Hero Heretic Genre

Martin Luther a Historical Archetype

In general the hero/heretic is defiant for a whole set of very good reasons:

  1. Long established order is taken for granted and takes its position for granted
  2. Demands no changes driven by external forces, so it resists even the call for change from without.
  3. Establishment is corrupted
  4. Institution is theologically mistaken
  5. Most positions held by the morally wrong and institutions actions in the community are morally wrong also
  6. Individual and institutional overindulgence
  7. Exploiting an immunity for its part in a corrupt partnership with secular authority
  8. No longer serving its claimed noble purpose

Following an Enlightenment the Hero Becomes the Antithesis of All These Things. They are Corrupt, he is Honest. They are Opportunists, he is Generous and Helpful, etc.