Our Search for a Hero: Hood vs Christ

Whether it’s William Wallace, Mother Teresa, Buck Shelford, Batman or even WALL•E, we all have an inner urge to find heroes who can inspire us and remind us of the potential we each holdLet’s explore the lives of two heroes. Both have inspired people for centuries, both had hearts for the poor, both lived counter-cultural lives, both were leaders of a rag-tag gang, both have had a different film made about them every few years, and both have perhaps never been so well-publicised as now. The heroes I am talking about of course are Robin Hood and Jesus Christ.

As another Robin Hood feature film hits our screens, and in a time when Christianity is extending its global reach to unprecedented levels, we can compare the uncanny similarities of these two heroes and highlight some importantly stark differences. Ultimately, one of these heroes can help us understand why our need for the other is so great today.

The real story of Robin Hood is incredibly vague, passed down through the generations via songs and English folk stories. Despite the many unknowns of Robin Hood’s life (dates, places and family connections), one of his enduring characteristics is his ‘stealing from the rich and giving to the poor’.

Robin Hood saw injustice and fought to right it. He saw the ruling class taking advantage of the poor and did what he could to stop it. This, of course, involved a fair amount of violence and some cunning acts of deception—with a bow his weapon of choice. 

Jesus also believed a redistribution of wealth was in order, but instead of using force he chose to focus on changing hearts. Take Zacchaeus. He was rich and unjust, but Jesus didn’t corner him in a wooded lane and pinch his money pouch. No, he had lunch with Zacchaeus, showed him compassion and lifted his eyes to see what life could be. The results were staggering: Zacchaeus gave half of all he owned to the poor as well as paying back four-fold any wrongs he had committed. Jesus and Robin Hood were fighting the same fight against injustice—but Jesus’ weapon of choice was love not war. 

Robin Hood is often thought to have been an English resistor of the Norman invaders. But the fact that he hunted and lived in the forest, reserved only for royal hunting parties, shows his resistance to the ruling powers of his time. Similarly, Jesus contravened many of the accepted laws and customs of first-century Israel. He healed on the Sabbath, dined with the scum of society, refused to judge a woman caught in adultery, and promoted loving your enemies over revenge. Jesus resisted the powers of hate, selfishness and pride, and did it no matter what it cost him. And it eventually cost him his life.  

I remember thinking as a kid how great Robin Hood was because he fought for the wellbeing of others with no regard for his own safety. Some stories even describe Robin as an aristocrat who denied a privileged lifestyle to provide for the poor. This self-denial, present in both Jesus Christ and Robin Hood, is one of the key ingredients to why we view them as heroes. It also provides a helpful gauge to check whether we are living heroic lives. We can ask: ‘Am I denying myself for the benefit of others?’

Scholars rarely argue that either Jesus or Robin Hood were mere myths. For Jesus, beyond the New Testament and other early church texts, Roman historians reported on his life, and we also have a complete genealogy tracing Jesus’ ancestors all the way back to Abraham. For Jesus, there can be no question of who he was and that he lived in first-century Palestine.

Robin Hood avoids the ‘myth’ tag by having too many historical characters that could fit the bill. In medieval England, ‘Robin’ (or variations of it) was a popular name and ‘Hood’ was up there for last names as well; there are many records of various lawbreaking, freedom-fighting ‘Robin Hoods’. Which one was the real Robin? We may never know. But the general assumption is that the legend is a combination of various Robins, which leads to an interesting characteristic in mankind’s search for heroes …  

The legend of Robin Hood seems to have taken root in English society around the time of William the Conqueror’s invasion of England. And just as the Allies used stories of war heroes to raise the morale of people in WWII, so the stories of resistors—the many Robin Hoods—would have spread like wildfire among the conquered English. In times of trouble and hardship we humans cling to stories of hope and liberty, and Robin Hood was just such a legend.

What troubles and hardships do you currently find yourself in? What heroes can you honestly look to, to inspire hope and liberty? The life of Jesus—as healer, saviour, king and comforter—is more relevant to us in 2010 than any folk hero, sports star or movie character could ever be. Start reading one of the four New Testament gospels today (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and be inspired by the story of the greatest hero to walk the earth.

from War Cry magazine