A Secret Rescue Plan
In reading Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces [1] I am disturbed by the implications it has on my reading of the Bible. If we are all telling a story with the same archetypes, aren’t we just all telling the same story? How can the Bible be the greatest story ever told if it follows the same formulaic trope as all other epics told across cultures and times? The idea is initially upsetting and I find myself internally arguing against it. Not to mention that my humanistic, westernized and self-centered world view wants to have a story that is special and distinctive to me. Upon further reflection, however, I find that some additional readings may add some enlightenment to the Christian story:
- Our Stories Reflect Who We Are
In the introduction to Gregory Ganssle’s Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fullfills Human Aspirations, he asserts: “The assumption by which we navigate our lives include more than what we believe. They include our desires and our loves. It is not only what I think is true that will affect how I pursue the best life. It is also what I most want. What kind of person do I want to be? That question requires my deeper desires.”[2]
- Our Desires Tell the Bigger Story
In The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life We’ve Only Dreamed Of, John Eldridge identifies our “desires” that we have in life as a testimony to the bigger story of humanity.[3] In fact, he accuses the Church as frequently trying to ignore these desires and pretend that they are not there, or to treat them as an indicator of a lack of faith. Instead, he says that the longings/dissatisfactions we have point to humanity’s groaning for the redemption of creation. In a strange way, this concept highlights that our longing for more is confirmation that God’s promise is coming.
- Our beliefs and our desires shape the stories we tell.
As a Christian parent, I have always been on the lookout for ways to make the Christian story more real, more digestible for my kids. When they were young, we came across what I still feel was a standout contribution to their formation (and mine). In perusing the aisles of the Children’s section of the local bookstore, I came across Sally Lloyd-Jones’ Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. [4]
EVERY Story Whispers His Name!
I know. When we use children’s books to go meta, we are in dangerous territory. How can a colorful, illustrated, somewhat two-dimensional retelling of the Bible give sophisticated insight into how we tell stories across the globe? To sum it up, throughout all the subplots of the Bible, Lloyd-Jones frames it as part of God’s secret rescue mission.[5]
In Hebrews, we are told that God is not just the perfector of our faith, He is also the author. [6]
What if the stories that we tell as a human race are, in fact, reflections of the story that God has designed?
I believe as Ganssle does that our desires shape our stories and as Eldredge claims that our desires also reflect our longing for the reconciliation of the creation to its Creator. Revisiting these truths helps me reconcile Campbell’s presupposition that all human stories follow a similar path or, in language that a 5 year-old can understand, all stories point to God’s secret rescue plan of redemption.
There is more to uncover here. There is more to learn about the literary nature of Scripture, and its implications for us. In my current pile of “to read” books are the following:
- Robert Jewett, “Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism”. A quote from my early skimming of this book is: “Within the rubric of implicit religion, terms such as the ‘axis of evil’, and ‘the war against terror’, evoke a political faith language that calls on Americans to practise a form of civil religion both in action and in their everyday speech.”[7] The impact of American culture on the way that we read the Christian story as well as our act of layering that onto our national narrative- I need to hear more on that.
- Bible Project Podcast[8] introduced a concept of the importance and implications of the literary (as opposed to historical) design of the Old Testament that complexifies my current interpretation of familiar Biblical stories. They assert that the literal interpretation of scripture is a uniquely modern and western question. Other non-western cultures that did not go through the reformation in its history do not share our fixation on the literal interpretation culture and perhaps have a richer understanding of the intention behind the literary components. For more information, I have also added Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith[9] to my list.
[1] Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020. Print.
[2] Ganssle, Gregory E. Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations. Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2017. Print.
[3] Eldredge, John. The Journey of Desire : Searching for the Life We’ve Only Dreamed Of. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000. Print.
[4] Lloyd-Jones, Sally, and Jago. The Jesus Storybook Bible : Every Story Whispers His Name. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zonderkidz, 2007.
[5] Lloyd-Jones, Sally, and Jago. The Jesus Storybook Bible : Every Story Whispers His Name. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zonderkidz, 2007. Print.p58
[6] Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)
[7] Claudia May, “Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism,” Implicit Religion 9, no. 1 (April 2006): 105–10.
[8] “Numbers: Question and Response Podcast | BibleProjectTM,” BibleProject, accessed January 30, 2023, https://bibleproject.com/podcast/what-do-moses-and-rock-have-do-jesus/.
[9] Joshua Berman, Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith (Israel ; New Milford, CT: Maggid, 2020).
About the Author
Jennifer Vernam
11 responses to “A Secret Rescue Plan”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Jennifer, You have given me so much to chew on, and for that I am grateful. I’m particularly drawn to the one resource I was not already familiar with and that is the book about Captain America and Nationalism. That book was written in 2004 – oh, how I would love to see a revised and updated version of that! With all that has transpired in the last 3-6 years, I could imagine it going from the original 412 pages to TRIPLE that size! So much current fodder to wade through! Appreciate your diligent post. I will be re-reading it a few times! And I too found an internal struggle forming regarding the “greatest story ever told.”
