The Anchoress | A First Things Blog
I was thinking this morning that if a fiction writer (or Hollywood) had tried to write this story, they could not have. First off, they’d probably turn it into a Lord of the Flies scenario, (or “Lost”) but even if they did not, they would be compelled (or encouraged) to omit much of the religious angle of the story, and then, would the story of 33 he-men types who don’t kill each other, who find a way to live peaceably and generously (and even with grace) while trapped below the earth ever find a publisher? Doubtful. This is a story that only real-life could tell, and if we’re really listening, we can learn a lot from it about how wrong we’re getting things up here above – in our values, our cynicism, our lowered expectations about everyone around us and everything. Lots to think about.