self, the autonomous individual, and the greed, disconnection and isolation that all of this fosters.

There was silence around the table and then Jesus spoke, asking “How do you expect me to do that Father?

GOD answered, “You are going to go through a simple, retro-engineering process, then we will transport you to Earth in the guise of one of their children. You will be born into their society in their normal way. We will put you into the body of and you will be “born”, as they call it, of a woman who hasn't had any children before and who is pure in body and in mind. She will also be someone who has enormous courage. She must be caring and compassionate, but she must also be strong and fearless.

“I have researched potential women for this role and I have identified someone who is perfect for the project.

“Her name is Mary and her soon-to-be husband Joseph, is a hard-working and respectable carpenter.

“People should not make the mistake of thinking that Mary’s kindness and her willingness to take this crucial part in the project are signs of weakness and subservient compliance. Nothing could be further from the Truth. I am certain that because of her bravery, she will not be overwhelmed by what is going to happen to her. It will also help her, that she is pure of heart. She is more than able to perform heroic deeds because of her nature, her strength of character and personality.

Music from YouTube which is spiritual or non-spiritual is referred to throughout the text, providing “guest appearances” by Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, The Beatles, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, George Harrison, Led Zeppelin, The Band, Colleen Hewitt, The Fireballs, Wings, Simon and Garfunkel, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion with Andrea Bocelli, Three Dog Night, Bette Midler, Elton John, Rod Stewart and The Cast of Jesus Christ Superstar.