Using myth to understand God
- Created by: sally789
- Created on: 01-12-15 11:25
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- Using myth to understand God
- What is it?
- most complex type of symbolic language, since it incorporates symbols, metaphors and models.
- many people, argue- myths are to say that something is untrue. However a modern understanding sees myths as giving insights into human experience.
- Some theologians have chosen to interpret religious statements and texts as myths.
- Three senses
- The myth could be a story that is not true but has some other value. Braithwaite -religious stories are inspirational to us, and they provide us with the motivation to lead a moral life.
- literary device that enables us to talk about things that are “ineffable” i.e. beyond language.
- The
myth could be a method of interpreting ultimate reality. So myths have a
symbolic meaning in the sense that they
open up new levels of reality. Randall argues their purpose is to bind
communities together and urge us to take action.
- The myth could be a story that is not true but has some other value. Braithwaite -religious stories are inspirational to us, and they provide us with the motivation to lead a moral life.
- Using myth
- Taking a mythological view of religious language also side steps the criticisms of Flew and Ayer. Namely that religious language is not factually significant and therefore meaningless.
- If we interpret the bible in a mythological sense then the stories of the Old and New Testament can not be proved wrong by scientific or historical evidence.
- These attacks are irrelevant if it is conceded that religious statements are myths. This is because we don’t expect myths to be factually significant.
- There is a further advantage of not taking a literal view of religious language.
- interpreting religious language as
mythological is that biblical stories, which seem strange to the scientifically
minded, become more palatable.
- “And
as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire
separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
2 Kings 2: 11
- These attacks are irrelevant if it is conceded that religious statements are myths. This is because we don’t expect myths to be factually significant.
- “And
as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire
separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
2 Kings 2: 11
- Bultman
- It is clear to Bultmann that the Bible was written in pre-scientific era when myths were everywhere and were an acceptable method of conveying meaning.
- Bultmann believers can no longer takes these biblical parables.
- He agued that it is only by reading the Bible as a mythological text that modern believers are able to square their scientific understanding of the world with the miraculous events of the Bible.
- Evaluation
- Weaknesses
- Plantinga argues that to claim that “God exists” is to make an existential assertion. It is not to talk symbolically of mythological or to adopt a certain attitude.
- Plantinga maintains that when a Christian speaks of the existence of God they are claiming first that there exists a person of a certain sort a being who, acts, holds beliefs, and has aims and purposes.
- undermines their status as true accounts of the events.
- In other words, it must be capable of treating religious concepts, such as God, as if they refer to something real.
- This person, secondly, is immaterial, is perfect in goodness, knowledge, and power, and is such that the world depends on him for existence.
- Stengths
- Reminds us of our need for meaning that scientism cannot offer
- Innate to humanity
- Speaks in existential terms and can thus ocnvey truth that other forms of language can't
- Myths from different cultures share so much common ground that they can be seen to convey truth, potentially revelatory
- Multi-layered and capable of speaking to the human condition in multiple ways at different times of life
- Weaknesses
- What is it?
- Some theologians have chosen to interpret religious statements and texts as myths.
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