"Without gratitude, there is nothing," says God to the moon. This is a theme that binds When the Beginning Began together into a whole. From the beginning, God's Creation is a joy to Him (or Her), and all He creates is meant to take joy in existence.

Even at the end, when Adam and Chavah, otherwise known as Eve, are sent out of Gan Eden, Chavah takes pleasure in the world God has made. The Angel of Mercy sums it up: Sara looked down at the world shining in the blackness of space like a jewel. "I wish I were human," she said softly.

"Why?" Moe put in. "You're an angel.

Humans die!"

"I know. But they get the chance to finish what God began. Isn't that incredible?"

Much of the action in When the Beginning Began is motivated by gratitude or the lack...