Mythology vs Religion

[confused_mystery]

ok hmm now i've got a good idea for another topic 
but before i start one, "a world without religion" has that been started already ?? i'm very curious to see peoples' views on this subject  so let me know X) and i'm asking instead of looking myself because i'm very very limited on time with the computer so yea

[bhambrice]

I was just reading a book about Jewish mythology for my research which explains this same question. Mythology tends to be seen as stories that people use to believe but don't today. Well that is where the belief and definition is wrong. Mythology is where people try to explain the unexplainable in accordance to religious beliefs. So in an academic perspective when discussing the story of Adam and Eve to pretty much any story even Moses we say it is mythology. To the religious person they would say it is fact. The fact is that mythology describes something that has no evidence in a story framework, which can be changed over time and tended to be orally transmitted over time. So it is not that there isn't mythology in other religions that are living today, it is that we misinterpret what mythology really is.

Myths and Legends are stories that have great meaning to the culture. Myths tend to deal with the supernatural and supreme beings while legends tend to deal with humans. We merge the study of myths and legends into mythology because it wouldn't make sense to have them in separate fields when most of the time they overlap.

You have a good definition of Myth there.  My response to anyone who gets upset with "Happy Holidays" vs "Merry Xmas" is that a celebration at that time of year crosses cultures and religions and is rooted much deeper than one religion.  If at this time of year you want to celebrate the birth of an avatar from your mythology go right ahead.

Myths and religions are unfortunately very intertwined but  my response is Christmas is not just the decorated tree and presents but is the celebrated birthday (not the actual day)of a human being that even the writer Josephus(and others) mentions. The trouble with myths  is that the truth is sometimes difficult to find . It is easier for people to say that all religions are myths. Finding out where myth and truth meet is time-consuming. Due to archeological research many places of the Bible have been discovered and along with artifacts and writings that prove most of the Bible to be true.  The only part I will say that might be a myth is Revelation ,not that it won't happen, but the imagery used was limited to their knowledge at that time.

[confused_mystery]

ah oh yes i've heard of the bible being proven correct with archeology and still being proven  'til this day ?

[Raziel]

Its because things are never what they seem in myths and legends. And people are naturally skeptical about what isn't in their religion zone, thus the need for continuous proof.

[confused_mystery]

lol well thats just how people are, they need to see it to believe/accept it

[rave phillaphia]

I was just reading a book about Jewish mythology for my research which explains this same question. Mythology tends to be seen as stories that people use to believe but don't today. Well that is where the belief and definition is wrong. Mythology is where people try to explain the unexplainable in accordance to religious beliefs. So in an academic perspective when discussing the story of Adam and Eve to pretty much any story even Moses we say it is mythology. To the religious person they would say it is fact. The fact is that mythology describes something that has no evidence in a story framework, which can be changed over time and tended to be orally transmitted over time. So it is not that there isn't mythology in other religions that are living today, it is that we misinterpret what mythology really is.

Myths and Legends are stories that have great meaning to the culture. Myths tend to deal with the supernatural and supreme beings while legends tend to deal with humans. We merge the study of myths and legends into mythology because it wouldn't make sense to have them in separate fields when most of the time they overlap.

You have a good definition of Myth there.  My response to anyone who gets upset with "Happy Holidays" vs "Merry Xmas" is that a celebration at that time of year crosses cultures and religions and is rooted much deeper than one religion.  If at this time of year you want to celebrate the birth of an avatar from your mythology go right ahead.

Myths and religions are unfortunately very intertwined but  my response is Christmas is not just the decorated tree and presents but is the celebrated birthday (not the actual day)of a human being that even the writer Josephus(and others) mentions. The trouble with myths  is that the truth is sometimes difficult to find . It is easier for people to say that all religions are myths. Finding out where myth and truth meet is time-consuming. Due to archeological research many places of the Bible have been discovered and along with artifacts and writings that prove most of the Bible to be true.  The only part I will say that might be a myth is Revelation ,not that it won't happen, but the imagery used was limited to their knowledge at that time.

I would just like to comment that there are a lot of other places and artifacts discovered from other religions as well. You can pretty much look at any religion and have support of archaeological artifacts for it. The problem with it is that archaeology doesn't show: the exsitence of god or miracles, or for that many of the characters in stories are real. Such as how can you prove that Joshua destroyed the Canaanites when all the villages of Canaan were not destroyed (except one which is shown to be raided by the northern tribal peoples of Syria). I can tell you that archaeology is limited. It only tells us of the people that believed in these stories not of the stories themselves. Yes there was a temple built in Israel, so we can conclud that David and Solomon probably did live. Same with Krishna in Hinduism. We have sources of family linages that says that he existed. What we don't have is the proof of him being the incarnate of Siva.

