Pagan Origins of Redemptive Romance

I am not a scholar in any field, and I am certainly not a cultural anthropologist, but I have read a few essays by people who are, and I have come to believe that our emphasis on redemptive violence and redemptive romance comes from our pagan past.  There is some evidence (particularly linguistic) of very early people groups that eventually split and moved to parts of India, Europe and the Middle East.  These Indo-Europeans were our very early western ancestors.  Some scholars try to reverse engineer Indo-European culture by comparing what we know of the ancient cultures that resulted from it.  It is interesting that almost every ancient culture throughout the area believed in certain gods: a sky god, a sun god, a god of the dawn, a god of the earth, etc.  However, in addition to the gods that describe these natural phenomena two or three gods are in almost every pantheon that describe activities that originate within humans: a god of war, or a god of “striking,” or of violence (Thor, Shiva, Mars, Ares); and a goddess of love, and sometimes also a god of love (Ishtar, Rati, Kama, Freyja, Cupid, Venus, Aphrodite, Eros).[1]  The third god that many cultures include is more abstract and has fewer similarities from one culture to the next.  It is the god of intelligence, wisdom, or trickery (Enki and Athena are examples, but so is Loki).  However, as I commented before, what is more interesting is that the events that the mythology recognizes as having real power are almost always one of these three.  

Take the story of Psyche and Cupid, for example.[2]  Here's my whirlwind summary: Psyche is beautiful and Venus is jealous so she tells Cupid to put a curse upon Psyche.  Cupid does it (the first actual change in circumstances is created by violence), though it goes wrong and he ends up not cursing her the way he had planned, but he makes it impossible for her to fall in love with any mortal man, and he accidently falls in love with her himself.  Over time, Psyche figures out that she is supposed to marry a god or monster thing and she hooks up with Cupid, knowing that she can never look at him and lives with him in a magical palace (the second actual change in circumstances is created by romance).  Psyche is happy in the magical palace, but her sisters confuse her and convince her that since she has never seen her husband, he is a monster and she should kill him.  She starts to go through with her plan, but changes her mind and Cupid kicks her out of the magical palace (The third major change in circumstances is the result of a sort of violence - though neither party actually acts in physical violence towards the other.  This is kind of the exception to the rule here).  Psyche wanders the world doing tasks for various gods at first and ultimately for Venus who is still mad at Psyche.  Because Cupid is in love with Psyche he helps her find the loophole in each of the tricky tasks that Venus tries to set up for her.  Cupid finally pleads that Jupiter make Psyche a goddess because Cupid is unbearably in love with her and Jupiter consents (romance creates the fourth actual change in circumstances) and that's that.  Interestingly, since they can now be together forever, the story ends.  Nothing is noteworthy about their bliss.  It is also noteworthy that in the earliest versions of this story it is clear that Psyche is representative of the human soul, and Cupid is representative of romantic love.[3]  The overt message of the myth is that the human soul finds its ultimate fulfillment in the bliss of romantic love.

The Biblical view is completely different.  If we read the story of Joshua from a western perspective, it seems like Joshua violently raises the city of Jericho (and there is clearly some violence in the story).  However, if we try to read it from a Hebrew perspective, it is Joshua’s obedience that creates a real change in the circumstances of the characters.  Hosea is a story that we often interpret as encouraging redemptive romance.  And while there is romance, it is God’s mercy and Hosea’s obedience that actually create the greatest change in the story.  It is not coincidence that Jesus tells us to obey all that he has commanded (Matthew 28:20), and that we’re his friends if we do so (John 15:14).  The Bible has already established obedience and submission as the actions that create the most real change in our lives and in the world.  We are even told that Jesus’ death on the cross is an act of obedience (Philippians 2:8).  The idea that a romantic relationship would be the fulfillment of the soul, the psyche, is completely absent from the Bible.  Instead, our love (love is willing and acting for someone else) relationship with God is the place where our souls are fulfilled.  We can create positive change outwardly and inwardly through obeying God who tells us in the Bible and through the Holy Spirit how to love him (Power through submission!) This power has and will continue to change the world!

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[1] Most of my research on this topic came from various pages of J.P Mallory and D.Q. Adams, Encyclopedia of Indo European Culture (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997).  But, I admit, I also did some reading on Wikipedia.  What can I say, I already admitted that I’m not a scholar in any field, right?  I would be really fascinated to hear what someone who actually is a cultural anthropologist or a specialist in Proto Indo-European Culture might say about my theory.

[2] This story is not a pure Proto Indo-European myth, but it is a significant myth in more than one Indo-European culture.  Since there is Greek art depicting the myth that dates back to the 4th century B.C.E. (according to Wikipedia, again, not a scholar), it was probably first told, in some form, around the same time that significant portions of the Old Testament were being written.

[3] The Greek word "Psyche" actually means “soul,” and "Eros" (the Greek equivalent to Cupid) actually means romantic desire.