Challenge 161

Lost?

Toward the end of Jeremy Adams’ “The Is and The Ought,” Anton Shenker’s last words are:

Funny... I always thought the Bible was filled with what “Ought To Be.” I never thought it would be used as an instrument for rationalizing “The Is.” I’m lost...

As the Readers’ Guide introduction asks, wasn’t Anton “lost” long before? After all, the letter “was written years ago yet sent merely days ago.”

What do you see as being Anton’s tragic flaw?
What does Anton mean by: “Although you definitely didn’t plan it this way, I knew you’d be my apostle some day”?

A Theme in a Kaleidoscope

All the following works have something in common:

Jeremy Adams, “The Is and The Ought”
Robert M. Blevins, “Whisper in the Void”
D. A. Madigan, “The Fundamental Immorality of The Matrix”
Sandra Miller, “The Enemy in the Mirror”
Roberto Sanhueza, Katts and Dawgs, conclusion: “Rise and Fall”

They all have to do with faith and morality in action. “The Is and The Ought” and “Whisper in the Void” are clear-cut. “The Enemy in the Mirror” is no stretch by any means, and D. A. Madigan acknowledges that the theme is inextricably bound up in his essay on The Matrix.

But what about Katts and Dawgs ? Why oppose Lucius? Does his being crazy and waging war make him bad? How many people in public and private life today will go down in history as being just plain starkers? Insanity has never been an obstacle to gathering a fanatical following or implementing hare-brained schemes.

In what way are all these works statements of faith?

Responses welcome!