Most devout Christians would take offense if someone claimed that the story that proves their existence is in fact a myth. A myth is not just some story to the people, but rather a truth. They forget that a story can be false. According to the text Exploring Religion, “Myths are distinguishable from other forms of sacred stories in that they are more fabulous than realistic, more imaginative than factual, and more evocative than analytical” (Schmidt 185). Myths help us to make sense of things, and also give us purpose.
Religion is designed to establish an understanding of the world by combining aspects of ritual, morality and creation. This too can be said of Myth. It is when Mythology disconnects itself from these traditional religious story telling aspects that it may become simply a fable or a legend. The fact that the most common type of stories in Mythology are of creation tells that myth must hold significance across that world. These stories of creation are not necessarily historically accurate or literal, but they are believed by many to convey profound truths from the beginning of oral story telling to when variations of the tales were recorded such as with Greek mythology by Hesiod and Homer.
“It would be misleading to think that all these factors influenced all scientists to the same degree. However, a major component of anyone’s theoretical outlook is his religious worldview (which could be atheism or agnosticism, as well as a traditional religion). Worldview had a far more significant influence on the origin of old-earth geology than has often been perceived or acknowledged. A person’s worldview not only affects the interpretation of the facts but even the observation of the facts. Another prominent historian of science rightly comments about scientists and non-scientists: ‘men often perceive what they expect, and overlook what they do not wish to
Meghan Bohles January 11, 2015 Formal Essay Greek mythology and Native American myths are more connected then people may think they are. For one they are polytheist, the belief in, or woship of more then one god. They both make sacrifices to these gods, and they both got run over by other groups of people. These three points are the connection between Atala and Odyssey. In Atala the Native Americans worshiped more than one god, and they are very closely related to the Greek gods.
None of the three religions stated in Harris’s excerpt, nor any other, can be fully validated to the point where argument ceases. Each has its beliefs and theories which are either acceptable or lightning rods for controversy. The target for anti-atheism is the commonplace dissention of creation versus evolution. Islam has been castigated for the Koran’s command to kill infidels. People deny Christianity because of its concept of eternity: “How can a merciful, righteous god damn souls to hell?” many non-Christians ask.
AP World History: World Civilizations: The Global Experience Part II The Classical Period: 1000 B.C.E. to 500 C.E. : Uniting Large Regions Chapter 5: Classical Civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (Greece & Persia) • Textbook Error: on page 102, the textbook refers to a naval battle between the Persians and Greeks that happened at the “Straits of Thermopylae”. This is incorrect. The naval battle won by the Greeks happened at the Straits of Salamis, while the 500 Spartans previously made a valiant last stand against the Persians at the Pass of Thermopylae in northern Greece.
A myth at its root level is a legend or story without any determinable basis in fact (Random House Dictionary). This is why a number of religions are quite muffled when we refer to the basis of their ideology as myth. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. To me a myth is a story or tale believed to be true it is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it, without any physical evidence that it might be true.
Introductory Questions 1. What is a myth? A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society 2. What does it mean to be polytheistic? worshipping or believing in more than one god Mesoptamia Wisdom Literature (this is the handout) 1.
The ultimate problem with revelation is that if God never revealed himself to you directly, you must rely on another person’s experiences and interpretations. That or you must accept that the original/first revelation of God was recorded and kept throughout history, while maintaining perfect and universal translation and interpretation. Also revelation is a paradox, for what is being reviled during it, is something that cannot ever be fully comprehended. There are many interpretations as to how these ideas can be comprehended. The Interpersonal Model of Revelation, also known as the Indirect Model of Revelation, says that the act of revelation is best thought of as a religious experience.
‘Religious Language is meaningless’ Discuss Religious language is the communication of ideas, words and practices used to describe god. Some deem religious language meaningless as there is simply no way we can verify it whereas others see it from different perspective. This is due to many different forms of language linked with religion; cognitive and non cognitive, synthetic and analytical, univocal, equivocal and analogy. Synthetic, equivocal and non cognitive all would enforce the concept that religious language is subjective and that we are able to gain better knowledge of god from what he is not than what he is. Those supporting these points have been 19th century philosophers A.J Ayer and Antony Flew however their argument is apposed by those who believe it is meaningful as we simply do not know how to falsify the language.