brighid

http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/d....com/greek.htm

I found this article to be really interesting and thought others would enjoy it also.

"Myths are stories about persons, where persons may be gods, heroes, or ordinary people"

"Myth allows for a multiplicity of explanations, where the explanations are not logically exclusive (can contradict each other) and are often humorous"

"Mythic traditions are conservative. Innovation is slow, and radical departures from tradition rarely tolerated"

"Myths are self-justifying. The inspiration of the gods was enough to ensure their validity, and there was no other explanation for the creativity of poets, seers, and prophets than inspiration by the gods. Thus, myths are not argumentative. Indeed, they often seem most unserious, humorous, or flippant (e.g. Rê-Khepere above). It still seems to be a psychological truth that people who think of new things are often persuaded of their truth just because they thought of them. And now, oddly, we are without an explanation for creativity"

"Myths are morally ambivalent. The gods and heroes do not always do what is right or admirable, and mythic stories do not often have edifying moral lessons to teach. "

I think the Bible fulfills all of these criteria for myth.

Brighid

butswana

Indeed it does. I wonder why? Hmmmm....

brighid

Maybe because it IS!!

Brighid

Echo

I would agree, except, as we all know, the ancient Hebrews didn't have any mythology. All their stories of gods and heroes are true. Stories of gods and heroes in other cultures are, of course, myth.

Storm and Stress

Myths are a map to a higher truth.
I believe Joseph Campbell wrote that.

[ November 05, 2001: Message edited by: Storm and Stress ]

copernicus

Right, S&S. I suppose that Galileo must have thought that when the church torturers displayed their instruments to him.

Amos

You must be referring to American or Disneyfied myths.

Myths that are true to the mythology are truths and are therefore real.

Amos

Berenger Sauniere

"Mythology is grain oriented like a piece of exotic wood. Work with the grain, not against it, and religions will crumble as sawdust."-(D'Lando Lear MacPhan)

Storm and Stress

Storm and Stress: "...and yet it moves." These were the famous whispered words of Galileo after his unfornate public recant.

"One man's theology is another man's belly laugh."

Robert Heinlen

brighid

Amos,

I think you are some other plane of existence because I can not seem to make heads or tails of anything you say. You have some pretty fantastic rationalizations. I think you must be smoking some real good shit cuz man you are out there.

Myths are real? Alrighty then.

Maybe they expose something deeper about the psyche of men, but about gods ... now that is a stretch! But then again, maybe there REALLY was a godess named Medusa with a head of snakes who could turn men to stone and had acid for blood ... ooh and the Leprechauns and fairies too ....