4E RL as non-cognitive and mythical

Question 1

What are myths falsely synonymous with?

Answer 1

• Falsehood - little/no value

Question 2

In religious studies, what is a myth?

Answer 2

• Highly specialised term referring to accounts that contain truths which are communicated through images and symbolic texts

Question 3

What happens when someone deconstructs a myth purely by empirical means?

Answer 3

• They miss the meaning
• Such reductionist approaches = popular during 19th/20th C + led to the popular view of myths being little more than fantasies

Question 4

Why is it important to understand the original context of a myth?

Answer 4

• You must recognised the ‘sitz im Leben’ (situation in life) of NT writers to properly understand the gospels
• We all apply our own sitz im Leben when interpreting ∴ add perspectives that were not relevant at the time ∴ misunderstand documents
• The ability to appreciate that myths represent beliefs that are deeply rooted in the culture from which they arise allows for myths to be interpreted accordingly

Question 5

What approach to myths will provide the most accurate understanding?

Answer 5

• A cautionary approach

Question 6

What demonstrates the value of myths?

Answer 6

• That they exist in all human cultures
• They provide a range of insights into elements that each society holds

Question 7

What are four common types of myths in different cultures?

Answer 7

• Creation of universe
• Roles of God(s)
• Heroic myths
• How/why the world operates

Question 8

What should be recognised when studying myths/mythical language?

Answer 8

• Matter of interpretation
• Not always definitive

Question 9

Explain how myths and mythical language are complex.

Answer 9

• Formed of metaphorical, symbolic, and analogical terms have meanings ‘hidden’ beyond the literal reading of the text
• Work in RS, psychology, and anthropology has helped scholars determine that myths = serve a more significant purpose
• They hold deep and everlasting truths integral to the identity of the culture and society to which they belong
• Myths explore what it means to be human, what our relationship should be with the world etc.

Question 10

Why is the role of myth within religion integral?

Answer 10

• Many aspects of religion depend on myth to provide a means of expressing fundamental religious truths that cannot be expressed in any other form of lang., as to do so would be to devalue them
• Attempting to find literal meanings to myths inevitably leads to error, both on behalf of fundamentalist/literalist to reading r. texts and of those who criticise r. as meaningless in the contemporary scientific world

Question 11

Creation myths: what does “a formless void” (Genisis) traditionally signify?

Answer 11

• Chaos

Question 12

Creation myths: what would water have presented for the ancients?

Answer 12

• Great mystery ∵ ability to traverse oceans not possible to the societies that formulated the myths

Question 13

Creation myths: how did God control the early state of the world?

Answer 13

• He imposed his will on the chaos of the primordial waters + filled them with differentiated life
• He calmed and divided the waters + brought forth land; representing the stability and order
• Light has no place in chaos, yet G brings forth light - universally a symbol for knowledge, understanding and righteous power; even at night, the world has not returned to primordial chaos as there are still lights (moon, stars)

Question 14

What did Philip Freund discuss in ‘Myths of Creation’ (1964)?

Answer 14

• Noted similarity btwn C.tian and other myths that start in waters, and through the actions of an agent of order, creation = brought about
- Egypt: Morning Sun God, Khepri, lifts himself from the waters to bring about creation
- Zuni tribe of America: Sun Father brought creation through waters
- Moaris of New Zealand: Maui pulled the islands of NZ from depths of ocean

Question 15

What is a key feature of creation myths?

Answer 15

• The primacy of human beings within creation
- Humans = steward for the creator; look after the created order + preserve it
- Created “in the image of God” ∴ we are endowed with the qualities of the uncreated G

Question 16

Creation myths: While the meaning derived from mythical accounts may be non-cognitive, why is it relevant?

Answer 16

• It reveals information about the world and the role od humans within it
• Provides context and purpose
• Deeper form of language

Question 17

What did Tillich say about myths?

Answer 17

• “Myths are always present in every act of faith, because the language of faith is the symbol…”

Question 18

What do heroic myths focus on?

Answer 18

• How individuals are able to conquer great adversity

Question 19

What do heroic myths provide?

Answer 19

• Insight into daily struggles of human existence + inspiration

Question 20

What Moojen Momen say about myths in ‘The Phenomenon of Religion’?

Answer 20

• “if one studies the common themes in the different mythologies of the world, one can find the basic rhythms by which all human beings live. Myth explores the deeper inner questions and problems that have troubled mankind.”

