Christian Spiritual Heroism

When we hear the term “heroism,” I’d venture to guess many of us think of Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, or any other number of Avengers from the Marvel Universe. These heroes fight crime and save the world; but how do they do so? Spider-Man has superhuman spider strength, Captain America is a super soldier, and Iron Man can shoot lasers out of his mechanical hands. All these heroes fight violent crime with…violence. Physical strength is a defining aspect of the modern-day hero, and historically, this falls well in line with the heroic ethos of classical antiquity.

Achilles was known by his wrath and strength, Odysseus for his trickery and combat skills, and Aeneas for forging ruthlessly ahead toward a new civilization. Mary Beth Rose, in her 2002 book, Gender and Heroism in Early Modern English Literature, observes how, the classical heroic ethos places “The stress on movement and adventure, on rescue, rule, exploration, and conquest, point[ing] to a tradition of heroism as distinctively masculine” (xi). Such attributes, at least in the western social consciousness, are coded as masculine: aggression, violence, strength, etc. Such ideals were communicated in the poetry of Homer and Virgil thousands of years ago in ancient Greece and Rome; it would seem as if the heroic ideal, then, has not changed much. Or has it?

As a literature graduate student, I have recently taken a research interest in heroism and how it is portrayed specifically in late-seventeenth century poetics, such as in the poetry of John Milton. In the seventeenth century, the heroic ethos experienced an interesting shift. Rather than extolling the masculine heroic ideal, writers such as Milton came to critique such classical heroic models, and instead championed “not the active confrontation with danger, but the capacity to endure it, to resist and suffer with patience and fortitude, rather than to confront and conquer with strength and wit” (Rose xii). Such attributes, as Rose notes, are “predominantly gendered female” (xvi), so that by the end of the seventeenth century, heroism is conceptualized as feminine, even if males are posited in a heroic position. So, it would not surprise me in the slightest if, were Milton to come back from the dead, he would critique our current heroic, masculine model.

I bring this up for two reasons. First, I am working through a seminar research paper which interrogates Miltonic heroic influences on C.S. Lewis’s fictional writing, specifically in his Chronicles of Narnia. Monica B. Hilder, in her 2012 book, The Feminine Ethos in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, notes,

spiritual heroism is characterized by values such as imagination, interdependence, passivity, submission, truthfulness, and humility. Traditionally, these qualities have been associated with “femininity” […] Unlike classical martial valour exercised in order to establish worldly power through brute force, spiritual heroism requires valour in order to establish the kingdom of heaven through humility. (7-8)

Hilder compliments Rose’s commentary, bringing in the Christian ethos which is linked with the feminine. Thus, according to Hilder, Lewis extols the feminine spiritual heroic within his Narnian heptalogy, a point I extend in my research, claiming Lewis’s feminine heroism is influenced by writers such as Milton and the Early Modern’s shift in heroic conceptions.

However, there is a second reason I bring up this concept. Currently, my church is working through the book of Revelation. Last night, while I was reading through part of the book, I came across these three sections of scripture:

*Rev. 1:9- “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus […]”

Rev. 13:10- “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”

Rev. 14:12- “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.”

John, in his revelatory letter, notes an interesting characteristic of the Christian believer: the patient endurance of our suffering. The Bible never claims our life will be easy or without suffering; indeed, all will suffer, whether you believe in Christ or not. However, those who do believe in the Son have a hope in their suffering. But more than this is where such characteristics stem from. Where does John get the idea of patient endurance in times of suffering? If we were talking with Milton, the answer would be simple: Christ.

Christ exemplified steadfast endurance through suffering, evident most clearly in the crucifixion. And yet, with his sacrifice and submission to the world’s evil, he redeemed mankind, providing a path to redemption through belief in Him and His work. In short, Christ is a hero, but not in the classical vein. Rather, Christ is our spiritual hero, doing the work no “masculine” violence or actions could accomplish. Indeed, Christ as hero acted with a feminine grace, leading scholars such as Hilder to claim Lewis works within the Christian model when presenting heroism in the Chronicles. Indeed, as John’s writing proclaims, the steadfast Christian will humbly endure times of pain, rather than fighting such woe with martial defense. God is “a shield around” us (Psalm 3:3); any physical armor fails in comparison with his spiritual defense. The Word resists the classical masculine heroic model by using such classical rhetoric to define Christian spiritual heroism, as we see in Paul’s description of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Clearly Christ wants his church to follow his example, and He has provided the best model of heroism available. We are not to antagonize our enemies through shows of physical strength, but rather submit to His will, knowing he is our spiritual shield. Such spiritual heroism was realized by Early Modern poets. Milton himself resist championing the classical heroic ideal in Paradise Lost:

Not sedulous by nature to indite

Wars, hitherto the only argument

Heroic deemed, chief mast’ry to dissect

With long and tedious havoc fabled knights

In battles feigned; the better fortitude

Of patience and heroic martyrdom

Unsung [.] (9.27-33)

And Lewis, in his Chronicles, “subverts the classical heroic in creating the youngest and female child as the spiritual leader [Lucy Pevensie]” (37). Clearly, Milton echoes the Christian heroic ethos based in an imitation of Christ, and Lewis, a Milton scholar himself, continues those Christian literary echoes through emulation of what Milton subverted before him.

I say this not to mount a full-scale cultural critique against the masculine model of heroism still perpetuated in our social climate. (I still love Spider-Man!) Rather, I want to continually remind myself that I am never enough. While superhero movies might demonstrate the strength of individuals, the Old Testament’s own version of the Hulk (Samson), shows just how short human strength goes. It is only through patient, steadfast endurance and faith in Christ that any show of heroism can be displayed. And ultimately, such heroism is not a reflection of the individual but rather a mirror to the one who showed spiritual heroism first: Christ.  

*All quotations come from the New International Version Bible.