DLGP

Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives: Crafting Ministry in an Interconnected World

A Unique Hero

Written by: on February 4, 2025

The reading for the week is Hero of a Thousand Faces.[1] Joseph Campbell details his insights in finding a common pattern throughout the heroic stories of myths, legends, and religious writings. As he defined the formula of the monomyth, Departure—Initiation—Return, I found myself reading along with examples from contemporary works, whether Lucy blundering through the back of the wardrobe, Fluffy guarding the threshold of the trapdoor at Hogwarts, or Elton John singing “The Circle of Life.” The work is thorough. His examples are diverse and strong. I made a note recognizing that I was caught up in the facts but lost in the meaning. What do I do with this book?

I’m on a ship this week. Running on the treadmill gave my mind a chance to wander with Campbell. How does he relate to Critical Thinking & Research? Does this work have bearing on my NPO? How would I answer Adler and Van Doren’s four basic questions?[2] Staring out at the sea, I was reminded of its symbolic meaning in myths, legends, and the Bible. The waters began to part.

Water as Chaos

Genesis is an ancient text. It was written for us but not to us.[3] It is the revelation of God to a people rather than a historical account. To my linear, Western brain, it doesn’t make sense that Genesis 10 offers an account of Noah’s descendants scattering across the land prior to Genesis 11 telling how the Lord scattered the people after the Tower of Babel. Weren’t they already scattered? The original recipients of Genesis wouldn’t have expected linear, exact details.

There are two creation accounts in Genesis. The first presents God against the backdrop of the Egypt, Canaan, and Babylon creation stories.[4] It is possible for Campbell to pull a common thread through the ancient texts because nothing is written in a vacuum.

Genesis begins with water.  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Gen. 1:1-3 [NLT]). This formless and empty water was symbolic of danger and of chaos. God changed that. He brought order to chaos. This is the message of Genesis 1.

God is the hero of Genesis. The story is about him.

Water as Death

I love the book of Jonah. It is often portrayed as a story for children, though it has much to say for all ages. The storyline and character development are remarkable. The Jewish oral tradition would have told and retold Jonah over generations, each giving a bit more refinement of the message before it was finally written down.

To the casual reader, Jonah fits nicely into Campbell’s formula for a hero. His departure is a great example of the call unanswered, though God had other ideas. Jonah makes it through departure into initiation and to the apotheosis step where he gains true understanding … well, maybe not. Jonah never progresses to the return stage.

Is Jonah one of the thousand heroes?

We are often in a hurry to ask what a passage means to me. This is a great way to become confused or misguided. What does the text actually say? [5]

In oral tradition, repetition is used to catch the attention of the audience. Count how many times the Lord is referenced. In chapter one, it is split between Jonah and the Lord. As the book progresses, the Lord is referenced more and more.

Another storytelling technique can use expectations to make the point. Jonah, a prophet of God, has little interest in following God. The heathen sailors exhibit faith in God and the hated Ninevites repent—even their cattle. In chapter four, an angry Jonah is concerned about a plant he did nothing to get. God is concerned for the people of Nineveh.

Chapter two shows Jonah confessing that God is the hero. Jonah sank deeper and deeper in the sea while his life slipped away. The deep waters symbolize death. Yet God heard Jonah’s prayer, snatched him from the jaws of death, and commanded the fish to spit him onto land.

The book of Jonah is not about Jonah. God is the hero of Jonah. The story is about him.

Water as Separation

The Bible ends with another reference to water. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.” (Rev. 21:1) Why is John glad? His present circumstances are in exile on an island. The sea separates him from those he knows and loves. That would be a fairytale outcome if John is the hero. However, the macroscopic triumph of an epic hero brings the means of regeneration to society.[6] In this case, the sea is separation between the creator and the created. No more sea means restoration with God.

God is the hero of Revelation. The story is about him.

Jonah: Real or Myth

It could be unsettling to read Campbell’s formula and see the parallel with a biblical character like Jonah. The book of Jonah is so well-written that the question of fiction comes naturally. Campbell could argue that Jonah is merely one example from a thousand heroic legends. If that is true, then what are the implications for the rest of scripture?

If the point of Jonah is Jonah, then its value is determined in part by its authenticity. Details of the hero matter. If the point of Jonah is God, then the writing fits within a much larger body of work describing God. The weight of that body of evidence is much larger.

God is a hero unlike any other.


[1] Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Electronic Edition. United States of America: Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020.

[2] Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book. Revised and Updated edition. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972, 46-47.

[3] John H. Walton. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2009, 7.

[4] Tim Mackie, “Does the Bible Borrow From Other Creation Stories?” May 24, 2021, in Bible Project,1:20:21, https://bibleproject.com/podcast/does-bible-borrow-other-creation-stories/.

[5] Ray Lubeck. Read the Bible for a Change: Understanding and Responding to God’s Word. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010.

[6] Campbell, 49.

About the Author

Rich

6 responses to “A Unique Hero”

  1. Rich, I wanted to make a point about Jonah that I think furthers your argument. Jonah is the most successful prophet in the Old Testament. The people actually repented. The story is full of irony. The unwilling prophet is more reluctant to God’s grace than either God or the people of Ninevah.

    Does Jonah fit into the Campbell’s framework? Hero’s undergo separation, initiation, and return. God is the hero and doesn’t undergo any of these. The story of Jonah ends before we know if Jonah changes. He is forced into separation but doesn’t move through initiation or return. Does that undermine Campbell’s framework for a hero? If somebody wanted to write an anti-hero against Campbell’s framework, you’d have difficulty beating Jonah.

    • Darren Banek says:

      Robert, I appreciate your question about Jonah fitting into Campbell’s framework. The part I struggle with is how deep into the framework a story/myth has to anchor in order to “align” with the framework. Is the fact that Jonah goes to Nineveh enough of a change, or could it be argued that though he goes, he does so in a deep state of liminality?

      • Rich says:

        Darren, I think Jonah fits Campbell’s framework as an antithesis. There is a time-tested framework for writing a hero within a monomyth. Jonah is given that challenge and he does the opposite.

        Campbell’s framework seems rather flexible. For example, consider point 2 of Departure–Refusal of the Call that defines, “the dull case of the call unanswered.” (Campbell, 69). I read this to signify that not all heros finish–or even begin–their journey.

    • Rich says:

      To your point, my entire premise is flawed in that God does not fit within Campbell’s hero pattern.

      It is the anti-hero aspect that makes Jonah’s story so compelling. He is an example to us because he does everything wrong. How often do I chose a self-serving posture of reluctant obedience?

      • Rich, I think Campbell missed this point. The hero’s journey involves finding inner strength. In contrast, so much scripture describes God bringing his purposes despite the people he calls. Consider God bringing Isaac despite Abraham’s best efforts to give his wife away, have a son through another woman, and give his wife away again. Abraham wasn’t trying to screw it up, but, ultimately, it’s God in his faithfulness that brings about his purposes. Something is reassuring in that for me.

        • Rich says:

          Well said.

          My concern is that a reader of Campbell could dismiss stories from the Old Testament because they appear to fit the pattern of all hero journeys. Jonah was the easiest example I could pick where the alignment breaks down. If the point of David defeating Goliath is that I can overcome my challenges with a coworker, then we would be followers of Aesop’s fables. If the point of David defeating Goliath is a foreshadowing of Jesus overcoming separation, then maybe the Bible falls outside of the monomyth framework.

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