{"id":27925,"date":"2021-11-11T13:20:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T21:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=27925"},"modified":"2021-11-11T13:20:51","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T21:20:51","slug":"the-hero-behind-the-mask-is-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-hero-behind-the-mask-is-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hero Behind the Mask Is…You!"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, Neo of The Matrix<\/em>, and the Blues Brothers have in common? Author Joseph Campbell pioneered anthropological and sociological research producing the premise that diverse fictional hero tales share the monomyth or, in other words, all heroic stories tell the same tale. \u201cThe Hero with a Thousand Faces,\u201d a work of comparative mythology, details a global study, demonstrating that all myths follow one pattern of structure. In reference to the universality of the monomyth, Campbell writes, \u201c\u2026it will always be the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find, together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever be known or told.\u201d[1]<\/a> Beneath the many \u201cfaces\u201d found in stories lies a desire common to all human hearts. Campbell concludes, \u201cThe differentiations of sex, age, and occupation are not essential to our character, but mere costumes which we wear for a time on the stage of the world. The image of man with is not to be confounded with the garments.\u201d[2]<\/a> Drawing from multiple streams of psychology, Campbell asserts that unique myths give expression to \u201cunconscious desires, fears, and tensions that underlie the conscious patterns of human behavior.\u201d[3]<\/a> Every hero story tells the saga of us, our history, and our understanding of reality.<\/p>\n

The first half of the book details the journey of the hero. First, a hero receives a call, often from a divine being. That call leads to a departure from their comforts into an uncertain, often dangerous, realm. Second, the hero undertakes a perilous quest. Initiation in that quest involves trials, temptations, and the need for wise decisions. Finally, the hero returns after a decisive victory. The journey transformed the protagonist in ways shared with others for their benefit. The second half of the book unpacks creation myths and various ways in which heroes become transformed.<\/p>\n

Two themes from this book caused me to reflect on life and ministry. One, Campbell\u2019s research demonstrates that hard-wired into the soul of humankind exists an innate sense of something and Someone beyond us that beckons people to a calling, to a mission, and to transformation. Campbell rhetorically asks, \u201cWhy is mythology everywhere the same, beneath its varieties of costume?\u201d[4]<\/a> Some three thousand years earlier, the writer of Ecclesiastes stated, \u201c\u2026(God) has put eternity into man\u2019s heart\u2026\u201d (Ecclesiastes 4:11, ESV). On some level, we know there is more than here, now, and what we see. For the pastoral communicator, universal observations like Campbells\u2019 offer the opportunity to persuade a skeptical culture beginning with researched observations that illustrate a biblical truth. In a time of distrust or dismissal of biblical authority, communication that starts with human longing or need offers a means to engage the spiritually cynical.<\/p>\n

In contrast, my homiletics training imparted a deductive methodology, beginning with biblical truth and ending with personal application. Like Paul on Mars Hill in Athens in Acts 17, this day may better be reached by starting with the connection to the human longing seen in many heroic, godlike figures and, ultimately, presenting the God of the Bible. The constant stream of superhero movies signifies a strong allure of the hero\u2019s journey in this day. The age of Christendom allowed for an Acts 2 approach, where Peter begins by interjecting numerous prophecies fulfilled in Jesus to those familiar with biblical content in Jerusalem. Both presentations in Acts end with Jesus and putting faith in Him, but the starting point of engagement differed greatly. In the current shift to a post-Christian culture, we live Athens, not Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The second relevant theme emerges from Campbell\u2019s reference to the biblical account of Job. While the author identifies the universal elements of story in Job, he notes the lack of complete knowledge revealed to this hero under initiation. Job does not know how Satan and God spoke before loss and pain entered Job\u2019s life. In the context of Job\u2019s story, Campbell states, \u201c\u2026man cannot measure the will of God, which derives from a center beyond the range of human categories.\u201d[5]<\/a> Like Job, in any hero\u2019s journey, a certain amount of mystery exists. For the leader, less than total control over self or circumstances can produce anxiety. In the times of struggle, the common question asks, \u201cWhy?\u201d As it did for Job, that question often remains unanswered. Job\u2019s story argues for a better question, namely \u201cWho?\u201d In a relationship with the God of the Bible, certain aspects of our journey reside with God alone. Comfort in mysterious adversity comes from a trusted relationship with the Divine and confidence in God\u2019s purposeful work even through the struggles.<\/p>\n

Life with God follows a true version of the hero\u2019s journey. The many heroic faces reveal the human heart\u2019s desire to join a story bigger than ourselves. The Blues Brothers expressed that human longing by saying, \u201cWe\u2019re on a mission from God.\u201d That yearning for purpose and transcendence lives in every human heart. May leaders help many to connect their story to God\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, <\/em>\u00a03rd<\/sup> edition (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2008), 1.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., 332.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 219.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 2.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 125-126.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, Neo of The Matrix, and the Blues Brothers have in common? Author Joseph Campbell pioneered anthropological and sociological research producing the premise that diverse fictional hero tales share the monomyth or, in other words, all heroic stories tell the same tale. \u201cThe Hero with a Thousand Faces,\u201d a work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[789,2106],"class_list":["post-27925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-campbell","tag-the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27925"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27926,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27925\/revisions\/27926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}