Understanding World Religions and Mythology
Myths are very central
to religions.
Myths help us to understand
the sacred truths of our religions. Society
teaches us that myths
are fanciful stories which can be ignored. But the stylized language of a
myth is a key to its
sacred truth.
Myths are composed of
metaphors and imagery. Myths come from the
same part of the brain as dreams. In fact, many common dream interpretation
techniques work quite well with myth interpretation.
The specific term used to describe this type of composition is called
"mythological language."
In Mythological Language very little is meant to be taken literally. For
example, water often represents the world -- or the people of the world.
Troubled waters, storms, and such represent turbulent times. Jesus walking
on the water could symbolize that he was able to raise himself above the
problems of his time!
Often, in mythology, there is a "hint" that the
myth
is not meant to be taken literally. In the "Feeding of the multitude" story
in Christianity, for example, each version of the story concludes with a
phrase which says something like: "... and the disciples did not understand
what had happened." This is a marker to tell us that the preceeding is not
meant to be taken literally.
The secret is to read the mythology and to consider the meaning of its symbols.
I recommend reading a book on literary criticism or a book on dream
interpretation.
For starters, I would recomment reading books on New Biblical Criticism (for
Judeo-Christianity -- available at your local book store):
"All I have said above is based on those who have worked in this area before
me. I claim no originality to any of the mythological interpretations listed
above and have most likely done no more than to put it all together."
--Chandonn
Last modified:
04/21/2005