Mythology vs Religion

[MagnusCrane]

Often times fictional stories of the past has been called "Mythology or Legend" Why is that? Most of the answers I get is because these stories cannot be proven. But the truth of the matter is that the stories of the Bible also cannot be proven either. As such, the Bible stories and let say Greek Mythology are stories about things that we were not physically there to witness or experience. Therefore all we can say is that we believe in the stories. Without the ability to experience or witness something, you cannot prove anything. Now I know people would be quick to debate that everything in the Bible is real and happened. As soon as I ask for the proof, everyone will have to shut up. Regardless of belief no one has proof of everything mentioned in the Bible. So with these facts being so, the idea should be considered the stories of Greek Mythology can also to be real. Some people have told me that saying Greek Mythology is real, is wrong. And so I always ask the same question, prove it? You see there's somethings I've notices, that there is similarities in the Greek Mythology and the Bible. I will mention a few that come to mind. The story of Samson and Hercules, the Giant serpent which coiled itself around the Great Tree to protect mortals from eating the golden apples, and the Serpent that tempt Adam in Eve in the Garden of Eden. Orpheus and Lot. Hades told Orpheus he can take his wife from the Underworld back to the mortal world, so as long as he believes his wife will be there following right behind him. Hades told Orpheus that there is one condition, that if he turns around to see if his wife is there, she will return to the Underworld. And of course after a while of walking, Orpheus turned and his wife disappeared. Now I know that this story sounds all too familiar. Now some maybe quick to say that all of Greek Mythology stories came from the Bible. Hell, you may find Greeks who will say the exact same thing about the Bible, and that the Bible is a plagiarism of the Greek Mythology. But what I am presenting here is another concept. What if these are all one story. Consider the possibility that the Greeks told their version of the Bible from there perspective. Or maybe like I said they are the same stories. By simply replacing character names, places, scenes, scenarios, ideas, and beliefs of Greek Mythology, you have the stories of the Bible all over again. Some of the Gods of Olympus can be thought of as angels of the Lord. The messenger God Hermes, they could of been talking about the Angel Gabriel. Some say that the unseen forces of can be angels. Such as the sky, lightning and thunder. What if God put an angel to govern these things, such as Zeus. Posiden, Oceanus, are all angels that governs the sea. Ares and Arch Angel Michael. I mean I can go on for ever. I just came to realization of the direct correlation between Greek Mythology and the Bible. And these stories are suppose to tell humans or mortals about what is going on with the spirit of man, and to explain how to deal with problems, issues, and the human condition.

[Raziel]

Excellent avenue of discussion you have opened up. I'll be glad to partake in the ensuing trickle of comments.


First of, it is quite possible that these stories maybe related to each other in someway. But on the other hand these old testament books you have used as examples are more often than not  set so far away from Greece that it would be folly to try and see which one came from where or even which is older.

Btw i'm betting on the " related by lesson and nothing else"

I' await to see the fun. be back in a week.

[MagnusCrane]

Your comment even though I partially agree, and be that as it may, I'd have to say that not all these characters were all that far from Greece. Other books I read help me to lead to that point of view of mine. In one book it said that the God of Olympus go to the part of the world where they are most needed. Now that may explain the rise and fall of some of the greatest nations ever heard of. Maybe they were with those nation when they were great and those nations fell when the Gods moved on to another area. The Greek story of the Zeus' flood and the arch that housed animals is so similar to the story of Noah. Instead of reading Greek Mythology from the perspective of Greek Mythology Book, instead try listening to the audio book or reading  the five stories of "Percy Jackson and The Olympians" In here you can learn not only about the legend of the Gods, Titans, Demigods, and mortals, but you get to understand about these characters from a different perspective. You learn more about these characters from the perspective of how they relate to humans and what is going on with us, and more so how the Gods effect us humans. For an example in this book I mentioned, Apollo example his role in human society, and tell someone that him being the Sun-God does mean that he is the Sun itself or the Sun Brilliance that comes across the sky from the crack of dawn. He said that him being the Sun God has to do with how humans perceive whats going on with physical sun and the metaphysical sun.   

[Raziel]

Actually, the great deluge is present in a great many mythologies.

A deluge myth or flood myth is a mythical story of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution. It is a widespread theme among many cultures, though it is perhaps best known in modern times through the biblical account of Noah's Ark, the Hindu Puranic story of Manu, through Deucalion in Greek mythology or Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.


And i'll see what i can find on this Percy Jackson guy.


And btw. I'll bet my ballz that thor can take odin anyday of the week.

