Myth in Religion in Beliefs and Believers
Belief, Communal and Seeker religious styles are used widely in the video series in this course. I believe most people can identify with each style at one point in their lives. The belief style deals with boundary questions. It is the basics that make up what you think and hold to be true. Communal style is belonging to a group that hold the same truths as you do. It is like being a part of a community. Seeker style is for those who may have held certain truths, but are now unsure. The community in which they belonged now doesn’t seem to "fit". Or the seeker may just be asking more profound questions. There is much validity in the study of each of these styles. It may turn our study inward to where we are, belief, communal, or seeker?
All religions began with a myth of some sort. Be it Christianity and the creation of the world or Buddhism and the journey of Siddharta to enlightenment. Myth can also point to the future. The communication of myth is often acted out in ritual. One example is the Last Supper. Which is still celebrated today in most Christian churches in America. Each may have a peculiar way of doing so, but the message is still the same.
Symbolic depth helps laity understand myth in religion. There may be certain truths that are either too abstract or difficult to understand, so explanantions are made to aid in understading. One may not be able to understand why humans are inevitably going to die. An Indian legend or story from Genesis in the Bible can satisfy the curiousity. It may be an explanation that is silly to some and widely accepted by others.
Some key function of myth in religion as discussed in Beliefs and Believers and the video series are as follows: It answers profound life questions. This is important to religious followers as described in the above paragraph. It guides individual and collective behavior. Myth makes up the "basics" of religion. It is these basics that make up the behavior of the believer. It affects how they act and react in respect to their beliefs. It engenders self-esteem and empowerment.
The “popular use of the word myth to denote something that is thought by many people to be “true,” but actually is not true can be examined through history. Today’s current understanding of myth is: “A traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or heroor event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a naturalexplanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigodsand explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature,istories or matter of this kind,iany invented story, idea, or concept,ian imaginary or fictitious thing or person,ian unproved or false collective belief that is
Mythological and archetypal techniques coupled with the interpretation of symbolism found within a piece of literature tells the reader something about the mind and character of a people or culture. Not only does it allow you to delve deeper into this collective mind and speculate about the meaning of a particular work, it can give you something more. I believe that by using these techniques you also get a better glimpse into the main character’s state of mind. It also gives you clues as to is going on ‘behind the scenes’ that will affect the character’s mental state.
Williams Paden discusses the world building character of myths and their capacity to shape time and delineate scared and profane space for the communities that believe and transmit them. In William Paden, “Myth,” in Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion, he explains that within religious worlds, myths set a foundation that advance to shape a person’s way of life. Subsequently, they shape their belief and conscience. His theory relates to an element an indigenous story which is the creation story precisely the story of the turtle island. For the Ojibway and Anishinaabe people, the creation story was used as a grounding prototype to shape their belief and their outlook on how the world was created. The story shows how myth is being
Over the recent centuries, the definition of myth has decayed into a word synonymous with falsehoods and lies. This idea of myths being completely false and therefore useless is a fairly modern one. To combat the rise of empirical science in the 1900s, theologians brought the idea of wholly literal, fundamental religion into being to combat ideas that did not perfectly align with the tenants of the religion (May 24). This was the final death blow to the idea of the metaphysical myth that was already wounded from thousands of years of being denounced as pagan or barbaric. The rise of empirical science also lent to the decay of the meaning of myth. Science was able to explain the natural world far better than a myth ever could; however, it lacked the metaphysical aspect. Due to these rising ideologies, myths hav...
A myth is a traditional story that considers the history of people explaining some type of event that typically involves mystical beings or events. In "A Long Way Gone” the author provided many myths and legends such as “wild pigs”, “bra spider”, omen of the crow, the name ceremonies and so many more. Each story has it's only purpose, but in all I believe the purpose of each myth or legend is to teach a lesson, or to tell a story of things good or bad.
Throughout history man has searched for an explanation of our origins and why we are here. Many creation myths are attempts of our ancestors to do just that. I have found in reading many of these creation myths, that there is also an attempt to explain why human existence is imperfect. The following essay will compare and contrast four creation myths and their explanation of how mans imperfection came to be.
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
Myths the stories of old, how the ancients explained the creation of the world and how the human race came to be. Myths can be viewed as outdated and no longer needed. However, myths are still important today. This is the point that Joseph Campbell, and Bill Mayer discuss at Skywalker Ranch in The Power of Myth. Joseph Campbell famous mythologist is interviewed by Bill Mayer about myths from different cultures and how they are still important today. This interview makes the point that myths, although centuries old are still used today, in both popular media and other aspects of culture.
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
For centuries humans have been drawing parallels to help explain or understand different concepts. These parallels, or allegories, tell a simple story and their purpose is to use another point of view to help guide individuals into the correct line of thought. “The only stable element in a literary work is its words, which if one knows the language in which it is written, have a meaning. The significance of that meaning is what may be called allegory. ”(Bloomfield)
Different religions, different ways, and one aim of maintaining religious identity. Hinduism and Judaism, two of the world’s biggest religions, are seemingly completely unalike. With differences such as their views of afterlife, death and birth Hindus believing in rebirth and “oneness” with Brahman, and Jews believing in a world to come, focusing more on God’s image, never really mentioning what happens after death. Yet when you take a closer look into both religions you find some similarities. Both religions’ rituals focus on the same things, they may be celebrated differently but the meaning behind the celebrations and the meaning behind some of their symbols are the same, and their purposes help people maintain their identity and keep the traditions of their cultures strong.
For the layman, familiarity with the major religions stems from the stories that are associated with them. Using the narratives that are derived from the sacred texts is the most prominent way in which our society identifies the Western religions. The Jewish tradition is best correlated to stories like the Exodus and the parting of the Red Seas, for example, as are the many tales of the miracles of Jesus connected to Christianity. This essay will present narratives as an easy method of providing the basic groundwork for the Western religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of their simplicity and easily transmittable nature. Furthermore, narratives impart many of the rules, laws, and moral fundamentals for these faiths, and are used by religious writers as a novel method of initiating discussion or providing a parallel for other narratives.
The two creation myths chosen to compare and contrast focuses on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths begin with an empty void where chaos or conflict develops. The Norse myth narrates a conflict between the fiery realm of Muspell and the dark, cold realm of Niflheim within the emptiness called ginnungagap and where nothing could grow. The Genesis conflict was between God and nothing, loneliness, and the need to create something beautiful.
Mythology is defined as a collection of interrelated stories of a given culture. Myths are intended to explain and describe the mysteries of nature and give understanding about the world that surrounds us. Each culture has their own mythology that reflects their values and beliefs. Myths were also generated to tell the story of the first people to inhabit the earth. The Egyptian mythology elevated these people to the level of Gods and Goddesses by giving them supernatural and special powers. These myths of creation were passed from one generation to the next, either orally or by hieroglyphs painted in sacred temples, pyramids, and sanctuaries.
All over the world, many people practice a religion of their choice. With any religion people participate in many rituals that show their commitment to their religion. Amongst the five major religions of the world, which are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, they are all significant to what people believe in. Each of them include rituals, places of worship, a God or Gods, and so much more. The five major religions of the world each have key characteristics that highlight both their similarities and differences.