Editorial August 2, 1982 Issue

A heroic Christianity

WILLIAM E. MOODY

It has been argued that the world today is without real heroes. That because there are so few contemporary examples of great courage, people find little to inspire them to noble endeavors. Collective apathy and even a diminishing of individual integrity are sometimes linked to the belief that heroism is currently in short supply.

Yet, part of the problem may actually be that we are looking for heroes in the wrong way, not that there are no men and women of considerable courage to be found. Too often, people seem to be hoping for a fictional superman to come to their rescue, perhaps counting on either brute force or human prestige and influence. But closer at hand there may in fact already be remarkable instances of quiet dignity or of outstanding victories over severe struggles.

The man who has lost his job, for example, but continues to make every effort to secure employment displays a special heroism to the family he loves. So too does a courageous woman, left on her own possibly by abandonment, whose children may now depend on her care more than ever before. And an elderly person might seem to be confronting his later years alone, accorded little value or potential by society's standards. Yet when he goes forward nonetheless to prove his undiminished worth through service to family, neighbors, and community, his life becomes a model of substantial courage. Or heroism may be found in the example of a person who has faced serious illness but, through prayer, has refused to give in to its claims. Perhaps he has steadfastly fought back with spiritual truth, expressing a special joy and peace in the midst of the challenge until healing finally came.

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