This paper contends that art can critique a philosophical claim about the world. Artist imagination can envision how an idea can live and whether the idea is attractive to our living. Cormac McCarthy's novel, "Blood Meridian," narratively illustrates a certain idea of divine determinism and shows that, in terms of war and human cruelty, the idea is repulsive and morally meaningless to real life concerns. The novel's plot reveals the contradictions and absurdities involved in claiming that if God is the omni-causal sovereign Lord and that all events reflect God's holy will, then we should also claim that war is holy. By recognizing that art can critique philosophy according to life situations, we gain in our ability to analyze the ideas that influence the way we think and evaluate life. (Contains 16 notes.)