Searching for the Self: Classic Stories, Christian Scripture, and the Quest for Personal Identity

by Adrian T. Smith

Time to return to my unfinished biographical snippet from the start of this chapter. We left our “hero” in the throes of “crucifixion”—well, carrying the cross, if only in ceremonial procession. This ritual symbolized (for me) a semester of humiliation, something I had not yet experienced in my academic career. I could have reacted in one of two ways. Tempting, very tempting, was the path of pouting: “This ‘community college’ is beneath me, anyway. Who cares about their dumb awards?”, followed by grinding out my dissertation, padding my resumé, and exiting for academic pastures more in keeping with my Ivy League pretensions. Thankfully (and doubtless prompted by the Holy Spirit), I chose to bear my “cross.” Instead of pouting and bolstering my shattered self-image, I embraced the “death” experience. (After all, isn’t that the wisdom we learn from the “monomyth,” the “hero’s journey” template, the blueprint of all good stories? See chapter 7.) Out of the death experience comes new life, and wisdom to share following our “return” from the ordeal. So I asked myself, “Is there a way I could change my teaching style to connect with the local students?” (Perhaps I could learn something from The Teacher of the Year!) So I did. Out went the big academic technical terms from my lectures. Instead of “metanarrative,” I spoke of “God’s big story.” Instead of info-packed, two hour lectures, delivered without a pause for breath, I went with less-is-more. Less lecturing, more time for cl...