Learning = Adventure
In Mercy Ships, all long-term crew assent to the statement of faith (The Apostles’ Creed), but short-term crew are not required to. Consequently, short-term crew are a mix of backgrounds, including committed, mature Christians and those with no personal commitment to the Christian faith but willing to live by the organization’s Code of Conduct, which is informed by Christian values and worldview. This creates an intentional environment where those who do not follow Jesus have the opportunity to enter and experience a community that does.
I was recently aboard one of our vessels, speaking with a short-term crew member who had questions about faith. She had a nominal faith tradition that was not Christianity and had elementary but important questions about what Christians believe. As we discussed the historicity of scriptural writings, I couldn’t help but think about my time reading Campbell’s *The Hero with a Thousand Faces*.
While I found some of the material speculative (the application to dreams, for example), I was taken aback by concepts that demonstrated Jesus himself as the living, historical, and full embodiment of the hero.
Echoes of the hero reverberate throughout scripture: Abram, Joseph, Moses, David, Gideon, Jonah, Esther, the list could go on. But what would it mean if God himself were the hero? Campbell states that “perhaps the most eloquent possible symbol of this mystery is that of the god crucified, the god offered, ‘himself to himself.'” [1] What if the Creator were the self-sacrificing champion for whom death was inconclusive? The Christian faith is unique and remarkable in that it positions the life, death, and literal resurrection of Jesus, God made flesh, as the fulcrum of history.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Jesus (John 3:1, English Standard Version)
As Jesus was lifted up on the cross and his life was given as ransom for many (1 Tim. 2:3-5), new and eternal life is available, both for him and for others: “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9-10).
The Christian worldview proposes that the path to a fulfilling life is through following the way of Jesus. When we follow our master in laying our own lives down for the benefit of others, not only do other people benefit, but we ourselves receive new, resurrection life in return. It is in dying that we are raised to eternal life.
Consequently, we, too, are invited into what Campbell describes as the hero’s journey: called into adventure, struggling with the call, discovering our mentors, stepping through liminal spaces into new territories [2], enduring trials, facing the darkest places and enemies, bringing our new-found discoveries back, and experiencing new life.
Jungian/Campbellian archetypes [3] may exist in our own lives too–threshold guardians [4] we have had to face when stepping into new places, or tricksters who create mischief but we learn to love for lightening our hearts with laughter and what we discover to be good intent. Like Christ, we will face the true enemy of our souls in some kind of wilderness or dark night.
The parts of the book that I struggled to understand include those that are specific to domains that I have relatively little study in and experience with–that is Freudian psychoanalysis and pathologies of the unconscious and dreams [5]. While it made some of the material harder to grasp, it also exposed me to a world of thinking that has heavily impacted many societies and I have been largely ignorant of. I consider this a gift.
This journey into a new realm of knowledge is a new adventure on my own journey. I have ordered a few new books: Freud and Jung, my new mentors. I expect I will open them and discover some thresholds to cross: concepts to wrestle with, terms to familiarize, truth propositions to analyze and consider, and a road back to the beginning but having experienced transformation; the learning process itself an instance of the monomyth.
Having now seen the monomyth, I find it difficult to unsee. This leads me to another question: now how much of my recognition of the patterns is because the pattern is objectively true, and how much is because of availability bias–because the knowledge of the monomyth is readily available in my mind, quickly accessible and usable as an interpretive lens?
I expect I will need to continue to work through these concepts and determine how they fit into my thinking framework. What parts do I accept as true, which are conditionally true, and which are not true? Like my colleague with questions about Christ, I join in the journey and adventure of discovery, learning, and, ultimately, transformation.
Bibliography
[1] Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 3rd ed. Bollingen Series XVII. Novato, Calif: New World Library, 2008, 223.
[2] Meyer, Jan, and Ray Land. Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge. London: Routledge, 2006. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203966273.
[3] Callaghan, Fija. “What Are Jungian Archetypes, and How They Can Help Develop Your Characters.” Scribophile. Accessed February 7, 2025. https://www.scribophile.com/academy/what-are-jungian-archetypes.
