Mythology and Modern Religion

I never really thought about mythology until it was brought to my attention in my Scientific Revolutions class last Semester with Professor Bashaw. I can’t quite remember how the topic was brought up, but it was basically about how myths of certain ancient cultures shouldn’t be called myths at all. Our teacher explained how he didn’t like this because it’s not fair for the religious practices and beliefs of ancient cultures to be considered just “fictional stories” compared to the religious practices of today which are considered more “true.” I thought the statement was very interesting and I completely agreed with it. In a way, the stories of the past could be just as false as the religious stories of today. I also thought about how it would feel if someone of the past found out that what they were praying for would be considered a fictional story by someone of today. It was funny because I actually did have that experience when the topic was being discussed. I was trying to write something down and couldn’t pay attention to what the teacher was saying, until I heard the words “Christian Mythology.” I have no idea why (I’m not as religious as I used to be) but a voice in my head shouted “What the hell did he just say!?!” The comment caught me by surprise; it seemed very offensive that the religion I am associated with was being called “Fake.” Then again, I haven’t been to church in a while, don’t pray anymore, and my belief in religion in general is fading, so I probably shouldn’t take offense to that.

It would be impossible for me to tell you why religions of the past are now considered myths since this would take years of research. It could be because of a culture that fell long ago, such as the Greek, Egyptian, or Roman empires would also cause the religion it was mostly associated with to fall with it. Michael Brooks states in an article:

“It turns out that human beings have a natural inclination for religious belief, especially during hard times. Our brains effortlessly conjure up an imaginary world of spirits, gods and monsters, and the more insecure we feel, the harder it is to resist the pull of this supernatural world. It seems that our minds are finely tuned to believe in gods.”

It could be that after a civilization falls, and if it’s religion falls with it, people will go on and pray to new gods. The old gods, religious practices, and prayers must have been forgotten about, probably explain why they could be considered “myths”. Like what Michael Brooks just stated above, Humans need to believe in something. I guess if they can't believe in one god they must go to another, and the old gods are forgotten for what the stood for originally. Of course these are only theories of my own, there is most likely a better reason behind this.

Who knows, in the distant future some high school student is going to be writing a paper titled “Christian Mythology.”

While I couldn’t find a video relating directly to what I just said, but I have found a funny video by Seth McFarline. The religion the family in the video discusses is just as absurd as the religions of today (In my opinion of course.)




Credit:

Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God." New Scientist. February 4, 2009.

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