Religion

marylandblue

(12,344 posts)

29. Myth does not mean "nice story"

Sat Dec 8, 2018, 11:04 AM

Dec 2018

They lived in a harsh world. War, plague, flood or famine could come without warning and wipe out entire civilizations. They had no way of predicting, mitigating or controlling any of it. In such a world, a harsh God who at least offers a possibility of redemption might be the best they could imagine.

Now that we live in a better time, and can at least understand the forces of nature and control some of them, the harshness of their world is outside of our experience. We need a more loving God in accordance with our much easier lives. But we are stuck with the story so we just change the meaning.

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Highlight:

What does the RCC say about the Great Flood described in the Bible? [View all] guillaumeb Dec 2018 OP

38% of Americans believe in young earth creationism Major Nikon Dec 2018 #1

Whataboutism. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #2

... Major Nikon Dec 2018 #4

Diversion from your clear use of the whataboutism fallacy. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #6

... Major Nikon Dec 2018 #8

Interesting contribution on your part. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #9

I have no interest in dialog with people who have no interest in dialog Major Nikon Dec 2018 #11

Lol. Love you. tymorial Dec 2018 #52

What about other stories in the Bible? PJMcK Dec 2018 #3

Understood. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #7

Jesus could be (and likely was) a metaphor. Cuthbert Allgood Dec 2018 #54

Your view. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #59

The alleged real Jesus also differs with your alleged metaphorical real version of the flood myth Major Nikon Dec 2018 #64

The line, according to the OP, seems to be the end of Genesis 11 muriel_volestrangler Dec 2018 #63

water is great for dunking and drowning accused witches nt msongs Dec 2018 #5

And what did you think about the substance if the article? eom guillaumeb Dec 2018 #10

What about the New Testament? edhopper Dec 2018 #12

The link is clear on this. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #13

That is some lame side stepping edhopper Dec 2018 #14

At this point, in this post, guillaumeb Dec 2018 #15

Better answer. edhopper Dec 2018 #16

Thank you. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #17

A combination of both suits me just fine! Literally and metaphorically. sprinkleeninow Dec 2018 #20

I agree. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #21

Thank you. Love you much! sprinkleeninow Dec 2018 #18

No problem. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #19

There's difficulty in being able to see scripture taken in a literal AND sprinkleeninow Dec 2018 #22

Think of the sword as metaphor. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #23

Precisely. Was there a single 'Adam' and a single 'Eve'? Metaphor. sprinkleeninow Dec 2018 #24

And the names make it clear to me clear that it is about life coming from the earth. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #40

I would go with "myth" even though it is often associated with "not true" in English. gtar100 Dec 2018 #25

So "metaphorically" some god drowns Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #26

It's a metaphor for a nice warm bath. MineralMan Dec 2018 #27

Myth does not mean "nice story" marylandblue Dec 2018 #29

True, but still a myth Major Nikon Dec 2018 #30

Pat Robertson doesn't hide behind "metaphors" marylandblue Dec 2018 #31

Seems like a more honest approach at least Major Nikon Dec 2018 #32

Mere criticism doesn't change minds, it just causes further digging in marylandblue Dec 2018 #33

For a small minority this is true Major Nikon Dec 2018 #34

Studies show this is not true because of confirmation bias marylandblue Dec 2018 #36

And yet collective attitudes do change over time Major Nikon Dec 2018 #37

Yes they do, but not by calling bullshit on everything. marylandblue Dec 2018 #43

You describe several instances of calling bullshit Major Nikon Dec 2018 #45

Maybe you called the Matthew Shepard case bullshit, but I called it murder. marylandblue Dec 2018 #46

Where did I say either myth or nice story. Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #39

The incredibly harsh world they actually lived in and a little bit of hope marylandblue Dec 2018 #41

Well that's convenient. Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #42

Who said anything about leaving out the appalling part? marylandblue Dec 2018 #44

Uh, you did? Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #47

I didn't say take it out, I said it wasn't the point. marylandblue Dec 2018 #49

Don't blame me, myths are filled with really bizarre and crazy stories gtar100 Dec 2018 #35

Mythology is absolutely the correct term Lordquinton Dec 2018 #28

With metaphor all things are possible Major Nikon Dec 2018 #38

"I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours." MineralMan Dec 2018 #48

I never metaphor I didn't like Lordquinton Dec 2018 #50

Are you still on the flood? tymorial Dec 2018 #51

Are you asking... NeoGreen Dec 2018 #53

Meh, someone got their ass handed to them in another thread... trotsky Dec 2018 #55

Other than Catholics, who cares? Cuthbert Allgood Dec 2018 #56

Bingo. Act_of_Reparation Dec 2018 #57

Even Catholics don't care. They can believe whatever they wish MineralMan Dec 2018 #58

This applies to all of the Abrahamic religions. eom guillaumeb Dec 2018 #60

Sure. I understand how Genesis fits religions. But in the OP you ask about the RCC. Cuthbert Allgood Dec 2018 #61

Well, in this post I decided to focus on this issue. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #62

Funny thing is... uriel1972 Dec 2018 #65