Question 21

Why were Solar Hero myths created?

Answer 21

• In ancient societies, sun worship = common
• In purely scientific terms, the sun = source of all life on earth
• Long before the scientific age, the sun’s life-giving properties = well-known ∴ its importance = enshrined in myths

Question 22

Solar Hero myths: Explain the myth of the Ancient Egyptian Sun-God, Ra.

Answer 22

• He travelled across the sky during the day, bringing warmth to world
• At night, he travelled through the underworld to do the same to those who dwelt there
∴ able to battle the forces of chaos/darkness + bring life-giving properties

Question 23

Solar Hero myths: Explain the myth of the Ancient Canaanite God, Baal.

Answer 23

• Promoter of life + fertility
• Judeo-C.tian literature portrays him negatively, putting his followers in direct opp. w/ early Israelites, as Baal + Yahweh battled for supremacy w/ Yahweh triumphing each time

Question 24

What is similar about the Solar Hero myths of Ra and Baal?

Answer 24

• The key figures give life, are killed by a dark force opposed to it, and are restored to life to start the cycle of fertility over again
• Mythical lang. = clear parallel for passage of seasons

Question 25

What were the Solar Hero myths a precursor for?

Answer 25

• The resurrection myth

Question 26

What are resurrection myths?

Answer 26

• Uses solar hero as an archetype
• An agent of order is destroyed by chaos and brought back to life in victory against enemies
• Heroic triumphs, through mythical lang., teach the ability of the hero to overcome insurmountable odds and that good will always triumph over evil
• Provide inspiration
• Archetypal themes exist throughout history, providing a unique insight into the human condition

Question 27

Summarise how Jesus is an example of a resurrection myth.

Answer 27

• Prisoner, friends abandon him, subsequently killed, rises from dead, heralds new age w/ promise of eternal reward for those that follow him

Question 28

What did Momen say regarding resurrection myths?

Answer 28

• “the hero returns to ‘save’ the world. He brings a new era if justice and hope, a new order; a new Golden Age dawns”

Question 29

Explain the challenge to myths regarding integrity.

Answer 29

• If we consider any particular myth as meaningful, we would presume that the integrity of the myth = preserved
• The importance of integrity = paramount ∵ the myths are often foundation for key beliefs/values of a society/religion

Question 30

Explain the challenge to myths regarding competing myths.

Answer 30

• What happens when another myth stakes claim to competing truths/values?
• Does this challenge the meaningfulness of the original myth or should the competing myth be disregarded?
• Creation vs evolution could be considered as competing myths; fierce debate since Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species’ in 1859; although some would not consider these as competing as sci. = based on emp. verifiable data while r. is not

Question 31

Why is Genesis as the myth of creation a challenge for myths?

Answer 31

• It is the starting point of G’s r.ship w/ humans + = necessary part of theology in Judaism + C.ty
• What happens when a very similar account can be found in a culture that predates Judeo-C.tian tradition by several hundred years?
• If the myth ≠ unique, does this mean that the faith-based truth claims are likewise not unique ∴ are they weakened?
• Central claim of C.ty = that J’s res. = unique event in history - if it is treated as mythical literature, it has several parallels in other cultures ∴ may not be as unique as claimed

Question 32

Explain the challenge of changing societies.

Answer 32

• Similarly to the value of symbolic lang., the value of myth. lang. will inevitably change as societies change
• The meaning of a myth may change to fit the intellectual mood of the time or as we better understand the ancient cultures from where the myth originated
• This destabalises the ability of myths to communicate meaningful information if such info = subject to change over time

Question 33

What is Bultmann’s challenge to mythical langauge?

Answer 33

• Considered much of NT literature as primarily mythical ∴ needed to be reinterpreted
• Set about ‘demythologising’ these texts to make sense of them
• Believed mythological lang. of NT obstructed a modern faith, and his work on demythologisation tried to present a gospel message free from the unscientific descriptions found in the myth. lang. of NT
• “Can Christian preaching expect modern man to accept the mythical view of the world as untrue? To do so would be both senseless and impossible…there is nothing specifically Christian in the mythical view of the world…It is simply the cosmology of a pre-scientific age…Modern thought as we have inherited it brings with it criticism of the New Testament view of the world.”
• “The cosmology of the New testament is essentially mthical in character”