Freethought & Rationalism Archive

aguy2 · 08-05-2007, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by figuer

Does anyone know if the Bible has ever been published under the title, Judeo-Christian Mythology?

If it hasn't I think it should. Would help putting Christians in their proper place.

That s/b 'Judeo-Christian-Muslim Mythology' shouldn't it?
aguy2(amen)

figuer · 08-05-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaleq13

It quite obviously is. It is simply perverse for your to argue otherwise.

No it is not, and I think it is inappropriate for you (specially in your position as moderator), to call me "perverse". The Bible is not a "short tale containing a moral lesson". It is a collection of many short stories, which together provide a supernatural explanation for the origin of the world, mankind, languages, and the Hebrew nation. This is definitely mythology, regardless of it containing moral lessons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaleq13

Except for the talking snake, of course.

The snake is a character, true, but it is generally interpreted as a manifestation of Satan.

Mythology is not exclusive of fables. A story can be both a myth and a fable, but I don't see how Genesis can be regarded as not mythology but rather "only a fable".

figuer · 08-05-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aguy2

That s/b 'Judeo-Christian-Muslim Mythology' shouldn't it?

It would be nice to see an entire collection titled: Abrahamic Mythological Systems: Judaic, Christian and Islamic.

Chris Weimer · 08-05-2007, 04:26 PM

I'm sensing epic pwnage.

Bascom, William. "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives." The Journal of American Folklore vol. 78, no. 307 (1965): 3-20.

Quote:

Myths are prose narratives which, in the society in which they are told, are considered to be truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past. They are accepted on faith; they are taught to be believed; and they can be cited as authority in answer to ignorance, doubt, or disbelief. Myths are the embodiment of dogma; they are usually sacred; and they are often associated with theology and ritual. Their main characters are not usually human beings, but they often have human attributes; they are animals, deities, or culture heroes, whose actions are set in an earlier world, when the earth was different from what it is today, or in another world such as the sky or underworld. Myths account for the origin or the world, or mankind, of death, or for characteristics of birds, animals, geographical features, and the phenomena of nature. They may recound the activities of the deities, their love affairs, their family relationships, their friendships and enmities, their victories and defeats. They may purport to "explain" details of ceremonial paraphernalia or ritual, or why tabus must be observed, but such etiological elements are not confined to myths.

figuer · 08-05-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Weimer

Bascom, William. "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives." The Journal of American Folklore vol. 78, no. 307 (1965): 3-20.

Quote:

[i]Myths are prose narratives which....

Nice opinion by Mr. Bascom on the subject of myths (although I don't see why myths should be exclusively "prose").

I saw nothing that would contradict the aforementioned definition of myth, nor the application of the term to the Bible, but rather quite the contrary. The following in particular could be taken as a description of the Bible:

Quote:

in the society in which they are told, are considered to be truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past. They are accepted on faith; they are taught to be believed; and they can be cited as authority in answer to ignorance, doubt, or disbelief. Myths are the embodiment of dogma; they are usually sacred; and they are often associated with theology and ritual..

aa5874 · 08-05-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Weimer

I'm sensing epic pwnage.

Bascom, William. "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives." The Journal of American Folklore vol. 78, no. 307 (1965): 3-20.

Quote:

Myths are prose narratives which, in the society in which they are told, are considered to be truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past. They are accepted on faith; they are taught to be believed; and they can be cited as authority in answer to ignorance, doubt, or disbelief. Myths are the embodiment of dogma; they are usually sacred; and they are often associated with theology and ritual. Their main characters are not usually human beings, but they often have human attributes; they are animals, deities, or culture heroes, whose actions are set in an earlier world, when the earth was different from what it is today, or in another world such as the sky or underworld. Myths account for the origin or the world, or mankind, of death, or for characteristics of birds, animals, geographical features, and the phenomena of nature. They may recound the activities of the deities, their love affairs, their family relationships, their friendships and enmities, their victories and defeats. They may purport to "explain" details of ceremonial paraphernalia or ritual, or why tabus must be observed, but such etiological elements are not confined to myths.

The Christian Bible is a book of myths according to this description of mythology.

aa5874 · 08-05-2007, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by figuer

No, Genesis is not a short tale to teach a moral lesson...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaleq13

It quite obviously is. It is simply perverse for your to argue otherwise.

Why is it perverse to have a view that is not the same as yours?

Chris Weimer · 08-05-2007, 05:46 PM

Um, you can't pick and choose what you like. What part of remote past didn't get through to you? Explain again how a Holocaust survivor attributing his survival to God is mythical according to the above definition?

BTW, you still haven't posted anything scholarly on the subject, only your worthless (in the scholarly sense) opinions.

figuer · 08-05-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Weimer

Um, you can't pick and choose what you like. What part of remote past didn't get through to you? Explain again how a Holocaust survivor attributing his survival to God is mythical according to the above definition?...

You seem to forget this debate is about the Bible as Judeo-Christian mythology. According to your scholarly quote, the Bible is mythology (so actually, you just lost by yourself the debate). The minor (and irrelevant) issue about the Holocaust survivor is simple: It was a recourse by the survivor to God, who happens to be a myth from the remote past. Plus, in a thousand years, her explanation of why she survived would be mythological, as it would belong to the remote past. Frankly, you are playing with tangentialities here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Weimer

BTW, you still haven't posted anything scholarly on the subject, only your worthless (in the scholarly sense) opinions.

Not true: I posted two technical definitions. Plus, how do you know I am not a scholar?

WishboneDawn · 08-05-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by figuer

Does anyone know if the Bible has ever been published under the title, Judeo-Christian Mythology?

If it hasn't I think it should. Would help putting Christians in their proper place.

If you want a book of Judeo-Chrisitan mythology publish a book of Judeo-Christian mythology. It would likely include a lot of selections from the bible.

The bible is a collection of ancient texts that includes many different genres from myth to legend to poetry to liturgry to letters to apocalyptic writings to laws and more. How do Leviticus, Micah, Psalms or James fit into the genre of mythology?

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08-05-2007, 05:46 PM	#68
Chris Weimer Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: none Posts: 9,879	Um, you can't pick and choose what you like. What part of remote past didn't get through to you? Explain again how a Holocaust survivor attributing his survival to God is mythical according to the above definition? BTW, you still haven't posted anything scholarly on the subject, only your worthless (in the scholarly sense) opinions.

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