HEROES AND VILLAINS: Why do we want enemies as Christians? pt 1 of 3
- Andrew Fouts
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
One of my favorite classes I have ever taken was an elective I took in my senior year of High School. In the first semester, we read the classic Greek and Roman Myths, and then in the second semester, we spent the year exploring the world of Comic books. During this class we explored how the classic myths we read in the first semester were the same things we were reading in the comic book world as well. Good v Evil, Right v Wrong, Hero v Villain.
After this class, I began to deep dive further into the study of these things, particularly through the lens of Dr. Joseph Campbell, and discovered how important the art of storytelling is throughout history. This then led to my beginning to see these types of patterns within the way we read and even understand the Scriptures, and as I began to rest in the story, the more I realized how off this view of the Scriptures truly is, because the Scriptures don't match the pattern; they break it.
WE WANT TO BE A HERO
The success of the Marvel and DC EUs is not a surprise at all. It hits at the root of what we desire, and I believe it's tied to one of the first stories from Scripture we have in Genesis 3.
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” - Genesis 3:1-7
We have talked before about how we often read this passage in an unfair and biased manner in relation to Eve. We often hear of this passage in ways that paint Eve with evil intentions, but sin isn't a factor here yet. Eve instead has a very pure desire, to be like Her Creator and to gain wisdom. However, because of how she went about it, curses came instead, and evil entered our desires, but that same desire Eve had remains as well. We want to be the hero who saves from evil. We don't want to have evil triumph, but instead we desire to be like God and vanquish the evil doers. But like Eve, we go about it the wrong way, and in doing so, we cause harm rather than deliverance.
WE WANT TO HAVE A VILLAIN
The other side of the equation is that in order to be a hero, we have to have a villain. We see this in Genesis 3 as well if we continue on into the story.
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Then the man replied, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.” - Genesis 3:8-12
When God approached Adam, he immediately looked to someone else and placed the blame for all of his newfound shame onto them. He needed a villain to vanquish, and Eve was available to fill that role. We still do this as well. We find someone to blame for our own insecurities and shame, and turn them into a caricature that allows us to see something other than the Image of God before us. But as Eve shows us, there is an actual villain that we can identify. Eve rightfully says that the Serpent had deceived her, and so she ate. Our problem is that, like Adam, we often misidentify the villains and the heroes, influenced by our limited perspectives. But Scripture offers us a different perspective altogether.
BIBLICAL IDENTIFICATION
NEIGHBORS
We have said many times that the most commonly quoted verse in Western Christianity is Luke 10:29. “But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?”’ While this is not directly quoted, oftentimes, this question is at the heart of how many Christians are responding to different societal issues. But Jesus already answered this in the parable to follow. And in that parable, we arrive at an answer that doesn't fit our hero-villain dynamics. Because those we assumed to be heroes were not, those we assumed to be villains were not. And instead, we arrive at a new understanding from Jesus, that everyone is our neighbor, regardless of where they come from or what they represent.
IMAGE BEARERS
The next identifier we are supposed to use is Image Bearer. This identifier is often viewed as complicated because there are often different definitions given to this idea. However, I believe it is much less complicated, because according to Genesis 1, all of mankind bears the image of God. Jesus then echoes this reality in Matthew 25, when he tells us that, however we treat another person, we are treating Him because we should view each individual as bearing the image of their Creator.
Can Christians have Enemies?
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
Changing our perspective on how we view other people is not easy, but it is necessary. How do we begin to see people as Neighbors and Image Bearers, rather than enemies and villains? We allow the Spirit to renew our minds towards the will of Christ. Because when we do that, suddenly we see people as Jesus does.
We desire their redemption and prosperity (I Timothy 2, Philippians 2). We seek to meet their needs ahead of our own (Philippians 2). We seek to deliver good news to them, seek their healing, and freedom (Luke 4).
When we begin to view those around us as Jesus does, we begin to realize that Christian’s don’t have enemies, we have neighbors. And that changes everything about how we live and interact with the neighbors God allows us to meet.
This blog is part 1 of a 3-part series on Christianity, Enemies, and Neighbors.
Andrew and Joe had a much deeper discussion on a Pastor Reacts - Thoughts From A Bearded Geek Collaboration episode! Check out the full discussion on Messiah Figures in Media here: https://youtu.be/KWaxg0E8X3E?si=LnXZDSN5-F11LPaa
This post was written by Andrew Fouts. The founder and main content creator for Ministry Misfits. He is also one of the writers and directors for KFM Broadcasting Network.
This blog is being crossposted to our network blog at www.kfmbroadcasting.com/blog. If you have found this or other Misfits Resources helpful, check out the network of resources available through KFM!
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