What makes a story a myth is that there is limited to no proof that it occured. I am not saying that myths are bad though but I will fully recognize that they are stories that are meaningful to the community of which it derives from. I don't like that people use myth and legends as negative terms because they are not negative. We just add the assumption that once we call it a myth that it has the possibility of not being literal truth. If you are looking for literal truth then you should become a philosopher or a scientist because you will never gain it with religion. Religion is based on beliefs and faith which are true to your heart.

[jordyn]

Well the $64,000.00 question is where did you come up with this concept of yours. And can you prove it. If its your particular belief on the matter, then God speed. I will admit that the topic I raised up is unproven and it was things that was going through my head. I have neither the proof of what I am saying or that the stories in mythology or the Bible are real. I have never there physical to witness or experience them. So all I can do is chose to believe or not. But you speak with such a condign certainty that I have to ask if you can produce the proof to support what you are saying.....

And I agree that Thor would give his father Odin a competitive run for his money......

easy, it's called world myth and cultures can be clearly traced from the sumerian desert,  original gods were nothing like the greek humanoids.  the difference between your flood and raziels flood, is they have found proof for a giant flood, outside of mesopotamia, at one point the cradle of civilization...cunicform, songs and stories like giglimesh's have clearly proven that noah's flood is derived from an earlier story, since early judaism is derived from sumerian culture, it's a clearly made understanding...you're argument would be better if you accredited the origins of myth with the origins of humanity...the greeks are several civilizations to late to be attributed with such an honor, scientifically discovered artifacts by professionals support this statement, not an author of teen books.

but i can agree the greeks have more to do with the bible than any universal myth, the history of the roman church supports that statement and greek mythology was a required study in high school.

different worlds...and way different gods.

and then you get into norse myth? 

get your history figured out, then come up with your theories.

[Raziel]

I have a FLOOD?!!!

[Loki]

I agree that the lack of artefacts found is not a proof that there was no civilization before Summer.  Actually, there is the possibility that different advanced civilzations exist 10 000 BC, what people refer to pre-noah civilizations. Myths are the echoes of those lost memories. Wood rotten, Stone erode, metal rost and bones turn to dust after some time but the great stories remain and some of the wisdom.

[confused_mystery]

wow advanced civilzations existing at 10,000 BC. thats sounds so interesting  and something i would spend days reading about

[Raziel]

It stands to reason that human civilization has suffered set backs prompting a return to hunter-gatherer societies from relatively advanced ones.


Cause When you think about it. It should not take a group that has established itself as the dominant tribe in the area from discovering/inventing complex tools.
And building big things is kinda a given no matter where ya go.

Likewise how ever, If you subscribe to Stichinesq(new word?) explanations about how we are merely the slave race of an alien civ........ Then while that would explain a lot of things, it would also raise alot of other questions  now wouldn't it?

[confused_mystery]

well true, ok well i'll look into that stichinesq explanations, lol yes LOTS would be raised.

[jordyn]

I agree that the lack of artefacts found is not a proof that there was no civilization before Summer.  Actually, there is the possibility that different advanced civilzations exist 10 000 BC, what people refer to pre-noah civilizations. Myths are the echoes of those lost memories. Wood rotten, Stone erode, metal rost and bones turn to dust after some time but the great stories remain and some of the wisdom.

the prehistoric sorcerer and his world on cave walls in the first art medium, the venuses of willendorf, the clovis people and they even have a variety of tools pre clovis, the discovery of stone tools that led to the discovery of metal and sets a clear trail for human dominance...prehistory is one of my favorite periods of time when we ascended mere primate hood and stepped into a world of humanities and art...we made the world!

they weren't advanced, the were just nomadic tribes following the food migrations

[jordyn]

well true, ok well i'll look into that stichinesq explanations, lol yes LOTS would be raised.

it's a theory that humanity was made by aliens posing as sumerian gods to make a race of simple minded creatures that would build, mine and yeah...as raz said generally be their slaves.

if they were that smart they'd have bred out our intelligence, that's why cows pull the plow and people drive one.

[Raziel]

Look around you Jordyn. There is plenty of evidence that they are doing so right now.