mwotw

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways in which “opposing” Things are held in balance, as in the question of “”Religion vs. Science”", and also about the ways the lines between “separate” Things can sometimes get blurry, or even erased, as in “The Essence of Judaism: Spirit or Blood”.

Tonight I want to discuss a balance of “separate AND opposing” forces that I think we will all recognize in our own lives, but that I would guess seldom figures among our conscious and deliberate thoughts.

Fortunately, we DO have the works of a few great writers, who came upon this very question themselves, and have dramatized and dimensionalized it for us in literature.

One such is Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost.

Though there are sooo many ways to talk about Paradise Lost, for purposes of this discussion, I want to focus on the question:

Who is the Hero of the Story?

Without having to read PL, all that you need to know about Satan, Adam and the question of their respective claims to “Heroism” in PL you already know from Popular Culture/Religious Dogma:

1. Satan said “Fuck you, God — ban me to Hell, I’ll make it a place in my own Image”

2. Adam, seemingly the product of a God made smarter for his prior scuffle with Lucipher, was given but 1/1000th the power of the Dark Lord, has to live ALWAYS with the question: “Does God exist?” (and therefore always falling in and out of FAITH), and, most cripplingly, is FULLY subject to the will of God (though in the odd guise of free will).

Though God had enough power over Satan to ban him to Hell, he could NOT control his actions THERE, or stem his INFLUENCE over a world full of Adams.

The writer guy wakes up one morning miraculously inspired to work again. Mind you, he has had no contact with anyone from the outside in decades, except for the troll-like personage who brings him food twice per day through a little slot in the door, but with whom writer guy never exchanges anything but the most insubstantial dialogue (in the form of low harrumphs and taps of the foot). So writer guy has completely forgotten how to have a conversation with a normal human being… He has lost the capacity for live give-and-take. The idea that’s in his head for his next book is, therefore and accordingly, more than a little bit fukhakhde.

The gist of the plot of the book is this:

Once upon a time, there was a powerful king who ruled his kingdom with great severity. Whenever subjects displeased him, they were banished without mercy.

In spite of that terrible consequence, many subjects spent all their energies trying to win the king’s approval with deception. Like all subjects of this kingdom could if they wished, these deceiving subjects read the Scroll of Rules the king had had posted in a prominent and public place. In fact, they read it more often and more carefully than almost anyone else in all the kingdom. They also watched the King’s actions closely, in both cases, looking for weakness.