Redefining Hero   After reading the excerpt from the King James Bible, I found myself with even more questions about what it meant to really be a hero. I do not see Jesus Christ as a typical, knight-in-shining-armor kind of hero, but there is no denying that the actions of both the dragon slayer and Christ are, in some sense, heroic. However, there is still an obvious difference in the way we think about the two. The knight’s title as hero is a result of dramatic triumphs of bravery, virtue, and physical strength. We identify Jesus Christ as a champion of other sorts: instead of fighting for the sake of bravery or reputation, he champions love, truth, and forgiveness. In another effort to clarify the nature of “hero,” I, like Brad, compared Christ’s actions and decisions to those of Sir Gawain, since we had also had difficulty pinning down exactly what we thought made Gawain a hero, if we were to consider him a hero at all. Gawain tried as best he could to live by his code of conduct and to stay true to his morals. Even if he did not take any dramatic action, we still respected him for his morals and his decisions. Similarly, Christ lived by his morals, even if it meant standing up against the general attitude in society. Is this quality alone enough to make someone heroic, or does it cast the individual into a different role altogether? Because his actions were much more didactic than forceful, I have come to see Jesus as more of a role model than a hero. Even he sees himself as a role model of sorts, and he reminds the disciples that “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15, pg 100). Personally, I have come to see individuals like Jesus or Gandhi in an entirely different category than typical heroes – they made their point with words and peaceful actions rather than showy demonstrations of physical strength or courage. Following that peaceful tone, everything in the Book of John seemed to revolve around love. I began reading the selections on Ahimsa and I immediately saw a connection with John’s description of Jesus’ life. He seemed to embody the “message of love…of selfless service” (Sivananda 114). I saw this message expanded when Jesus is speaking with the Samaritan woman who would not draw him water. He explains that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, pg 82). I began to see this spirit – of God, of the religion – as a sort of Ahimsa. Perhaps then Jesus is not a hero, or a role model, but a messenger, trying to convey this spirit of Ahimsa.