[MagnusCrane]

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......

[Raziel]

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......

I've read a few of these stories, but i felt that i needed a concrete well researched source. Hence i copy pasta'ed from wikipedia.
And i wasn't trying to disprove you but since i noticed the existence of similar myths of the same topic, it seemed like a good idea to present inject them into the discussion.

If you only can believe in what you've actually seen yourself, then you must question that, for example, the American Civil War ever took place - unless your older than I guess. What makes the old stories so much harder to believe in?
Troy is an excellent example: Almost everyone said that the Song of Ilion was purely fiction, but one man (I've forgotten his name) followed the geographical clues given in the poem. And guess what - he found Troy (aka Ilion)!

And for your information - Thor is too honest and straightforward to even consider to overthrow Odin! And should he ever try, Odin would get the upper hand. He is cunning and treacherous, and knows what will befall.

My beaked & feathered lioness. You obviously haven't seen Marvel's rune lord thor.

But i digress, din does see the future by virtue of mimir's well and thor does certainly have that bluntness about him.
But i was talking about a wrestling match, so by virtue of context, thor pwnz odin.

Now what about thor vs zeus? that sounds like fun.


Now then,   

[MagnusCrane]

Well lets run with this for a moment. You used American Civil War as an example. The North vs South right? So it is a matter of if you were there or not to have the experience to produce the proof. OK well I too knew an elderly lady, she was over 100 years old at the time I met her, in 1998. She told me that according to her grandparents, and her grandparents family, they were told, taught, and all understood that the South won the war. Although some may consider it to be preposterous, what if the truth is that the South did win the war? And only the rumors of winning the war survived as the North winning? I mean Napoleon used that same tactic. Hell during the first candidacy run for president, some believe George W. Bush, Jr. did the same thing against Al Gore. News media claimed Bush won even though the electoral votes said Gore won it. Now moving alone, you even said geographical clues, so clues are not certainties. And furthermore the geographical calculations can be off, consider it. So there still isn't any proof. I never anything about the old stories being so hard to believe in, but merely without proof, all we can do is chose to believe it or not. No one was there for the direct experience. Odin and Thor, now that would be a good fight......  

[MagnusCrane]

No no no.... I never felt that you were trying to disprove anything at all. In fact that would be great. You see what keeps me on my toes about everything I know, is that I've considered the possibility that everything I do know could all be wrong. In that, I can allow myself to be taught by anyone young or old without feeling arrogance in any way. And I clearly said that I could not prove what I am saying, they were just ideas I was shuffling around  in my head.

Thor vs Zeus.... That sounds like fun. Only I believe they would be fighting a splitting mirror image of themselves. I think that Thor is the Norse representation of Zeus.

[Raziel]

you mean besides the fact that they both act and represent different things and have different roles. Yeah they are each other's mirror images.

Now the on the other hand, you could be wrong about being wrong and are unnecessarily debating with yourself about things that matter little in the long run.

And i think you misread LG's statement. She said that this person actually found troy/Ilion.  Rendering your argument invalidated, at least against this particular example.

NOw lets get back to the Hebrewz and the Greeks before i feed you some non muslim haram pork bunz!

[MagnusCrane]

Ladygriffin I agree with you 1000% on the bottom part you wrote. I to believe the Bible is nothing more than a book of myths and within the myths lye the truth embedded. If we focus too much on the story, we will miss the principle behind the story.

[blow_fly]

The problem with using myth as  a historical source is that it can be impossible to distinguish between reality  and and metaphor. A good example of this fact is the speculation surrounding Atzlan, the supposed homeland of the Aztec people. While some scholars insist that it is an actual location, most anthropologists are inclined to belief that it is an elaborate metaphor for the most primordial religious beliefs of the Aztecs.

[MagnusCrane]

Another valid point made. Could it be that the metaphor and mythologies exist for that reason alone. I mean what if they were suppose to have different meaning to the individual person? So for that reason, we are always having a different perception on the matter to help or explain something to someone who have a specific thing they are looking for? And no two people may view the metaphor and mythology in the same manner.

[Raziel]

Or it could just be that said places once existed but were converted into stories which were mutated over multiple generations in order to contain some sort of improvised moral lesson for the kids and that it could have gone so far that facts were often overlooked or something like that.

[Mental Disorder]

I quite like Mythology more than Religon. Maybe it's just because of my imagination. But I really could care less about Religon. I really don't belive in one huge "GOD" but I do belive in monsters and other things like that.

[Raziel]

Its in line with the topic name but not the topic thought.