[4] Meyer and Land.
[5] Campbell, pp.1-8
About the Author
Joff Williams
I help communities and people discover their identity and purpose by discovering the identity and intent of their Creator. I am a follower of Jesus, husband, father, son, sibling, music nerd, recovering IT nerd, just an all-around nerd nerd, and mediocre but happy runner. My work involves leading and loving the communities of Mercy Ships, an international hospital ship mission deeply rooted in the love of Jesus.13 responses to “Learning = Adventure”
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Joff, I’m grateful for your reflective questions here. They make me ask them to myself. Particularly this one: “What if the Creator were the self-sacrificing champion for whom death was inconclusive?” This is a meta question. It seems true and I think this IS the point. I was convinced by Campbell’s evidence and synthesis that this hero’s journey is a universal truth, that just is. I believe the answer to your questions is yes, of course, the Creator of all things is the ultimate hero, but why? Campbell seems to point to the idea that it’s because it is the human journey as well. That existence itself is wrapped up in this meta-drama that ties into the fabric of reality. This is man’s call because this is the rhythm of Creator and creation.
I’m excited to hear your interest in the dream and psychoanalytic stuff. Shadow work and dreamwork seem to hold many answers for the mangled mysteries of the unconscious that many of us pack into the long bag we drag behind us.
Thanks for your response, Christian. It sounds like we hold some similar thoughts around “pattern matching” in life.
I’ll be the first to confess that I’m a relative novice in psychoanalytics, which is what actually drives my interest in it. I find our world more in need of cross-disciplinary leaders, and it’s where my wiring lies, so it feels natural and I’m OK with there always being someone else in the room who is smarter than me on a given subject. I’d rather be able to understand how they do or don’t tie together. This is a big part of what I find interesting in this program!
Yes, “Pattern Matching” is my love language. Second, cross-disciplinary is the way forward, no doubt. I feel the same about being wired that way. I couldn’t stay full tilt on one discipline if I wanted to. There is just so much mystery and so much that could be known. The world and the cosmos are hauntingly expansive with potential knowledge to be mined, and some to just be in awe of. Glad to be on this journey with you, friend.
Hi Joff, thank you for your blog. What stood out to me is you leaning into a new adventure of learning.. Freud and Jung are not easy reads, yet you are leaning in. I am reminded that mentors on our journey are not always people but we can find those mentors through leaning into articles, books, as you are doing.
Thanks, Judith. I would almost always prefer to have a living, breathing mentor for a number of reasons, but since our lifespans don’t match up (and even if they do, not everyone is accessible) I’m very happy to read too! If we look for it, I think there is opportunity to learn almost anywhere.
Thanks for the insightful read, Joff. I like your intention to take different information, material, ideologies and determine what is true or untrue, useful or unuseful for the journey you are on. Do you think we subconsciouly sift through material and determine if it’s relevant or not? Or does it require intentional sifting as you indicate?
Great question, Alex! As I note, I’m rather shallow in my understanding of the subconscious, hence my interest in learning and reading some more. However, since you’re asking me today I would say that I expect it’s a mix of both. Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow was a really helpful book in helping me understand thinking modes and how our different modes of thinking operate. How that relates to dreams and the subconscious, I’m looking forward to finding out!
Your blog brought up an interaction I had with a co- worker about a month ago. Being a chaplain in a secular setting leads to many situations like the one you mentioned. The manager of my site oversees all the practical sheltering things and I oversee the mental emotional, social and spiritual side. Our work overlaps often. This manager is a Wiccan witch with deep spiritual practices. In a situation with one of the women we work with, she wanted to do a cleansing ritual and spell to help her. As much as I am open to others beliefs and practices, this one had me unsure of how to proceed. We had a long discussion about our different spiritualities. It felt similar to the commonality of myth in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Though our beliefs are quite different, we could see our spiritual desires and growth as similar. We ended up saying a “prayer” together for the woman- turning her ritual into a request from her Goddess as I did the same to my God. Clearly, I do not believe Jesus or the Spirit are myths but the adventure of spiritual “enlightenment” gave us common understanding. I appreciated the tone of the book that showed we are all seeking truth and meaning.