I was thinking the same thing about the timing of the Captain America book! Even if we put the TRUE geopolitical realities aside for a minute, the Captain America movies didn’t come out until 2011 and 2014. Does it make me a geek that I want to read the book and then rewatch the movies? (I already know the answer)
I wasn’t familiar with these books, though I did know of Sally Lloyd Jones’s Jesus Storybook Bible. I wish I had discovered that when our children were young! I do know of at least one of John Eldridge’s books — like, probably his first one – Wild at Heart. But this is the first time I’ve heard of Jewett’s or Ganssle’s books, in addition to the Bible Project podcast. I’d be curious to know if you are including all of these in your NPO’s working bibliography. Lastly, I wrestled with Campbell’s framework, too. Not because I didn’t understand it or because it doesn’t make sense…I wrestled with it, because I also wanted many of the heroic tales I loved…to be “unique” in the way their journeys took place. But, like you suggested, that desire is probably marred by my individualistic and westernized sort of world and life view, more than I’m willing to admit.
If you have not listened to the Bible Project… you must.
Desire is the only book of Eldridge’s I have read, and I read it in a pretty pivotal moment in my life. I find this a bit ironic, because I have the impression that the rest of his work has been aimed at a male audience (?), so I haven’t really familiarized myself with the rest of his work…
Berman’s book was already in my list to read, which I am anticipating will be rife with threshold concepts for me. But May’s work was new to me, and a happy addition to this term’s bibliography.
I will not be adding the Storybook Bible to the pile!
I’m so glad you brought the Jesus Storybook Bible into the conversation! It’s my favorite Sunday School resource. I confess I’ve also used elements of it in “grown-up” church because I love its approach (and the illustrations too!). Gospel-centered Kids Ministry by Brian Dembowczyk is another resource that leans into a creation-fall-redemption approach. Dembowczyk points out that this approach corrects a common mistreatment of Bible characters. When characters like Abraham or David are set up as moral models (as Sunday School lessons often do) we quickly run into a huge problem – they were very sinful humans! But when Jesus’ redemptive power is the point of EVERY story we’re on the right track.
Aside: Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes would be relevant to your research, if you haven’t already read it. There’s also a newer book, Midreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes, which I haven’t read yet, but it could also be pertinent.
Thank you, Kim- I am going to request Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes ASAP.
I still remember when my youngest and I read the story about the dirty feet of the disciples, and he started asking questions about sin… VERY cherished memories for me as a parent.
Hi, I agree with John. You have given us a lot to chew on. As I digest what you wrote, this verse came to mind. Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I was looking at some of the Hubble Space photographs today and the universe contains so much more that we can understand or comprehend.
I guess I am okay with Campbells – Monomyth, it is something I can wrap my mind around. I can even use it to enhance my “story telling” to other human beings.
However, the Monomyth only works within the human framework. It may lose traction when we enter the spiritual realm. Without getting too weird I have trouble conceiving the interaction we will have with Angels…
1 Corinthians 6:3-4: Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
I think the Monomyth becomes irrelevant when our new spiritual perspective takes over. The Monomyth idea is something we can wrestle with while we are in this form. I imagine there will be a different rule set that we can barely comprehend….Good Grief have I fallen of the academic deep end?….Shalom…Russ
Good thoughts, Russell. I like how you are weaving the bigger concepts into my comments!
Thank you for your post, Jennifer. I had some major insights that sparked an Old Testament paper after reading, The Jesus Storybook Bible, to my grandchildren! I had the same struggle initially when I began reading Campbell’s book, until I noticed themes like redemption, rebirth, and the common struggles of mankind depicted in the stories. If I look at them as stories that possibly carry a thread of truth that points to Jesus, that becomes useful. Especially in our modern day when so many young people are deeply engaged with myths, legends, and superheroes. I may be able to have a decent conversation with a teenager now. It reminds me of Acts 17:23-31 when Paul noticing all the idols came upon an altar to the “Unknown God.” You mentioned the Bible Project’s view of how our modern literal interpretation of Scripture may impact our understanding. Do you have any insights on that point?
I still have to delve into this concept that I heard shared in the Bible Project. In short, what they are highlighting is that in ancient Hebrew writing, authors and readers were more comfortable with writing flowing between history and literature styles within the same work.
Additionally, cultures that did not go through the Protestant reformation, have less of a concern with the literal translation of the Bible. A LOT to unpack there, and I have not yet read the book they were referencing by Joshua Berman, but it is interesting to me to think more about the context in which scripture was written and how that may impact the way I read it.
In my opinion, the monomyth concept used by Campbell in his book indicates that there is a universal source of wisdom that comes from the Most High God, inspiring mythological and historical stories around the world. God reveals himself in things that are both general and specific. That specific revelation is what one knows and encounters in Jesus Christ.