The manager and I have started the journey of understanding each others beliefs which has opened up a desire in her to know more about this Jesus and the Spirit.
In your experiences of sharing Jesus with others of different belief systems, what have you found to be the common ground that draws them to want to know more?
Thanks for sharing your experience, Jess. It sounds like a really interesting situation and an opportunity for learning and growth together!
I think St. Augustine phrases it really nicely when he says, in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” The curiousity and longing is inherently “baked into” us. This makes sense if we are made in God’s image. I start with the mindset that we are all seeking purpose, a way to find meaning in life, a framework for morality, and to understand where we’re headed.
My first priority is to “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1.27). There is so much skepticism towards Christianity (some justified where it has been abused) that we have to establish credibility in the way of Jesus by the way we live. Our behaviours, not our words, reveal our beliefs. Jesus’ miracles were the confirmation of his character and identity in God, and brought the crowds to hear his teaching. My experience is that the authentic Christian life is very attractive. Nobody will want to listen to me if I live a life of hypocrisy, bitterness, anger, and other sin. The fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5), on the other hand, are very attractive and have a positive impact on the world.
I find the conversational piece relatively easy if I have done the hard work of living with integrity and maintaining trust and credibility. My friend and chaplain, Andrew, says, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” He probably read or heard that somewhere else, I don’t know where, but it’s brilliant and, in my experience, accurate. We do need to genuinely care about those around us–and I know you do! I like to stay curious–find out what matters to people, what events have happened in their lives that have led to where they are on the journey today. While we’re very rarely rational creatures, we are almost always reasonable creatures, and there is usually a thread of life experience and reasons that have led someone to where they are today. We need to take the time to love them by understanding their unique story.
The final piece is for me to speak openly, honestly, and with room to allow the Holy Spirit to work. I think it’s vital that I am willing and ready to explain what I believe and why, but also to have humility to accept that the work of drawing to repentance (changing the mind) is not solely mine, but is the Holy Spirit’s.
In summary, 1 Peter 3:13-17, in my view, wraps it up nicely:
“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
Thank you Joff! So well put. You have a gift to communicate things in a professional way but with warmth and humility to it. I am on the same page as you and am grateful for the way to said it.
Joff, I appreciate you sharing your personal experience in Mercy Ships. The way you connect that environment to the idea of a transformative journey, comparing the way of Jesus to the mythic hero’s journey was something I resonated with. You tie the notion that Jesus, as the embodiment of the hero, represents the ultimate self-sacrifice and victory over death, offering eternal life, into Campbell’s exploration of the hero’s transformative journey, where the hero must face trials, overcome obstacles, and bring back wisdom that leads to new life. You suggest that much like Campbell’s archetypes, our own lives may mirror this pattern, where challenges and moments of growth are integral to our transformation.
I found your perspective on a challenging and complex read to be quite refreshing. Like I did in my own essay, you acknowledge that certain parts were difficult to grasp. Do you think there might be more clarity or value to be gained by exploring Campbell’s ideas further, particularly regarding his view of our role as heroes in our lives, independent of our understanding of it from a Christian perspective? I’ve been reflecting on this myself since reading and writing my blog, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on where you stand.
Great question, Linda. Thanks for asking.
My short answer is that I don’t think it is possible for me to think independently of a Christian perspective. The understanding of who Jesus is has become one of those threshold concepts that I can’t ‘unthink’. It has changed my entire perspective on all areas of life. I wouldn’t want to consider a perspective of seeing myself as any sort of hero outside of the framework of being made in the image of God and redeemed through Jesus. To do so would feel like idolatry to me.
It is very possible to analyze its merits outside of a Christocentric perspective, but I think Campbell does a far superior job of that than I would!
Joff,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I completely agree with you—it almost feels as though we’ve been blind our whole lives, and now that we’ve been given the right lenses, we can see clearly. Once we’ve experienced this new perspective, it’s hard to ever want to take those lenses off. The lens of Jesus Christ in my life has brought so much light and clarity that it’s difficult to view things any other way.